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Kristen Breitweiser

Wake-Up Call: The Political Education of a 9/11 Widow Hardcover – September 6, 2006

by Kristen Breitweiser (Author)

35 ratings

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Breitweiser, one of the nation's leading 9/11 activists, was a Republican and a suburban mother and housewife until her husband was killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks. The attack galvanized Breitweiser politically, and, along with three other 9/11 widows, she fought for the creation of the 9/11 Commission in the face of strong opposition from President Bush and many other top government officials. In this account, she describes her recovery from the nightmare of the attacks, and discusses cover-ups revealed during her campaign for the 9/11 Commission. B&w personal photos are included. There is no subject index. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In September of 2001, Breitweiser had a tumor in her breast, was suffering from colitis and lupus and recovering from the death of her mother from cancer of the mouth. Then terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center, killing her beloved husband and hundreds more. Devastated, the New Jersey stay-at-home mom became an activist, channeling her pain and rage into learning everything she could about the U.S. government's role in the attacks—an excruciating journey that is carefully chronicled in this emotionally charged memoir. Colloquial in tone, Breitweiser recounts how she and three widow pals—her fellow "Jersey Girls"—began lobbying the government to establish an independent 9/11 commission to explore all that went wrong that day. With narrative ease, the author, who has a law degree, breaks down complex arguments and political theories: one chapter is dedicated to a single footnote from The 9/11 Investigations, while another segment explains why negligence is cheaper than prevention for airlines and governments. But in episodes where she mouths off to Henry Kissinger and campaigns for the "awkward" John Kerry, her frustration palpably grows. Though not the most elegant storyteller, Breitweiser has produced a touching account of her history and ongoing mission that's bound to achieve prominence thanks to Ann Coulter's recent attacks on the author. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Breitweiser, whose husband perished in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, describes in searing, intimate detail the tragic events of that morning and the following days. As she suddenly morphed from wife into widow, her initial confusion was transformed into blind, futile rage. A few months later, she joined forces with several other 9/11 widows; fueled by anger and energized by a zealous sense of mission, these women were determined not only to survive but also to get to the bottom of what happened in order to "make sure someone is held responsible so that nobody else ever has to walk in our shoes." Breitweiser's odyssey from wife and mother to political activist and grassroots organizer makes for inspirational reading and doubles as a sharp rejoinder to Ann Coulter's callous comments about 9/11 widows in her recently published diatribe, Godless: The Church of Liberalism. This heartfelt memoir will resonate with most Americans regardless of their political affiliations and serve as a reminder to many that there is still work to be done and action to be taken. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Publisher : Grand Central Publishing; 1st edition (September 6, 2006)
Language : English
Hardcover : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 0446579327
ISBN-13 : 978-0446579322
Item Weight : 1.15 pounds
Dimensions : 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,947,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,432 in Mid Atlantic U.S. Biographies
- #15,265 in Political Leader Biographies
- #30,123 in Women's Biographies

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T. Smith

Both Heartbreaking and Inspiring

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

I have the utmost respect, admiration and gratitude for Kristen's revealing the ways of Washington related to 9/11 that she personally experienced. Among the many wake-up calls for me was learning that the Victims Compensation Fund prohibited lawsuits, subpoenas, and presentation of evidence by the victims of 9/11. She and the Jersey Girls did all they could to fight for an investigation and scored an enormous achievement in the creation of the 9/11 Commission. I'm inspired and in awe of how she was able to go through so many personal
transformations and grow to meet so many new challenges in effective ways.

Helpful

Shaz Austin Davison

Kristen not only did her homework but inserts her hilarious wit as well

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2006

Verified Purchase

In response to the only negative review I saw here I am choosing to defend MRS. Kristen Breitweiser since she is fighting bigger battles on our behalf.

Mike...Had you read Kristen's book in FULL you would know that she illustrates wonderfully areas of concern which DID include the Clinton Administration. She went in with "blithe innocence" and came out informed and determined to make a difference by making certain she had all the facts on the table as a responsible attorney would, to make our nation safer. Futhermore, I got the impression from her chapter, He Didn't Have Us at Hello, she actually was not too impressed with Kerry and makes several inferences such as "he squandered that collective hope by not listening to his own heart and worrying more about what other people would think than about what he really believed" (p 226). She also writes very respectfully of John McCain and Chris Smith who supported an independent investigation.

As Kristen makes clear, "The Democrats were nearly the only people in Washington willing to help" then goes on to note the "honorable exceptions" of Smith and McCain.

She voted Republican as did her husband the first Bush term Mike and if you did the homework she has and looked at the facts I am willing to bet you too would recognize the ugly anthropocentrism within the Bush Administration and possibly have a change of mind and certainly if you are one willing to gain a little heart-felt empathetic knowledge, which I am sure you are capable, you'd be knocking on those same doors Kristen and the other widows have done and continue on doing. Kristen is but one of the many silver linings in the events of 9/11 and I have become a much more vigilant citizen because of her courageous heart-felt work. Not to mention, even in the worst of situations she is funny as all get-up (as are the other Jersey Girls).
I'd hang with them all any day!

BTW, Kristen recommends some informative reports to help the very lost soul, Ann Coulter get a grip on page 286 (you can look it up on Amazon peek into book)--you may wish to do the same. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

A Cup of Public Caffeine

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2007

Verified Purchase

On September 11, 2001, Ron Breitweiser called his wife to tell her that there was an explosion in the other twin tower; he saw people jumping out of the windows to their deaths. He told her not to worry, he was all right. That was the last time she would ever talk to her husband. Kristen Breitweiser's life was about to literally collapse.

This is a well-written, poignant, heart-felt story of a woman who first blew off the man with whom she would later fall in love, and to whom she remained attached at the hip until his death. Infant daughter, golden retriever, home in the country and near the shore, and devoted husband transformed from an elysium dream to a stygian nightmare in one day.

After her shock, Kristen wanted answers. Why was legislation passed preventing airlines from being sued by victims? Why did the Bush administration oppose an independent commission, refuse to allow the commission to have subpoena power, limit the duration of the commission, stonewall on providing documents, refuse to allow the president to give sworn testimony, place restrictions on testimony of other White House staffers, spend $50,000,000 to investigate the loss of the Columbia Shuttle, but initially offer only $3,000,000 to investigate the greatest attack in US history? (An investigation into the attack on Pearl Harbor began twelve days after.)

This is Kristen Breitweiser's odyssey from New Jersey housewife to activist and advocate. She and three other widows a.k.a the "Jersey Girls," endured snide editorials from conservative rags, governmental lethargy, promises kept and broken, and stonewalling. They made innumerable trips to Washington D.C. for change and they were changed in the process, from Bush-supporting republicans to those holding an administration's secretive feet to the fire.

My only disappointment came when this classy, lawyer-educated widow felt a need to pen an afterword to a neurotic, spoiled brat who craves attention in any form, named Ann Coulter. But even in this 2nd person account, Breitweiser stayed on the high road. Then again, against Coulter that doesn't require much effort.

Please read the book. It truly is a wake-up call.

38 people found this helpful

Helpful