The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation Paperback – August 22, 2006

Comics have come a long way, even since the sixties when intellectuals started taking Batman, Superman, and Spiderman seriously. _Maus_ by Art Spiegelman, for instance, was the serious story of Spiegelman's father in the Holocaust, and Spiegelman's problematic relationship with him; it was a quietly magnificent history and memoir, and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992. _From Hell_ by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell was an examination of Jack the Ripper's story that was as dense as a novel, and with lots of reference notes to boot. If you have been watching comics climb in respectability, they have just mounted upon another rung. It is hard to class _The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation_ (Hill and Wang) by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón as a comic book, for it certainly is deadly serious rather than comic, and it isn't a "graphic novel", the category by which the genre goes now. It is the famous _Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States_ but told in the comic book form. The original prose work, widely praised and even nominated for a National Book Award, was a bestseller when it came out in July 2004. It had 600 pages, while the current one has 133.

Yet this is a condensation of the report, not a dumbing-down of it. Most of the words in it (in the san-serif capitals traditional to comics) come directly from the original report, which is in the public domain. There are some pages that could not have been done better in any format. The book starts with a timeline, four rows extending for twelve pages, counting off the hours of that morning for each of the four flights.Read more ›

I wasn't one of the millions who read the historic 9/11 commission report issued several years ago--or even purchased one. I had no desire to plow through over 500 pages of information and I wonder how many people read the entire document. When I learned about this graphic novel treatment and that it accurately reflected the full report, I ordered a copy.

I'll admit that I don't read many graphic novels but I read every frame and every page of this document. It is a sobering account of the state of preparedness of the United States for a terrorist attack. According to the national chairman and vice chairman of the 9/11 commission, this book is reflective of the tone and spirit of the original report.

Authors Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon have served the broad public with this well-done book. I recommend it for readers of all ages.

I have read both the original 9-11 Commission Report and this graphic adaptation. The graphic adaptation is an excellent accessory to the original report.

Although some might find the "graphic novel" look off-putting, it contains the same information in the original report in a more accessible format. The fold-out time-line of the Sept. 11 events in the hardcover edition is an excellent resource all by itself.

The softcover edition has the same information as the hardcover edition at less cost, except the softcover time-line does not fold out.

I recommend either edition for a family library...the graphic adapation for the kids, and/or for adults wanting an easy-to-scan companion to the original 9-11 Commission Report.

What an artform and what fidelity to the subject!!

I am contemplating buying more copies in the first edition just to put them away as an investment. This careful and skilled effort on such an historic topic might never be repeated; the human talent to do something like this might just not be around once the great generation behind this stops its work.

I had read the original 9/11 report many years ago, but there was much that I was not clear about after finishing that huge volume. However, this fantastic graphic adaptation by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon, really brought clarity to many of the observations made by the 9/11 final report of the National Commmission on terrorist attacks upon the United States. The full color drawings really bring this 9/11 report to life, making this text easy to read and understand.

This volume is organized into 12 chapters. The first chapter, "We have some planes" provides the timeline of the attack that tragic morning of 9/11. The second chapter explains the foundation of the new terrorism. The evolving of countering terrorism is covered in chapter three. The intial responses to Al Quaeda's initial assaults is reviewed in chapter four. Chapter five explains the way Al Qaeda focused their attack on the American homeland. From threat to threat is discussed in chapter six. Chapter seven illustrates the players as the 9/11 attack looms. The system was blinking red in chapter eight, this section provides the lead up to the 9/11 attack, which was the attack on the USS Cole and other targets. Chapter nine details the many acts of heroism and horror on the day we were attacked (9/11). Chapter ten deals with our government and President Bush declaring war on terrorism. Chapter eleven looks at the past mistakes and attempts to correct them. The final chapter (What to do? Global strategy) provides some suggestions on how to deal with terrorism in the future.

In conclusion, if you are seeking a clear, easy to read and understand evaluation of the events of 9/11 you may want to check out this volume. I highly recommend this book which I think all Americans should read.

Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Season of the Warrior: A poetic Tribute to Warriors)