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Touching History

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

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Touching History

Written by: Lynn Spencer
Narrated by: Joyce Bean
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About this listen

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
Armed Forces Freedom & Security United States War & Crisis Military Transportation Aviation Air Force US Air Force Warrior
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What the critics say

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

What listeners say about Touching History

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Very, very good

An excellent behind-the-scenes look at what happened in aviation in the USA and beyond on 9-11. I knew all flights were immediately grounded but didn’t understand how difficult that was, nor did I grasp the pure havoc air traffic controllers faced as the tried to get a handle on what was happening. There were a lot of flights that were lucky to land safely after being thought to have possibly also been hijacked, due to communication challenges. I definitely had no idea of the chaos created as military jets were scrambled. Eye opening and breathtaking. Definitely recommended.

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Wrong narrator

LHM why was a retired kindergarten teacher from the 50s brought in to narrate this

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