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Title: Touching History
Subtitle: The Drama that Unfolded in the Skies over America on 9/11
Author: Lynn Spencer
Narrator: Joyce Bean
Format: Unabridged
Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-02-08
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 95 votes
Genres: History, 21st Century
Publisher's Summary:
In a round-robin narrative, in the style of Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn's 102 Minutes, Lynn Spencer takes listeners right to the front lines as the realization hits that multiple hijackings are underway - and then that the country is under attack.
Spencer follows the story all the way through the end of the day, when the fog of war had finally lifted and the country could assess exactly what had happened. The drama unfolds from a variety of perspectives, including the computer screen of the comptroller who first noticed that American flight 11 was off course; the phone call from a stewardess onboard alerting American Airlines that hijackers had killed two flight attendants and entered the cockpit; the battle cab of the military commander who ordered fighter jets in the air; the NASA-like operations floor of the FAA Command Center; and the cockpits of a number of the 4,500 commercial airliners flying over the United States that morning.
Spencer conducted hundreds of interviews and spoke to every key player in the airline industry and military who was involved in the major air events of the day. Based on highly detailed accounts from these interviews, as well as on the voluminous records of radio transmissions, Spencer fills in many holes in the story as it was reported by the 9/11 Commission. She also brings to pulse-quickening life the confusion, the horror, and the fierce determination and quick thinking of so many key players as they improvised their responses to a shocking new type of warfare.
Critic Reviews:
"Spencer...expertly elucidates the complexities and pitfalls of American aviation as it faced a staggering challenge." (Publishers Weekly)
Members Reviews:
Very Insightful - Puts the reader in the cockpit
Would you listen to Touching History again? Why?
Yes, I already have. It's just a gripping story that it's worth revisiting.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The airline pilots.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
As a former USAF navigator I was impressed by the way the National Guard F-16 detachment at Langley AFB threw away the rule book and pressed on with the mission.
I was also impressed in a negative way about how useless the high levels of the Federal Government were. Apparently all the senior cabinet officials and military officers could do is join conference calls, chat with each other, and run around in circles.
All the key decisions were made by low level worker bees out in the field.
The only real guidance from the top came from Vice President Cheney, who authorized the military to shoot down a civilian airliner that was being hijacked.
Other than that the government's senior officials were useless.
Any additional comments?
This book desperately needed to be written. It is the story of how the aviation community reacted to the 9/11 attacks from the point of view of the pilots, dispatchers, controllers, and military officers.
The author is a professional pilot and it shows in the details. She does a good job of explaining the jargon and tools used within aviation in an easy to understand way for the lay reader.
I thought the narrator did a fine job.
Try "Voices of 9/11" Instead
I really should've listened to the sample before spending a whole credit on this, but I was on a sniffly, cry-into-a-tissue, 9/11 kick and bought this.