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The Ground Truth: The Untold Story of America Under Attack on 9/11
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| Part No: | 1594488940 |
| Manufacturer: | Riverhead Hardcover |
| MFG Part: | |
| Customer Rating: | 3.0 / 5.0 |
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- ISBN13: 9781594488948
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
From the senior counsel to the 9/11 Commission, a mesmerizing real-time portrayal of that day, why we weren't told the truth, and why our nation is still at risk. As one of the primary authors of the 9/11 Commission Report, John Farmer is proud of his and his colleagues' work. Yet he came away from the experience convinced that there was a further story to be told, one he was uniquely qualified to write. Now that story can be told. Tape recordings, transcripts, and contemporaneous records that had been classified have since been declassified, and the inspector general's investigations of government conduct have been completed. Drawing on his knowledge of those sources, as well as his years as an attorney in public and private practice, Farmer reconstructs the truth of what happened on that fateful day and the disastrous circumstances that allowed it: the institutionalized disconnect between what those on the ground knew and what those in power did. He details -terrifyingly and illuminatingly-the key moments in the years, months, weeks, and days that preceded the attacks, then descends almost in real time through the attacks themselves, portraying them as they have never before been seen. Ultimately, Farmer builds the inescapably convincing case that the official version not only is almost entirely untrue but serves to create a false impression of order and security. The ground truth that Farmer captures suggests a very different scenario-one that is doomed to be repeated unless the systemic failures he reveals are confronted and remedied.
| Very worthwhile read | 2010-05-30 | 5 / 5 |
| Farmer's book relies heavily on transcripts of live recordings of the comminications at the FAA and NEADS (Northeast Air Defense Sector) of the events as they unfolded. In doing so, he dispels a lot of nonsense put forth by conspiracy theorists (e.g., "Loose Change") and undermines what appears to be "spin" by the respondents, from Bush & DoD down to the FAA, motivated to portray themselves as being more compenent and on top of things than they actually were at the time.
I confess I had long held the suspicion that Flight United 93 (the fourth plane, which crashed in Shanksville, PA) MIGHT have been shot down, but am now utterly convinced of the heroism of the flight's passengers. There is compelling evidence that NEADS, NORAD and DoD were not even aware of this flight until several minutes after its crash, and that there were no fighters in its immediate vicinity, contrary to the claims of Wolfowitz. Rather, the attention of the responders was focused on mistaken and confused reports such as that Flight 11 (the first plane to crash into the WTC) was en route to Washington DC and that Delta Flight 1989 might also be an active threat.
It's all there in the transcripts, and I urge people to read it for themselves rather than bypass this book on the say-so of David Griffen or various "Truthers".
Most importantly, this book is about the difficulty inherent in responding to a crisis by any large organization, with excellent suggestions for addressing these problems. It is quite an eye-opener and a tremendous civics lesson. I wholly recommend it. |
| An Enlightening Look at 9/11 - Worth the Read | 2010-03-01 | 3 / 5 |
| This book was for me both revealing and confirming. Revealing because it exhaustively details the second-by-second actions of the FAA and the military that day relying on ever present FAA and Pentegon recordings which cannot be easily altered and which tell a tale much different from the original CYA version of events released by those agencies which led to the establishment of the 9/11 Commission in the first place. And, confirming in that my long held belief that by it's very nature, government doesn't do very many things well and huge government, the type we in America have had since the 1930's, does almost nothing well. Government's failure leading up to and then reacting the events of 9/11 was very nearly total. Individuals scattered throughout the venues that day, acting largely on their own authority, prevented a much larger disaster.
Farmer begins his story with the first meeting between Osama Bin Laden and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (perhaps better known today as "KSM"), the man whose plan it was to use the airliners as weapons inside the United States. He compresses the story from the years it took to bring the idea to fruition, through the months the attackers spent in the United States in final preparations for the day, through the weeks leading up the event and then to the hours, minutes and seconds preceding the calamity.
The events of September 11,2001 were the culmination of a systematic and generalized failure of the U.S. government in its most fundamental role dating back to the early 1990's (and even earlier). Though hundreds of billions of dollars had been spent and millions of man hours invested, the most sophisticated defense apparatus in the world failed to see the plot though evidence of its existance was all around. Territorial imperatives, bureaucratic ineptness and just plain old fashioned laziness combined to allow 19 zealots to change our national future. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of opportunities to stop the plot before it could be carried out came and went without appropriate action being taken to stop it.
While Farmer acknowledges these failures, he makes the error of postulating that some procedural changes could prevent another such event. I think he is wrong. Nevertheless, Farmer's book demonstrates how, regardless of who sits in the White House, runs the FBI, or heads the CIA, the ability of government to interdict such events as 9/11 are, predictably, self-limited. It's not soothing and it's not comforting but it is reality.
And the easily documented attempt to cover up the inadequacies? It's laid out in this book. It is sometimes plodding and the second-by-second replay of FAA and Pentagon recordings of their every communication during the attacks is sometimes painfully slow; however, their inclusion was necessary in that they clearly demonstrate that the government's first official report (the 9/11 Commission's report is NOW the government's official stand on the matter) of how it reacted to the attacks of 9/11 where designed to cover up its myriad failures.
This book is not a casual read and Farmer's decision to throw the government failures in preparing for and reacting to hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 (unlike the 9/11 attacks, an event that had been predicted for decades) and to compare and contrast that with the 9/11 failures really serves no purpose other than to confirm government's ineptness to react properly to large disasters whether they are man-made or natural.
Rick Rescorla, the Vice President of Security for Morgan-Stanley/Dean-Witter, the largest tenant in the World Trade Center, had been predicting just such an attack on the twin towers for nearly a decade. His preparations, approved and sanctioned by his employer, were simple, well thought out and required procedures be followed by all Morgan Stanley employees in the building. These procedures were credited with saving the lives of more than 2700 Morgan Stanley employees that day (tragically, Rescorla was one of the few MS-DW employees to die in the towers when he returned to find any Morgan Stanley stragglers). James B. Stewart's biography of Rescorla: "Heart of A Soldier," is a must read for anyone interested in the events of that day.
The Ground Truth is worth your time, especially for anyone who wants to get a truncated understanding of the 9/11 Commission's findings.
And just in passing........a slap at the terrible bit of editing as the book (in this case, the CD audio version) repeatedly refers the "Mode 3" transponder beacons of the various aircraft involved that day. It isn't "Mode 3," it's MODE "C," a descrete code required to be used by any civil aircraft (and most military planes) operating in the nation's busiest airspaces. As a pilot of many years, this error, committed dozens of times in the narration, was fingernails on a chalk board each time I heard it. An extremely sloppy job of editing. |
| This is why we need ghostwriters | 2010-01-29 | 3 / 5 |
| Disclaimer: I cannot assess the quality of the book, because it puts me to sleep every time I pick it up. Great cure for insomnia.
I had greatly looked forward to reading this book, but it seemed that most of the book contained a reprint of a the commission's report. There seemed to be relatively little effort put into expressing a coherent message, and drawing out the most salient details. I had seen an interview with the author and expected more. |
| dont go looking for truth here | 2010-01-19 | 1 / 5 |
| | Read David Ray Griffins review to get the real scoop. All i can say, is if you want to learn more about 9/11, to gain a better picture, SKIP THIS BOOK |
| The incompetence defense | 2009-12-23 | 1 / 5 |
| "cascade of incompetence Farmer exposes"
Farmer isn't the village idiot. He omits critical facts such as the Building #7 collapse even though it wasn't hit by anything, especially a plane, and the testimony by Willie Rodriguez. Farmer makes it super clear that the attack was expected by key officials. He omits critical pictures that show thousands of steel beams cut and blasted symmetrically in all directions. Jet fuel fires can't cut steel beams. The "cascade of incompetence Farmer exposes" prevents admitting his own crime of conspiring to cover up the expert demolition, rigged weeks before 9/11. Farmer didn't write this book to convict himself and the other phony Commission members. |
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