Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
A nonfiction thriller chronicling moment to moment the riveting untold story of the drama that unfolded in the skies over America on 9/11 as the FAA, the military, and thousands of commercial pilots called on all of their rigorous training and their reserves of patriotism and courage to improvise a heroic response to the first attacks on American soil since Pearl Harbor and contend with a whole new kind of war in the skies.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Fascinating Account -- Must Read for All Americans
Customer Rating:
Lynn Spencer's "Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama That Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11" is the fascinating and gripping tale of the actions in the skies on 9/11 - from the airliners to jetfighters to the air traffic controllers. Based extensively on interviews and official transcripts, Spencer recreates the confusion, shock, disbelief, and horror of 9/11.
Spencer recounts the confusion in the air traffic control centers as the hijacked flights lose contact and the story of the first National Guard fighters to fly over New York City that day. She describes the confused but effective response as two different groups of fighter jets set up a combat air patrol over DC and begin intercepting air traffic. She focuses heavily on other airline pilots and their reactions to the scanty information they received ("secure your cabins," "land immediately," "US airspace is closed," etc.). And she also covers the responses by the FAA and NORAD as NORAD does the unprecedented: closing US airspace for the first time in history.
My one minor criticism is that the book is written in the present tense, which I found odd for a book creating a historical record. This was done presumably to add to the drama, but instead I found reading about 7 year-old events in the present tense a bit distracting.
This book does an excellent job taking the reader back to that infamous day and recreating the fog of war as America slowly realized we were under attack and had to fashion a response for this unexpected attack. Spencer does a solid job unraveling the many complex events of that day and turning them into a compelling narrative. Every American should read this book.
An incredible read from another perspective of that fatefull day
Customer Rating:
This book was a fascinating look into what transpired in the air during the 9-11 nightmare. The authors access to the facts and the real participants made this book one I could not put down. Being a pilot myself it amazed me to read about what it was like to be in the air on that day, sitting in the cockpit not knowing if your plane was the next one to become part of history, and from the military who was tasked to protect us from a unknown enemy. The authors writing flows from the first page till the last plane lands, She really knows aviation and it shows. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is into aviation and even those who are not, just the reading of the facts makes this book a must read.
Toucing History
Customer Rating:
With her extensive research, Lynn Spencer has opened the doors to the numerous events that occurred behind the scenes during the Sept 11 attacks on the United States. Ms. Spencer's investigation of the inner workings of the the U.S. air traffic control system, as well as the military's, takes us inside the intricate network of people who control the skies over the United States; the controllers, pilots, and the support staff that all work in tandem to keep our skies safe when we board a plane. Ms. Spencer begins by reminding us of the early eronious reports of a small plane striking the north tower, and carries us through the buildup to the uncertainty and hysteria that most of us felt as the events unfolded throughout the day. She takes us inside the cockpits of the military fighters, as well as the commercial airliners that were affected by the events of that tragic day. She taught us that the military and civilian ATC do not speak a common language, yet they managed to find a common ground in order to take control of our skies in a few short hours. It was an amazing story, one that I would have found hard to believe if I had not lived through the events of that day.
Solves a lot of mysteries from 9/11
Customer Rating:
This book for me started out a bit slow but I ended up unable to put it down. For me several mysteries were solved - such as the mysterious plane some eyewitness claimed to see by the Flight 93 wreckage - the rumors that there was a 5th airliner that was close to being hijacked (there was - and learn how a quick decision by the pilot probably saved the White House or Congress) -
Learn how the fighter pilots of Otis in MA and Langley in DC had to make some quick decisions and bypass the normally rigid chain of command on getting shoot down authority - how the VP and Secret Service was involved in that decision -
This book was written by an airline pilot who has done a lot of interviews - From the Head ATC guy overseeing ALL US Airspace (and first day on the job no less!) - to the ATC personnel - fighter pilots, airline pilots, Secret Service, and even the pilot of Air Force One.
It is a riveting book that will solve some lingering questions
I highly recommend this book!
Read this book!
Customer Rating:
I couldn't put this book down. I read it in 24 hours and promptly gave it to friends, who also loved it. It's not as though we don't know what happened here, but it's interesting to see what was going on behind the scenes.
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