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)

Riveting

This was a riveting account of the events on 9/11 as told by the air traffic controllers and the pilots caught in the middle of the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. I learned things I didn't know before. The story was very well written and performed. My only complaint is that I feel a male voice would have been more suited for this book since 99% of the individuals portrayed in this retelling of American history were men. The reader did a great job though. I highly recommend this book.

What an amazing read.

Being a Jet pilot, owner of aircraft, and enthusiast for decades, and being connected emotionally and otherwise to 9/11, I strongly recommend this book for anyone, and especially for those interested in aviation.

For those of us who want to study major historical events; and love to delve into the forces and details driving the happening, going behind-the-scenes, look no further. The author injects the reader into the drama; the chaos; and the trauma in an unusual and entirely appropriate manner.

The author most effectively utilizes her vast experience as a military and airline professional jet pilot to access key players in this incredible drama to explain and enlighten us in and interesting and informative manner. I thought I knew the roles of our aviation regulators. Thanks to this book, I know now that I did not.

YOU WILL APPRECIATE AND ENJOY THIS BOOK FOR SURE!

Incredible Story that was NEVER TOLD

The story of the chaos experienced by airlines, ATC, etc, has never been told this way. Truly informing and worth listening to.

Riveting book

One of my favorite 9/11 accounts from the perspective of ATC and pilots, this is so interesting and well done, I've listened to it about 5 times, never get tired of it.

Excellent book on 9/11

The book concentrated on what it was like for the people on the ground who had to deal with the crisis. A needed perspective to understand the most tragic terrorism attack on the U.S. this century.

Behind-the-scenes aviation stories of 9/11

There were stories here I haven’t read elsewhere, especially from military and the other pilots in the sky on that horrible day. Narrator does her best to emulate accents, although it does come off a little odd sometimes. Never forget!

Impressive Book

Just when you think you’ve read everything, watched every program known to man about the day of 9/11/01, you quickly realize that there was more happening that day than you could imagine. I always thought of the call of closing down the national airspace to be significant; turns out this more subdue than I thought, rather there were more significant calls being made by people who may have not been in a position to make the call, but their gut and instinct told them it was the right call to make and they’ll accept any and all reprimands that come from braking the chain of command.

This books leaves you wanting to know more.

Modern history on steroids

This is a modern day history adventure story. Short and sweet, it kept my attention throughout.

Overall, quite good.

My only beef with this book is the narrator. There is something that sounds so ridiculous when a woman tries to sound like a man. Seriously, it reminds me of my kindergarten teacher telling a story.

A Remarkable Story About A Horrendous Day

Totally engrossing and well performed. I had absolutely no idea what was going on 'behind the scenes' on 9/11 however I lived not too far from Shanksville, PA at the time. To me, the untrained observer, it seemed as if one moment I could hear planes, lots of planes, coming into Pittsburgh a International to land and then I could hear birds. It was very eerie and remained like that for days.
I could, in a very small way, relate to the blissful ignorance of the Pilots as we too had no idea what was going on as we did not have TV. A conscious decision on our part at that time.
This story is written almost in real time and omits the 'gore' of the day which sadly we are all aware of. In stead it gives us the history of the facts. I could not stop listening.
Really enjoyed this book.