It’s been 25 years since the 9/11 attacks claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, sending the country into a state of shock that it has never fully recovered from.
While it can be painful to relive the worst terrorist attack in the history of the world, readers can turn to books to discover what it was like to be on the frontlines of the attacks, how survivors have managed to move forward, and how life has changed in the aftermath.
Here are 20 books — both nonfiction and fiction — that people of all ages can read to explore what really happened on that day, and how it has permanently affected people across the world.
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“Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden” by Peter L. Bergen (2001, Free Press)
Counterterrorism expert Bergen’s book details how bin Laden and his al-Qaida organization managed to spread across the world, and reveals how they were able to conduct the bomb attacks on the USS Cole in Yemen and American embassies in eastern Africa. The book, originally published just two months after 9/11, was later updated.
“Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States” (2004, W. W. Norton)
More than a year after 9/11, the White House and Congress announced the formation of a commission charged with investigating the attacks. Their findings were collected into this report, which would win praise from literary critics for the quality of the writing; it was a finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction.
“Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror” by Mahmood Mamdani (2004, Pantheon)
Ugandan anthropologist Mamdani — better known today as the father of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — explored what he believed led to 9/11 in this book, which argued that violent Islamist extremism stemmed from a backlash against Western power and American proxy wars.
“Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001” by Steve Coll (2004, Penguin Press)
Al-Qaida might never have existed if it weren’t for the CIA’s involvement in Afghanistan, following the 1979 Soviet invasion of the country. Journalist Coll tells the story of the agency’s history in Afghanistan, including its attempts to neutralize bin Laden; his book won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.
“In the Shadow of No Towers” by Art Spiegelman (2004, Pantheon)
Spiegelman was already legendary among comics fans for his Pulitzer Prize-winning two-volume graphic memoir “Maus” when he published this book three years after 9/11. It tells the story of the attacks — which he and his family witnessed up close — and of the government’s response, which he harshly criticized.
“102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers” by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn (2005, Times Books)
New York Times reporters Dwyer and Flynn were the first to write a book focusing on the people who were inside the World Trade Center when the towers were attacked, drawing on oral histories, transcripts, and interviews with rescuers. The book was a finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction.
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” by Jonathan Safran Foer (2005, Houghton Mifflin)
One of the first novels by a well-known author to deal with 9/11 was Foer’s book about Oskar, a 9-year-old boy who lost his father in the attacks. Oskar finds a key among his father’s belongings, and traverses the boroughs of New York to try to find what it might unlock.
“The Writing on the Wall” by Lynne Sharon Schwartz (2005, Counterpoint)
Schwartz won critical acclaim for this novel, which follows Renata, a 34-year-old linguist for the New York Public Library, still dealing with the death of her twin sister when she was 16. After the World Trade Center is destroyed, Renata encounters a teenage girl near the rubble whom she believes might be her long-lost niece.
“The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11” by Lawrence Wright (2006, Knopf)
Journalist Wright conducted five years of research for this book, which tells the story of the lead-up to 9/11, focusing on al-Qaeda leaders bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri as well as Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal and John O’Neill, the former FBI agent who was killed in the World Trade Center attacks. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.
“The Emperor’s Children” by Claire Messud (2006, Knopf)
Messud’s novel follows three friends living in New York City: Marina, an author; Danielle, a television producer; and Julius, a freelance journalist. Their already-complicated lives are thrown into further disarray after the attacks on the World Trade Center towers.
“Falling Man” by Don DeLillo (2007, Scribner)
Legendary author DeLillo’s novel tells the story of Keith Neudecker, a New Yorker who survives the attacks on the World Trade Center, and who returns to his young son and estranged wife, who know he will be forever changed by his experiences. The novel shares its title with Richard Drew’s photograph of a man falling from the World Trade Center’s North Tower on 9/11.
“The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America” by Susan Faludi (2007, Metropolitan)
In her book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and “Backlash” author draws from politics and popular culture to examine Americans’ psychological response to 9/11. She argues that the attacks created a false narrative that led Americans to regress to outdated gender roles.
“American Widow” by Alissa Torres, illustrated by Sungyoon Choi (2008, Villard)
Eddie Torres was on his second day in his new job at a financial services firm with offices in the World Trade Center when the planes hit, killing him. Alissa Torres’ memoir deals with her struggle with her loss, endless bureaucracy, and her experiences as a widowed mother of a newborn son.
“14 Cows for America” by Carmen Agra Deedy with Kimeli Wilson Naiyomah, illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez (2009, Peachtree)
Not long after 9/11, Naiyomah returned to his village in Kenya from New York, where he was studying medicine. When he told a group of Maasai people about the attacks, they decided they wanted to help the people of the U.S, and in June of 2002, they presented an American diplomat with 14 cows. This children’s book tells the story of the unusual and touching gift.
“The Submission” by Amy Waldman (2011, Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Waldman’s novel tells the story of a Manhattan jury tasked with selecting the design for a 9/11 memorial; the entry they settle on turns out to be by an American Muslim man, Mohammad Khan. The choice proves controversial, but he is defended by Claire Burwell, the only 9/11 widow on the jury.
“Unmeasured Strength: A Story of Survival and Transformation” by Lauren Manning (2011, Henry Holt)
Businesswoman Manning was on the way to her office in the World Trade Center’s North Tower when she was engulfed in flames from the plane that hit the tower; she survived, but with burns covering more than 80% of her body. Her memoir tells the story of her painful recovery
“Towers Falling” by Jewell Parker Rhodes (2016, Little, Brown)
Rhodes’ children’s novel follows Dèja, a fifth-grade student who learns about 9/11 in class alongside her friends Ben and Sabeen; the kids were born after the attacks and naturally have countless questions. The lessons she learns help her better understand her family and her community.
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“Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story” by Nora Raleigh Baskin (2016, Atheneum)
Baskin’s book for young readers tells the story of four children in different parts of the country in the days before and after 9/11. There’s Sergio, the son of an absentee father; Will, who is dealing with the death of his own father; Naheed, a Muslim girl whose classmates are suspicious of her headscarf; and Aimee, whose mother is traveling from Los Angeles to New York. Their lives intersect after the attacks.
“The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11” by Garrett M. Graff (2019, Avid Reader)
Journalist Graff’s book draws on interviews, transcripts, and oral histories to tell the stories of people connected with 9/11, including ticket agents, flight attendants, airline pilots, and other everyday Americans whose lives were upended by the attacks.
“Big Apple Diaries” by Alyssa Bermudez (2021, Roaring Brook)
Bermudez’s debut graphic memoir, written for children, follows the author in 2000, when she was 10 and drawing comics about her life spent between her mother’s Queens apartment and her father’s Manhattan residence. After 9/11, she realizes she must find a new sense of purpose.