There has been a lot written lately about books that appropriately represent 9/11 and the decade that followed. I have found some of these lists short-sighted and a little tone-deaf. It is definitely time for a counter list! The depiction of the day of 9/11 itself is of lesser concern to me and it is more important to find books that are tools to understand the world better whether geopolitically, culturally or emotionally in light of such an event. The travesties of something like 9/11 is that it immediately shifts the way history is discussed and in this particular case, it has allowed for the western world to obscure a lot of its past by hiding behind the tragedy. My list fills that gap by offering a context to understand why 9/11 happened and in what way it reflects relations between the west and the rest.
Unthinking Eurocentrism by Ella Shohat and Robert Stam
This is the most comprehensive and extremely analytical guide to understanding the sway of Europe upon our world today and of course, the United States which is a bastion of neo-European ideology. Through the use of film, popular culture and other media, Shohat and Stam unearth the truly astounding modes of Eurocentrism literally from "Plato-to-NATO." This book is pivotal for moving beyond mainstream rhetoric and to have clarity about why the so-called Third World is pissed off at the monolithic West. More importantly, this book addresses the failed phenomenon known as Multiculturalism. This is key since the witch hunt for terrorists continues in our own multi-culti American backyard. buy here
Epic Encounters by Melanie Mcallister
This is yet another heavyweight taking on the most controversial, contentious and impossible topic of them all - United States and its very unique relationship with the Middle East. Its disguises itself as a book about US popular culture and the way it shapes the discussion about the Middle East. But in truth, it is a tome about American foreign policy and the how that has boomeranged back into creating what we call an American culture. From the Bible to Black Power to Vietnam War to Israel to the politics of Oil, Mcallister connects all the dots fearlessly and with immense rigor. buy here
Patriot Acts, Narratives of 9/11 Injustice by Alia Malek
The most recent contribution to the discourse of 9/11, Malek's book charts the discrimination faced by men and woman of Middle Eastern, South Asian, Arab or Muslim heritage. It is an unprecedented collection of oral histories told by a diverse set of people about the damage inflicted upon their daily lives with the coming of new security apparatuses, increased surveillance, legitimized racism and legally sanctioned rendition and abuse. Its a moving homage to the innocent victims of the War on Terror. buy here
Baghdad Blues by Sinaan Antoon
Poetry often offers the only way to authentically represent and simultaneously deconstruct places, spaces, history, events and emotions. From the very core of Baghdad comes this soulful, strong, stern and utterly tragic rendering of a completely shattered place - Iraq. A brilliant translator of Arabic poetry, an accomplished novelist and a poet of great intensity, Antoon's work is also important because it is well-timed and comes like a bullet to rip through lopsided narratives about the Arab world. buy here
Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Ahmed
A deceptively simple but lyrical book, this is a first person account of a young Princeton graduate from Pakistan whose love affair with America leaves him heartbroken and alienated. With the events of 9/11, his environment is transformed as he experiences overt racism and anti-Islamic sentiment everywhere. Though not necessarily substantial or deep, it resonates, in particular, with bourgeois westernized immigrants who are suddenly forced to be on the wrong side of privilege, prejudice and acceptance. buy here
Falling Man by Don DeLillo
A stoic, controlled account of the actual events of the day, it is the only work so far that recreates with accuracy the smell, sound and taste of a catastrophic moment. It is a truly humane American narrative and does not resort to cheap patriotism. DeLillo remains undefeated as the most exacting creator of a choral protagonist, which is the only way to depict an event of such monumental meaning. buy here
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