This Saturday marks 20 years since the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC. The attack altered the course of the modern world. For this week, we bring you 5 book recommendations that will help you learn more about the 9/11 attack and the War that followed for 20 years in Iran and Afghanistan.
Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age ****
by Amani Al- Khatahtbeh
The founder and CEO of the media site Muslim Girl, Amani Al- Khatahtbeh were only nine years old during the attack on the world trade center. The book is a memoir that tells her story of how it was to be brought up as a Muslim American child post 9/11. It is a must-read to understand the islamophobia that followed after the attack and the effect it had on a particular religion worldwide. If there is one strong message to take away from this memoir, it is that Terrorism has no religion.
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 ****
by Garrett M. Graff
Garrett is a former editor of Politico who tried to comprehend the oral history of 9/11 in his book, The Only Plane in the Sky. He collaborated with oral historian Jenny Pachucki and interviewed nearly 500 survivors, officials, and victim families, whose worlds were turned upside down in the 9//11 attack. The book portrays a powerful narrative of how the terrorist attack in the World Trade Center played out. The book will surely send shivers down the spine as one recalls what can be called one of the worst attacks of the modern world.
No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War Through Afghan Eyes *****
by Anand GopalÂ
Acclaimed Journalist Anand Gopal tells the lives of three Afghans and the story of how the US triumphed in sight in Afghanistan just to bring back the Taliban from the dead.
He follows the story of a Taliban commander, a US-baked warlord, and a village housewife all of who discover the devastating cost of the war. In the story, he tells how the Taliban tried to surrender but the Americans were unwilling to turn around. Instead, they drove false intelligence from their allies to yield and press conflicts.
Gopal lays reports on America’s longest war and tries to uphold his truths of its prolonged agony. The book challenges the usual perceptions of the Afghan conflict, its victims, and its supposed winners.
Descent into Chaos: The United States & the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan & Central Asia *****
by Ahmed RashidÂ
Ahmed Rashid is one of the bravest Pakistani reporters who has become a voice of reason amid the chaos of central Asia today. In the book, Rashid gives vivid and devastating accounts of the Afghanistan War post 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq. It is a chronicle of the failure of the war-torn regions and the knowledge of the political players involved. This book is a must-read to understand the ongoing conflicts.
Green on Blue by Elliot Ackerman ****
Green on Blue is another fictional tale that depicts modern-day Afghanistan. It is told through the eyes of Aziz, a young boy who joins the Special Lashkar, a US-funded militia.
Aziz and his brother were born in a remote village in Southeastern Afghanistan. When their parents were killed in a raid, the two brothers traveled to the city of Orgun to make a living. Soon the U.S forces invaded Afghanistan leaving Aziz’s brother deeply injured from a bomb blast.
It is a morally complex debuted novel that dwells into the notions of loyalty, revenge, and the brutalities of war.
