Out of the Blue: The Story of September 11, 2001, from Jihad to Ground Zero

You know the story, the details, even a bit about the many people involved in this horrific incident.
Still, it's impossible to put this book down.
"Out of the Blue" is a brilliant account of 9-11 which manages to be scholarly yet accessible, tender but not sentimental (I was moved to tears many times while reading).
Certainly one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read.

Out of the Blue takes us chapter by chapter through what on September 11, 2001 - from the transformation of Osama bin Laden and the emergence of Al Qaeda to the trainings of the terrorists and finally, to the day we will never forget. A day that some are calling the end of innocence. Intermingled in this "explanation" for what happened and how it all began are the personal biographies of some of the victims. It is not clear how Bernstein chose these Americans to be included in Out of the Blue, but the inclusion of their stories illustrates just how unexpected these attacks really were. Normal, everday routines carried out by normal everyday people were shattered in the blink of an eye. Bernstein documents the terrible reality of when show more the planes hit; the choking smoke, the inferno flames, the lethal leaking fuel, the rescue workers rushing into the buildings while terrified victims either rushed out or jumped to their deaths. The entire New York Times staff is to be applauded for their thoroughness for facts and details that make Out of the Blue more of a matter-of-fact (and less of a sensationalized) account of a mind numbing tragedy. show less