The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation

The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation

• author:  Sid Jacobson  "no author website"
• illustrator:  Ernie Colon  "no author website"
• medium: pencils, ink, digital color and

• year of publication: 2006
• publication city: New York
• publisher:  Hill and Wang
• ISBN:  978-0-8090-5739-9

Annotation:  A graphic adaptation of the lead-up to the destructive events on September 11, 2001 and the events that followed, from the report by the 9/11 commission.

Personal Reaction:   This is a very thorough presentation in graphic novel form of the 9/11 report, that is accessible to older readers who will not complete the original document that consists of multiple thousands of pages.  This adaptation slowly and meticulously explains the events that lead to the horrific September 11, 2001 day of infamy, and the events that followed, including the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan. 

The book is an impressive piece of work.  The authors successfully explain the events that occurred during the hijackings of four commercial airplanes on September 11, 2001.  Then they present the history of the development of Al Quaida, leading back to the wars between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan.  The authors describe the dysfunction between the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI, and the conditions that allowed the terrorists to carry out the plot on U.S. soil.  The authors also present the possible theoretical and political plans of action the U.S. can choose to take to fight terrorism and win the war on terror. 

While the book is filled with immense and complicated amounts of information, it is not inaccessible.  The story is told methodically and an intelligent older reader will be able to follow the events.  I would recommend this book to a reader in high school or a high level middle school student. 

***Curriculum connection – Grades 8-12 World History, Current Affairs, Civics