Nearly three thousand people died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In Lower Manhattan, on a field in Pennsylvania, and along the banks of the Potomoc, the United States suffered the single largest loss of life from an enemy attack on its soil.

In November 2002 the United States Congress and President George W. Bush established by law the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission. This independent, bipartisan panel was directed to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks, identify lessons learned, and provide recommendations to safeguard against future acts of terrorism.

This volume is the authorized edition of the Commission's final report.

"With a grave resolve that perfectly balances the enormous stakes with the necessity of delving into minutiae, this historic book describes the mechanics of the horrific attacks on the United States and recommends measures for preventing further strikes. Without trivializing any of the events or diminishing the people involved, it reads like a Shakespearean drama. The authors, with grim but charged dispassion, unspool paragraph after paragraph dramatizing the arrival of 'muscle hijackers' (as opposed to pilots), the thinking of CIA director George Tenet (regularly referred to, along with most other players here, simply by last name) and plot co-coordinator Khalid Sheikh Mohammad ('KSM') among thousands of others, and the other ways and means by which a 'foreign' incursion caused catastrophic domestic damage. Distilling an enormous amount of information in plain language, with unerring pitch and a perfect feel for when to gloss ('Dubai, a modern city with easy access to a major airport...'), the book's implied narrator sticks as close as possible to how real people made real decisions, and, when stymied in considering a factor or set of factors, is willing to say so. In so doing, this multi-author document produces an absolutely compelling narrative intelligence, one with clarity, a sense of shared mission and an overriding desire to do something about the situation. At the same time, with quotational chapter headings like ' 'We Have Some Planes' ' and ' 'The System Was Blinking Red,' ' the authors never forget that they are communicating in a medium that has a lot of stylistic resources for holding one's attention; they draw liberally on the most tried and true. Given what hangs in the balance, it is not a stretch to compare this document to The Federalist Papers, in the sense that the book is designed to foster the debate by which the country will reimagine itself through its bureaucracy. (July 22)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

This authorized edition of the Commission's final report on the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, 2001 traces the rise of the new global terrorism, as well as detailing the meetings and recommendations made by the bipartisan panel established in 2002. Appendices include names of US officials and others involved, and summaries of the dozen public hearings. This provocative historical record includes chronologies of the doomed flights and substantial reference notes, but lacks an index.
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"For in its meticulous compilation of fact, the report makes the horrors of 9/11 even more shocking. Try to read the story as a narrative, a nonfiction thriller in which the characters move inexorably toward the cataclysm of that cloudless morning. The strength of the report is precisely in its narrative power; by telling all the little stories, it reveals the big story in a different way. We see the bland evil of the plotters, the Hamlet-like indecision of government officials, the bravery amid chaos of the firefighters." David Ignatius, The Washington Post

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission) — an independent, bipartisan commission — was chartered by Congress to prepare a full and complete report, with key witnesses called to testify in public and under oath, including National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice. This is the full text of their findings. Comprehensive, detailed and independent, The 9/11 Commission Report may be a wake-up call to the U.S. government and the world on how to fight terrorism.

In November 2002 the United States Congress and President George W. Bush established by law the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission. This independent, bipartisan panel was directed to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks, identify lessons learned, and provide recommendations to safeguard against future acts of terrorism. This volume is the authorized edition of the Commission's final report.