"The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation"

42k4n3

The Force is Strong With This One
I'm not sure if this has been brought up in this forum, but my roommate, who works at the library, brought me back this. Has anyone else seen this? It is a graphic novel adaptation of the 9/11 Commission Report.

Its published by Hill & Wang which is a division of Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

This is by far, one of the most glaring grabs at accessing a wider readership and feeding them disinformation.

On the back cover is a glowing endorsement from Stan 'The Man" Lee himself which reads as follows:

"Never before have I seen a nonfiction book as beautifully and compellingly written and illustrated as The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation. I Cannot recommend it too highly. It will surely set the standard for all future works of contemporary history, graphic or otherwise, and should be required reading in every home, school, and library.(emphasis added)" -- Stan Lee
Well if Stan recommends it how cna it be so bad?

I really don't know where to begin pointing out all the glaring discrepancies in this 150 page tome. From the time lines of the 'Four Fated Flights' to the one page depiction of the actual report as it appears on your bookshelves, summarizing some of the conclusions and recommendations Including, among others:

"Government agencies are often passive, accepting what they view as givens. Including that efforts to identify and fix glaring vulnerabilites to dangerous threats would be too costly, too controversial, or too disruptive"

And

"The FAA's capabilities to take aggressive anticipatory security measures were especially weak."


"At no point before 9/11 was the Department o Defence fully engaged in countering Al Qaeda though it was perhaps the most dangerous foreign enemy at the time."
But by far the most glaring discrepancy was the time line given when Dubya, was informed:

In Sarasota, Florida, the presidential Motorcade was arriving at Emma E Booker Elementary School.

The President was outside the classroom with Chief of Staff Andrew Card when Senior Advisor Karl Rove informed them...

(a frame with Rove, Card and Bush standing at the door outside the classroom)

Rove: "A twin engine plane has crashed into the World Trade Centre Mr. President."

Bush: "Oh no. Must have been pilot error!"
This was very difficult to read without wanting to throw it down in disgust all too often.

I know you all are familiar with the details found within the actual report, but I find this ghastly at how it simplifies the whole matter even more that the report does. And that this is aimed at reaching a younger and more impressionable audience, the omissions and twisting of truth all presented in a neat comic format, is frightening to me.

The Chair and Vice-Chair of the report, Kean and Hamilton even state plainly in their foreword of this publication's intentions:

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to bring the work of the 9/11 Commission to the attention of a new set of readers."
Hill and Wang Publishing is primarily the the non-fiction educational arm, of FSG in New York. I just wonder how many school libraries (the ones that still have libraries) have this on their shelves.
 
I had a look at this one in a comic book shop recently. After reading your post I went to amazon immediately
in order to counter the one positive reader`s review. In the very last second I refrained from submitting my
review after visualizing me standing in line awaiting the clearance process in an american airport, not that I
plan to visit soon.
 
Yes. I can say the last time traveled south of the border earlier this year was a surreal experience indeed. We were driving to NYC, and from the moment we crossed the border at Niagara, it felt like a far more cold, unwelcoming place indeed. The best way I can equate this was this must have been just a close to what it must have felt for a French citizen in the 1930's traveling into Germany. The DHS stickers with 'snitch lines' asking citizens to report any 'suspicious activity' was what most struck me.

I lived in NYC briefly in the mid 90s and frequently made trips back and forth in that time up to about 2000. Crossing the border was done with relative ease and with very little hassle, save for the odd random checks. But now, you can feel a chill rush over you upon approach even before you reach the US half of the Rainbow Bridge.

As for NYC, now. I cna say it is a lon way from being the town I fell in love with over a decade ago. It felt like going to visit and old friend or relaitve, who you grew up admiring, to be shell of aperson. Damaged, paranoid, delusional and on, edge. I weep for the people and the city of New York.
 
You`re not exactly easing my paranoia here!
With american airport staff googling your name on the net you better think twice about what
you write under your name on any website. To be honest, I still would like to visit states.
Will that dream ever become true? Or will it morph into nightmare, once it comes true?
Btw, greetings from germany!
 
Well I can't say for sure what your welcome would be like. Just make sure you didn't overstay any of your past visas. Here in Canada, flying to the US isn't nearly as much of a hassle, as the Empire has their customs officers in our airports that screen you before you get into the boarding terminal. But hey, Toronto is just as nice as NYC. If you want to hop across the pond, why try some western flavour from North of the 49th parallel while its still a relatively free land? We do a great Oktoberfest here. Du bist wilkommen. ;-) (I hope that was right. I haven't had Deutsche lessons in well over a decade)
 
42k4n3 said:
I'm not sure if this has been brought up in this forum, but my roommate, who works at the library, brought me back this. Has anyone else seen this? It is a graphic novel adaptation of the 9/11 Commission Report.

Its published by Hill & Wang which is a division of Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

This is by far, one of the most glaring grabs at accessing a wider readership and feeding them disinformation.
Hi 42k4n3, do you have an amazon.ca account? If so, you could write a review stating some of the points you make in this post. After all, Amazon.ca customers need to know the other side of the story.

Joe
 
Hi Joe.

I don't have an amazon account as I like to support my libraries and local smaller booksellers. But for this I will make the exception and set one up so I may make a review. Good call and thanks for the tip.
 
42k4n3 said:
Du bist wilkommen. ;-) (I hope that was right. I haven't had Deutsche lessons in well over a decade)
Thanks, 42k4n3. And yep, it`s right. I wouldn`t want to learn german - too complicated!
Visiting "Cronenberg City" - that`s an idea. Might love it!
42k4n3 said:
But for this I will make the exception and set one up so I may make a review.
So I AM too paranoid? Come on, say it!
 
Maybe someone could counter with a graphic adaptation depicting what more likely DID happen (does this fall under "balanced reporting"?!). It's unfortunate that the corrected version would probably be filed under "Fiction" while the other gets catagorized as "Non-Fiction" (for now, anyway). Any artists out there willing to give it a try?
 
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