Module 13 The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation

Summary: This a graphic novel based on the actual 9/11 Commision Report that was released in 2005 describing the events that happened before, during, and after the September 11, 2001 tragedy.  

Jacobson, S. & Colón, E. (2006). The 9/11 Report: A graphic adaptation. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

My Impressions: I was very impressed with the concept of using a graphic novel to depict the 9/11 events.  I thought the timelines and maps added to the understanding of what exactly happened that day.  There were times I found the illustrations too busy and the writing felt a little scattered, but overall an excellent book that made me more knowledgeable about this tragic day in American history.

Professional Review:

"Jacobson and Colón intend this adaptation to bring to the commission's report readers who would not or could not digest its nearly 800 pages, and they have the blessing, acknowledged in this book's foreword, of the commission's chair and vice-chair to do so. Neither lurid nor simplistic, it presents the essence of the commission's work in a manner that, especially in the opening section, is able to surpass aspects of any text-only publication: the four stories of the doomed flights are given on the same foldout pages so that readers can truly grasp the significance of how simultaneous events can and did overwhelm our national information and defense systems. The analysis that follows in the subsequent 11 chapters cuts cleanly to the kernels of important history, politics, economics, and procedural issues that both created and exacerbated the effects of the day's events. Colón's full-color artwork provides personality for the named players-U.S. presidents and Al-Qaeda operatives alike-as well as the airline passengers, office workers, fire fighters, and bureaucrats essential to the report. This graphic novel has the power and accessibility to become a high school text; in the meantime, no library should be without it." — Francisca Goldsmith

[Review of The 9/11 Commission Report: A Graphic Adaptation by F. Goldsmith]. (2006, December 1). School Library Journal.  Retrieved from www.titlewave.com

Library Use: This book would be perfect to use when students are conducting research for 9/11.