In November 2002 the United States Congress and President George W. Bush established by law the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission. This independent, bipartisan panel was directed to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks, identify lessons learned, and provide recommendations to safeguard against future acts of terrorism. This volume is the authorized edition of the Commission's final report.

Exploring both the American and Arab sides of the September 11th terrorist attacks interweaves the stories of four men--Al Qaeda leaders Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden, FBI counterrorism head John O'Neill, and Prince Turki al-Faisal, former chief of Saudi intelligence--in the story of the people, ideas, events, and intelligence failures that led to the attacks

An illustrated guide to the September 11 Memorial on the site of the World Trade Center shares previously unpublished photographs and architectural plans while describing the symbolism of the Twin Towers, the horror of the attacks, and the ongoing efforts to build the memorial.