Out of the Blue - by Richard Bernstein & New York Times (Paperback)

About the Book

Following the lives of heroes, victims, and terrorists of September 11, 2001, Bernstein weaves the complex tale of a multitude of lives colliding in conflagration on that fateful morning. This riveting, incisive, and authoritative account is destined to stand as the essential chronicle of this singular moment in history.

Book Synopsis

Richard Bernstein's Out of the Blue provides a gripping and authoritative account of the September 11, 2001 attack, its historical roots, and its aftermath.

Few news stories in recent memory have commanded as much attention as the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but no news organization rivaled the New York Times for its comprehensive, resourceful, in-depth, and thoughtful coverage. This effort may well emerge as the finest hour in the paper's distinguished 150-year history.

In an unprecedented commitment, the Times assigned one of its most skilled reporters, Richard Bernstein, to turn the newspaper's brilliant and incisive reporting into a riveting narrative of September 11th. Following the lives of heroes, victims, and terrorists, Bernstein weaves a complex tale of a multitude of lives colliding in conflagration on that fateful morning. He takes us inside the Al Qaeda organization and the lives of the terrorists, from their indoctrination into radical Islam to the harrowing moments aboard the aircraft as they raced toward their terrible destiny. We meet cops and firefighters, and become intimate with some of the Trade Center workers who were lost on that day. We follow the lives of the rest of America--ordinary citizens and national leaders alike--in the hours and days after the attack.

Finally, Bernstein chronicles the nation's astonishing response in the aftermath. No account of this singular moment in American history will be as sharp, readable, and authoritative as Out of the Blue.

Review Quotes

"[A] superbly written overall chronicle of the events leading up to September 11, [it] draws on the reporting of the entire New York Times staff to bring alive the background with a subtlety and mastery that could almost make September 11 seem unsurprising." --San Francisco Chronicle

"An invaluable road map of the events of September 11 . . . A tightly written, lucid account . . . of the tragedy and a fascinating survey of the players and forces that produced it." --The New York Times

"Provides striking glimpses into the unimaginable human details of the tragedy." --The Christian Science Monitor

"Bernstein's narrative is exceptional. His ability to sift through the facts and near-facts of recent terrorism history is unerring. He is a winningly modest writer, but he is not afraid of the poetic." --The Washington Post Book World

About the Author

In twenty plus years with The New York Times, Richard Bernstein has served as bureau chief at the United Nations and in Paris, as national cultural reporter, and currently as a daily book critic. Before that, he was the Beijing bureau chief for Time magazine. He has written several books, including The Coming Conflict with China (with Ross H. Munro) and Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk Who Crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment. He lives in New York City.

Howell Raines is executive editor of The New York Times.