Touching History

The Drama that Unfolded in the Skies over America on 9/11

By: Lynn Spencer

Narrated by: Joyce Bean

Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Touching History is told through the eyes of commercial airline pilots, FAA and military controllers, jet fighters, and key military personnel at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and its subunit, the Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS). Personnel at the national FAA Command Center, also had to grapple with the bizarre and unprecedented nature of the attacks.

In a round-robin narrative, in the style of Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn's 102 Minutes, Lynn Spencer takes listeners right to the front lines as the realization hits that multiple hijackings are underway - and then that the country is under attack.

Spencer follows the story all the way through the end of the day, when the fog of war had finally lifted and the country could assess exactly what had happened. The drama unfolds from a variety of perspectives, including the computer screen of the comptroller who first noticed that American flight 11 was off course; the phone call from a stewardess onboard alerting American Airlines that hijackers had killed two flight attendants and entered the cockpit; the battle cab of the military commander who ordered fighter jets in the air; the NASA-like operations floor of the FAA Command Center; and the cockpits of a number of the 4,500 commercial airliners flying over the United States that morning.

Spencer conducted hundreds of interviews and spoke to every key player in the airline industry and military who was involved in the major air events of the day. Based on highly detailed accounts from these interviews, as well as on the voluminous records of radio transmissions, Spencer fills in many holes in the story as it was reported by the 9/11 Commission. She also brings to pulse-quickening life the confusion, the horror, and the fierce determination and quick thinking of so many key players as they improvised their responses to a shocking new type of warfare.

©2008 Luynn Spencer (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Spencer...expertly elucidates the complexities and pitfalls of American aviation as it faced a staggering challenge." ( Publishers Weekly)

Publishers Summary Was Way Off Base

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I am actually blown away by the average rating on this book, but different strokes for different strokes, surely applies on this rating, versus my own. The description of the book implies that the listener would learn much more about 9/11, and you did. It was air traftic controllers doing a good job, and thats the whole book. Repetitive verbiage drives you a bit off kilter, but I know books, and this was no book. Do not get the idea that you will enjoy this book, and the commenter was the absolute worst on this entire site, using probabilities.

Would you ever listen to anything by Lynn Spencer again?

Never

Would you be willing to try another one of Joyce Bean’s performances?

You got to be kidding, other than a woman on testosterone treatments.

Did Touching History inspire you to do anything?

It did inspire me to write a review.

Any additional comments?

I am not fond of someone taking advantage of 9/11, to line their pockets, and part of the profit should be donated to NYC Firefighters Union. You can obtain the exact same material for free from the 9/11 Commision Report.

Many Annoying Impersonations

Wanted to hear a story but had to contend with too many annoying and phony sounding Impersonations of angry or alarmed individuals who were subjects throughout the book. Maybe those in the industry can modify such deliveries in the future.

This is tedious

If you're seriously conducting research, this book might be useful. If you're employed by the air force or another air defense agency, you might find this book interesting. I don't fall into either of those categories; I just wanted to know more about 9/11. The author provides a detailed timeline of events, but it was too tedious for casual listening. There are a few memorable anecdotes, but I eventually became lost and bored.

Try "Voices of 9/11" Instead

I really should've listened to the sample before spending a whole credit on this, but I was on a sniffly, cry-into-a-tissue, 9/11 kick and bought this. I'm giving this a 3-star rating simply out of respect for the victims, the first responders, and all the families, and hell, for all of us, 'cause that was a god-awful day/time and we deserve it.
The audiobook, however, doesn't. In the first place, while narrator Joyce Bean is trying her hardest, is in no way slacking off, she's doing what should be a man's job. Most of the voices are those of men, and she just can't hit the register necessary. While she doesn't get growly, she gets... stern and dry-sounding. Very odd.
Second, this is all just a really, really, really drawn out version of what happened. I STRONGLY suggest that, if you want to know what happened in those air traffic control towers, if you want to hear NORAD declare, "This is Real World," check out "Voices of 9/11." It's here on Audible, and it's free.
And, my God, it'll knock your socks off. Not quite two hours, and I cried like a baby for days...

Great Story, Terrible Narrator!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This is a terrific story about aviation activity on the day of Sept. 11th. However, the story is ruined by the female narrator. She constantly adjusts her voice to sound like a man and fails miserably attempting to speak with an accent (Arabic, Boston, etc). Too bad they didn't think this through more and have a male do the voice. Just doesn't sound right. Tough to listen to.

Pilots can do no wrong

In the opening preface the author tells us s/he is a pilot. Which is no doubt why most of the actual narrative concerns the pilots. There are no stories at any length about any of the passengers in the air or the family members of those in the air.

The book needed editing. Terms in use such as CAP (combat air patrol) were defined over and over.

The book could have used tidbits of information about how the flaws in the response that day have been corrected, or not.

If you want to read this book, buy it used or take it out of the library.

Terrible narration

Could not listen. Narration is not good and the book is written in the present tense. This was just odd. It was very disconcerting and I returned the book