Audiobook11 hours
The Ground Truth: The Untold Story of America Under Attack on 9/11
Written by John Farmer
Narrated by Patrick Lawlor
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
As senior counsel to the 9/11 Commission, John Farmer led the team charged with reconstructing the tragedies of 9/11 and assisted in writing The 9/11 Commission Report. But many of the relevant records remained classified when the report was written, and the "ground truth" of the day was further obscured by the fundamentally false version of events that the government presented to Congress, the commission, and the media.
Now, drawing on records that have only recently been released, Farmer has written a definitive account that captures the full suspense and ultimate tragedy of 9/11 and enlarges-and breathtakingly revises-our understanding. He tells the story in shrinking units of time, plotting the progress of the "planes conspiracy" as the U.S. government had years, then months, then weeks, days, and finally, excruciating minutes and seconds to interdict or disrupt the attacks. This approach casts key moments in a new and startling light; the frantic efforts of air traffic controllers and fighter pilots to foil the attacks on 9/11 are revealed not as isolated acts of desperation but as the trailing, inevitable consequence of years of policy debates and failed post–Cold War attempts to "reinvent government." And as he leads us through the aftermath of the attacks, Farmer makes the inescapable case that "at some level of the government, at some point in time...there was a decision not to tell the truth about what happened."
What emerges is a portrait of a government that has institutionalized failure and rewarded deception. Executive departments fight for turf then deflect responsibility. Top officials, who set policy, are radically estranged from the career professionals who carry it out. The result has proven, quite literally, catastrophic-in the face of the surprise attacks of 9/11 and, as Farmer explores, in response to a long-anticipated natural disaster, Hurricane Katrina, as well. He shows powerfully that until we undertake the genuine, from-the-ground-up reinvention of government that the ground truth of 9/11 demands, we remain terrifyingly unprepared for the next time catastrophe strikes.
Now, drawing on records that have only recently been released, Farmer has written a definitive account that captures the full suspense and ultimate tragedy of 9/11 and enlarges-and breathtakingly revises-our understanding. He tells the story in shrinking units of time, plotting the progress of the "planes conspiracy" as the U.S. government had years, then months, then weeks, days, and finally, excruciating minutes and seconds to interdict or disrupt the attacks. This approach casts key moments in a new and startling light; the frantic efforts of air traffic controllers and fighter pilots to foil the attacks on 9/11 are revealed not as isolated acts of desperation but as the trailing, inevitable consequence of years of policy debates and failed post–Cold War attempts to "reinvent government." And as he leads us through the aftermath of the attacks, Farmer makes the inescapable case that "at some level of the government, at some point in time...there was a decision not to tell the truth about what happened."
What emerges is a portrait of a government that has institutionalized failure and rewarded deception. Executive departments fight for turf then deflect responsibility. Top officials, who set policy, are radically estranged from the career professionals who carry it out. The result has proven, quite literally, catastrophic-in the face of the surprise attacks of 9/11 and, as Farmer explores, in response to a long-anticipated natural disaster, Hurricane Katrina, as well. He shows powerfully that until we undertake the genuine, from-the-ground-up reinvention of government that the ground truth of 9/11 demands, we remain terrifyingly unprepared for the next time catastrophe strikes.
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Reviews for The Ground Truth
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
4/5
4 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Odd title, odd thesis, odd editing, odd book. A considerable amount of the middle portion of the book comprises page upon page of transcripts of NORAD talking to FAA. It could have been severely edited with author explanation, instead. The excerpts about alleged slow emergency response (how does one mobilize a Country fro war within 45 minutes?) and leadership taking all kinds of credit when they hadn't even been informed -- are fascinating. Analogy to Katrina are provided as well. A mish-mash but interesting topic.