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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unven, but nonetheless remarkable book, August 23, 2002
This review is from: A Nation Challenged: A Visual History of 9/11 and Its Aftermath (Hardcover)
There's no denying that the photography in this book is spectacular, and as one would expect from a NY Times book, the writing is superb. Unfortunately, "A Nation Challenged" doesn't completely live up to expectations. There are two main reasons for that. First, the coverage of 9/11 is overwhelmingly skewed towards the events at the World Trade Center. While there is no denying that New York City has come to represent the epicenter of that horrible day, there were equally horrific tragedies taking place on a smaller scale in Washington D.C. and over Pennsylvania. I would have expected that an institution as reputable as the New York Times would have taken a more balanced approach in their reporting. My second complaint is that the final forty pages, or so, are devoted exclusively to portraits of the Afghan people. In and of itself, that's fine, but given the book's title, I would have expected more American viewpoints, whether firemen, policemen, or members of the armed services. I fail to see what is gleaned about the American condition of the last year from interviews with Afghanis. Those thoughts aside, though, this is an incredible collection of photographs and writing that is well worth owning. One thing about 9/11 is that it was a beautiful sunny day, and the photographs in this volume would be stunning if they weren't so horrific. Interspersed with reproductions of Times' front pages and writing from those pages, are astonishing photographs (many of which I had never seen before) that capture that day and the following weeks in all their horror. ***WARNING, some of the pictures are very graphic, if you aren't prepared for the emotional impact of revisiting 9/11, you would do well to pass on this book. However, if you are prepared to turn your thoughts to that day when everything changed, this is the book to start with. "A Nation Challenged" represents an excellent record, both visually and in writing, of 9/11. While there are already many books about that day available, and there will undoubtedly be hundreds more, I suspect that very few will be of the same quality as this volume. The reason for this is the weird dichotomy of a paper with global resources having the biggest event of the last fifty years take place in its backyard. While I do have some complaints with the distribution of the coverage, there is no debating the superb quality of the reporting and photography, or the immense integrity of the Times editorial board. This is not an easy book to look at, but it is a remarkable history of a day when, "history splits, and we define the world as `before' and `after.'"
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Provocative and honest, April 25, 2004
This review is from: A Nation Challenged: A Visual History of 9/11 and Its Aftermath (Hardcover)
This collection of photos and essays was one of the few to come out in 2002 that did not smack of "we're in it for the money" opportunism. Thoughtfully put together by the staff of the New York Times, A NATION CHALLENGED, is a poignant reminder of the events of 9/11/01, events that have been talked about so much that we have run out of words. Fortunately, the expression a picture is worth one thousand words holds true. Each photo speaks volumes from pity to horror, shock to acceptance, destruction to hope. While the compilation is slanted to the devestation that occurred in lower Manhattan, I don't believe that it's disproportionate. What happened here, to us, the carnage and destruction, was on such a huge scale that it merits the extra coverage. Also, so many of the events were captured on film by cameramen, professional and amateur, that there is a vast resource of horrific images from which to choose. Given that, I actually believe that the Times showed remarkable restraint. By no means does this diminish the outrages and sorrows of Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. New York's collective heart breaks for them, too, and the images of those scenes are no less dumbfounding. A NATION CHALLENGED is a professionally approached and executed photojournal. I only hope we'll never need this kind of book again.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great reminder of 9/11, September 24, 2004
This review is from: A Nation Challenged: A Visual History of 9/11 and Its Aftermath (Hardcover)
This is a large coffee table size book of 240 pages.Although there have been a lot of similar books published,none are better.The New York Times received a Pulitzer prize for reporting on this event and thus were in a great position for putting this book together.It does a good job of showing how ehese towers collapsed,not covered in most books.
This dasterdly attack on the US is on par with the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor.This book is good to keep handy to remind one of The War Om Terror that is underway.Regardless of the election talk now going on;the only mission has to be to win this war against Evil.America has pleaded for cooperation from other freedom loving countries,and it is amazing the rheotic and excuses she got in return.
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