even as smoke continued to rise from the ruins of the world trade center and pentagon in september 2001, conspiracy theories emerged blaming anyone but al qaeda for the attacks. the specific claims varied. the 9/11 attacks were an inside job. carefully placed explosives in place of commercial airliners brought down the twin towers. the United States. military fired missiles that hit the pentagon. the bush administration knew of the impending attacks but did nothing. Israel orchestrated the attacks as a false flag operation. the list goes on.
None of these conspiracy theories are true. many are absurd on their face. and not a few recycle longstanding anti-Semitic tropes. but that hasn’t stopped people from accepting them. And it’s not just the delusional who reject the idea that nineteen al-Qaeda operatives orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. Well-known people like former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura and Hollywood director Spike Lee have helped lend credence to the idea that what we’ve been told is not what happened.
You are reading: 9 11 conspiracy books
many writers have tried to explain the popularity of conspiracy theories, even when they are obviously absurd. A classic of the genre is Richard Hofstadter’s 1964 Harper article, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” which was later turned into a book of the same title. More recent contributions include Rob Brotherton’s Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, Jonathan Kay Among the Truthful: A Journey Through America’s Growing Conspiracy Underground, and Joseph E. uscinski conspiracy theories and the people who believe them.
some conspiracy theories are harmless. It really doesn’t matter if people think the apollo moon landings were shot on a hollywood movie set. but the conspiracy theories circulating about the 9/11 attacks are anything but harmless. they help delegitimize democratic government. they demonize innocent groups whom they falsely blame. and divert attention from the real causes and perpetrators.
If not refuted, the conspiracy theory can broaden its scope. so if you have questions about the official 9/11 story, or know someone who does, check out one or more of these seven resources.
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final report of the 9/11 commission. Any attempt to understand what we know about the 9/11 attacks must begin with the report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks in the United States, better known as the 9/11 Commission. Established by Congress and President George W. bush, was charged with evaluating how the attacks occurred and recommending steps to prevent future attacks. Its final report, released in July 2004, paints a disturbing picture of how unprepared the United States is. the government was in favor of the attacks despite growing warnings during the summer of 2001 that something was afoot. by doing so, he shows that there is little need to believe in a conspiracy. the truth is quite alarming.
“conspiracy theories and sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks”, O’Clock: WBUR (2011). A decade ago, O’Clock, a radio show produced by Boston’s public radio station, WBUR, devoted an episode to 9/11 conspiracy theories. episode explores some of the most well-known theories, assesses why they have such appeal, and examines why they persist in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.In just forty-six engaging minutes, the show exposes the holes in major conspiracy theories, holes your defenders miss.
“Debunking 9/11 Bomb Theories”, nova: pbs (2006). a persistent 9/11 conspiracy theory insists that the planes that flew into the twin towers could not have brought them down. therefore, its destruction must have been the result of explosives strategically scattered around both buildings. So fifteen years ago, Nova, the PBS documentary series, decided to see if that claim could stand up to scrutiny. The show interviewed Shyam Sunder, the chief researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the government agency that investigated the collapse of the twin towers, clearly and painstakingly dismantles the case that 9/11 was an inside job that used explosives to trigger a controlled demolition.
Debunking the 9/11 Myths: Why the Conspiracy Theories Can’t Stand Up to the Facts, Popular Mechanics, (2006). In 2005, the editors of Popular Mechanics published an article debunking 9/11 conspiracy theories. the article was so popular that popular mechanics turned it into a book. tackles twenty of the most popular claims made by 9/11 truth-seekers. the article and book debunk these claims through interviews with witnesses, military officers, engineers, and other experts. Publishers Weekly called 9/11 Myth Debunking “one of the most original and potentially controversial titles on the subject.”
“the biggest 9/11 conspiracy theories debunked”, sky history uk. if you don’t want to spend hours sifting through the evidence against various 9/11 conspiracy theories, sky history uk has created what might be called the cliffsnotes version examines eight of the most common 9/11 conspiracy claims, including that two planes could not have brought down the world trade center, that debris was missing from the pentagon, and that united flight 93 was shot down by another plane. In a few short sentences, Sky History UK exposes the fallacies in each statement.
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“Reports of the Federal Building and Fire Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster”, National Institute of Standards and Technology. If you’re technically minded, you can read various scientific reports issued by NIST, the government agency tasked with investigating how the Twin Towers collapsed. spoiler alert: reports conclude that the impact of commercial jet aircraft could and did cause both towers to collapse.
“this computer simulation explains how the twin towers fell”, smithsonian channel (2015). If reading white papers isn’t your thing, the Smithsonian Channel created a short video explaining why two airliners could cause the Twin Towers to fall at the alarmingly fast rate that they did. The video is an excerpt from an episode titled “9/11: Secret Tower Explosions” that was part of the Smithsonian Channel series “The Missing Evidence.”
next week we will be recommending online exhibits and articles about 9/11.
here are the other entries in this series:
- more resources worth exploring on 9/11
- seven thoughts on 9/11 worth reading
- seven worthwhile documentaries watch about 9/11
- seven movies about 9/11 worth watching
- resources and online exhibits about 9/11 worth watching
- seven 9/11 podcasts worth listening to
- seven more books worth reading about 9/11 and its aftermath
leila marhamati assisted in the preparation of this publication.
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