The 9/11 Encyclopedia [2 Volumes] (Praeger Security International)

Marc Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.

Biographical Note:

STEPHEN E. ATKINS is Associate University Librarian for Collection Management at Texas A&M University. His numerous published works include Encyclopedia of Modern American Extremists and Extremist Groups (Oryx 2002), Historical Encyclopedia of Atomic Energy (Greenwood 2000), which was awarded a Booklist Editors' Choice Award for 2000, and Terrorism: A Handbook (1992).

Volume 1

Foreword

Preface

Alphabetical List of Entries

List of Primary Documents

Guide to Related Topics

Introduction

Encyclopedia entries

Volume 2

Chronology of Events Surrounding 9/11

Primary Documents

Annotated Bibliography

Index

Horror. Sadness. Protests. Military action. Conspiracy theories. From personal loss to economic upheaval to a paradigm shift in U.S. foreign relations, few events in the past 100 years have impacted American life so greatly as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This comprehensive two-volume set details every event leading up to 9/11, going back up to a decade prior to the attacks, and including all participants from any place in the world. Also covered are events since the attack that have influenced our understanding of the ordeal. With A-Z entries, descriptive sidebars, and over 40 primary documents, The 9/11 Encyclopedia is an essential source for understanding one of the blackest marks on the pages of American history.
Volume one presents A-Z entries on the event, including:

Conspiracy theories

Economic impact of 9/11

FBI and 9/11

Flight 93

Hamburg Group

John O'Neill

Khalid Sheik Mohammad

Logan Airport

Mohammad Atta

New York Fire Department

Osama Bin Laden

Ramzi Ahmed Yousef

World Trade Center Bombing (1993)

Volume two includes over 40 primary documents relating to the event.

Selections include:

Osama Bin Laden's declaration of Jihad

Richard Clarke's memorandum to Condoleezza Rice on al-Qaeda

Oral testimony from survivors of the 9/11 attack

Interview with Mullah Umar Muhammad

The White House declaration on the humane treatment of al-Qaeda and Taliban Detainees

"No event in the twenty first century has had anywhere near the impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The 9/11 Encyclopedia is a complete and comprehensive two volume collection on the topic, covering each aspect of the tragedy and its aftermath, as thorough as can be seven years later. Remembering Flight 93, connections to the bombing in 1993, and explanations of conspiracy theories are all within volume one of the set. Volume two looks at Bin Laden's Jihad, and includes interviews with survivors of the attacks alongside people who conducted rescues. Many more issues covered in incredible depth in this expertly compiled, scholarly reference worthy of community and college library politics and reference collections."

Midwest Book Review

"Atkins edits this unique source, which provides an expansive overview of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Examining many different aspects of the attacks, the topics range from key players for the US and al-Qaeda, to government policies before and after 9/11, individual governmental agency response, and engineering considerations of the Twin Towers. The set profiles the aftermath of 9/11, including rescue and recovery efforts, American reprisals, and economic impacts, as well as offering political commentaries on the events. The first volume features alphabetical entries on topics including Osama bin Laden (more than six pages), the movie Fahrenheit 9/11, and pilot training for September 11. Entry sidebars offer additional information, usually a primary source quotation on the topic. The second volume provides over 40 primary source documents concerning the event. Documents include translations of Osama bin Laden's statements, survivor and rescue personnel testimony, and official government statements and positions. Bibliographies, indexes, and a comprehensive time line strengthen this source. As post-analysis of 9/11 increases, solid reference sources are vital. Overall, this encyclopedia is very well organized and thorough; it deserves a place in any reference collection. Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and general readers."

Choice

"... Readers will find an alphabetical list of 158 entries of people and events leading up to, taking place on, and occurring in the time after 9/11 and synthesized to elicit key information about each entry. Together with the list of 42 primary documents, chronology, annotated bibliography, index, and guide to related topics, this volume brings context and frames the wealth of expert knowledge incorporated into the body of this work....Atkins has made some sense out of one of the most tragic days in American history. Comprehensive enough for graduates and scholars, yet clear and concise enough for undergraduates, this would make a welcome addition to any library."

Library Journal, Starred Review

"This is a well-written and succinctly organized work that serves as an effective introduction to the issues and personalities leading up to 9/11 and the U.S. responses to these attacks. This set is recommended for academic and public libraries."

ARBA

"In terms of page layouts, volume navigation, design and readability, this encyclopaedia is top of its class. Author Atkins. . . has not only done an excellent job of making sense of the mass data produced as a result of 9/11, but by collecting key documents together in a single volume, relating these to the encyclopaedia entries, and then combining the two sequences in a single index, he has done something that every scholar-librarian should aspire to: making knowledge accessibl whatever its origin and format."

Reference Reviews

"Stephen J. Atkins, Associate University Librarian at Texas A&M University, and author of several other works of reference, has, in two volumes, brought together a mass of information, clearly laid out, and thoroughly annotated, on 9/11 and its most immediate aftermath. . . Atkins does a good job and has provided a very valuable work of reference."

The Middle East Journal

Review Citations:

• Library Journal 11/15/2008 pg. 94 (EAN 9780275994310, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
• Reference and Research Bk News 08/01/2008 pg. 185 (EAN 9780275994310, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:Atkins, Stephen E

STEPHEN E. ATKINS is Associate University Librarian for Collection Management at Texas A&M University. His numerous published works include Encyclopedia of Modern American Extremists and Extremist Groups (Oryx 2002), Historical Encyclopedia of Atomic Energy (Greenwood 2000), which was awarded a Booklist Editors' Choice Award for 2000, and Terrorism: A Handbook (1992).