Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission

Thomas H. Kean, Lee H. Hamilton, Benjamin Rhodes

Vintage Books, 2007 - History - 374 pages

The untold story of how the 9/11 Commission overcame partisanship and bureaucracy to produce its acclaimed report.

From the beginning, the 9/11 Commission found itself facing obstacles — the Bush administration blocked its existence for months, the first co-chairs resigned right away, the budget was limited, and a polarized Washington was suspicious of its every request. Yet despite these long odds, the Commission produced a bestselling report unanimously hailed for its objectivity, along with a set of recommendations that led to the most significant reform of America’s national security agencies in decades. This is a riveting insider’s account of Washington at its worst — and its best.

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LibraryThing Review

User Review  - cutiger80 - LibraryThing

This work is a very well written and well developed account of the amount of work, effort, and heart went into investigating one of the darkest days in the history of this nation. Although this book ...

Without precedent: the inside story of the 9/11 Commission

User Review  - Not Available - Book Verdict

Former New Jersey governor Kean and former Indiana congressman Hamilton served as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the presidential commission investigating 9/11, which was reluctantly ...

About the author

Thomas H. Kean is a former governor of New Jersey (1982-1990) and from 1990 until last year the president of Drew University. He has served on numerous national committees and commissions and has worked tirelessly for over a quarter-century on behalf of a wide array of environmental and educational organizations. He lives in Bedminister, New Jersey. Lee H. Hamilton is president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. From 1965 through 1999 he was a congressman representing Indiana's Ninth District. During his tenure, he was chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs as well as the chair of the Joint Economic Committee and served on the Hart-Rudman Commission, whose 2001 report on national security first raised and examined the prospect of acts of terrorism against the U.S. prior to 9/11. He currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission
• Authors: Thomas H. Kean, Lee H. Hamilton, Benjamin Rhodes
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Vintage Books, 2007
• ISBN: 0307276635, 9780307276636
• Length: 374 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / 21st Century; Political Science / American Government / General; Political Science / American Government / National; Political Science / Intelligence & Espionage; Political Science / Terrorism