In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers: The Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months, and Years after the 9/11 Attacks by Don Brown
Published by Etch/Clarion Books on August 10, 2021
ISBN: 0358223571
Pages: 128
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads

Whereas Brown’s “America is Under Attack” tackles the events of 9/11/2001 on that day, this installment looks at the events in the time after the attack, both nationally and internationally. Brown tells the story of the aftermath from the viewpoints of some witnesses and survivors: a documentarian that was already on the ground that day with NYFD, a newspaper cameraman, fire fighters, and rescuers. He talks about the ensuing attacks on Afghanistan and capture and torture of suspected terrorists involved with Al Qaeda, one of whom, Zubaydah, is still imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay to this day. There is brief mention of the killing of bin Laden. For a book that is written for a group of kids who wasn’t yet born when 9/11 originally happened, this leaves a lot to be desired. The timeline and area of activity seems to jump around and makes it difficult to follow. It’s also an incredibly narrow description of some very complicated topics.  It features descriptions of the exact torture used on Zubaydah. I would only recommend the reading of this to kids 15+ who have read the first book and have been warned about the content.

Reviewed by Kara Reiman, Maine State Library