Notes: The 9/11 Commission Report is the result of months of investigation by a bipartisan panel charged with analyzing the September 11th attacks, identifying lessons learned, and providing recommendations to avoid future terrorist attacks. What results is a straightforward and dispassionate account of all actions that led up to the attacks, details of exactly what happened on that day, and suggested improvements to the intelligence system. Despite being a 400 page federal document the book is entirely readable: "Without trivializing any of the events or diminishing the people involved, it reads like a Shakespearean drama," says Publisher's Weekly.

Notes: For readers who are struggling with the long 9/11 Commission Report, this graphic adaptation is only 15 percent of the size and yet still manages to convey the essence of the text. Jacobson's writing frequently follows word-for-word the original report, and Colon's illustrations brings it to life. Comics veteran Stan Lee praises, "Never before have I seen a non-fiction book as beautifully and compellingly written and illustrated as The 9/11 Report, A Graphic Adaptation. I cannot recommend it too highly. It will surely set the standard for all future works of contemporary history, graphic or otherwise."

Notes: Alissa Torres's husband began work at the World Trade Center on September 10, 2001. This powerful graphic novel tells the story of how the couple met, his death, and how Alissa survived the following year, including the birth of their first child. It gives a human face to all of those who were left behind. Publisher's Weekly writes, "This deeply personal book is at times raw, angry, bleak and lyrical. The best prose comes out of Torres's moments of pure, lonely grief, which punctuate her confusing and at times horrifying experiences with various aid agencies, family members, friends and strangers."

Notes: Written by ABC 20/20 co-anchor John Miller--who conducted a rare interview with bin Laden-- and two veteran reporters, this book traces the 9/11 attacks back ten years to its beginnings in one terrorist "cell." Following terrorist attacks from the murder of Rabbi Meir Kahane in 1990 to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and beyond, it shows how the NYPD, FBI, and CIA may have actually had information on the 9/11 attack but failed to act on it. Publisher's Weekly calls it "[An] eye-opening investigation . . . Miller, Stone, and Mitchell connect a lot of dots in this frightening and important book."

Notes: The controversial bestselling novelist Martin Amis here collects 14 of his intense essays on the topic of 9/11. Attacking radical Islam, President Bush, Tony Blair, and the Iraq War in turn, the essays trace the international aftereffects of that fateful day in September. The New York Observer calls the collection "A walking tour of the motley post-September 11th mind--its fears, madnesses, misapprehension and insights," and the Washington Post says it "bristles with intelligence [and] snaps and snarls."

Notes: Former Regan speechwriter Peggy Noonan collects the columns she wrote for The Wall Street Journal during the year following the September 11th attacks. The open and emotional essays catalog her shock on the day of the attacks and her appreciation for her fellow New Yorkers who pulled together to help each other, and continue on to address the effects of 9/11 on the world. Booklist praises the book as "thoughtful, introspective, and deeply patriotic...Noonan's columns are often extremely optimistic--she sees the best in the people and the leaders of the U.S., which makes this an inspiring collection." Note: limited availability.

Notes: Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Suskind paints a picture of the post-9/11 world in this book. He shows how America is struggling to regain its moral authority and fight against the threat of terrorists laying hands on nuclear weapons through the interwoven stories of an international cast of characters. The New York Times Book Review calls it "Startling. . . . Chilling. . . . A reportorial feat. . . . Suskind skillfully traces several interwoven stories of cultural clashes and cross-pollination, all of them pursuing the questions of whether America and the Muslim world can ever look past their differences and find understanding."

Notes: Thomas Friedman won a Pulitzer Prize for his commentary on the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat after September 11th. Longitudes and Attitudes collects the columns he published about that day as well as his reporting on the post-9/11 world, as he traveled and spoke with men and women from around the globe. What results is a snapshot of how ordinary people dealt with 9/11 and its aftermath. Rolling Stone elaborates, "When the world changed...it was Friedman, more than any other journalist, who was there to explain what happened and why...To read [Longitudes and Attitudes] is to relive an anguishing year in world history but also to witness a more human-size drama: Through these dispatches, you see a man trying to explain the unthinkable not only to his readers but to himself."

Notes: Lawrence Wright, a writer for The New Yorker, gives a detailed account of the events leading up to 9/11. Based on five years of research and almost 500 interviews with people from all over the Middle East--including with bin Laden's best friend--he tells the story of the people and ideas behind the attacks. He follows the lives of four men: the leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the FBI counterterrorism chief John O'Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal. Through these stories we see the rise of radical Islam, the formation of al-Qaeda, the first attacks organized by bin Laden, and the intelligence failures that resulted in the September 11th attacks. Critically acclaimed, the book was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Notes: Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Forever War chronicles through a series of intense vignettes the rise of the Taliban, the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Author Dexter Filkins is a prize-winning foreign war correspondent for the New York Times, and his book is based on his own experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq since 1998. The New York Times Book Review calls it "Stunning...This unforgettable narrative represents...a haunting spiritual witness that will make this volume a part of this awful war's history."