SEPTEMBER TWELFTH

In this nonfiction book, a journalist examines the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Wall Street Journal and the newspaper’s efforts to publish the following day.

When the World Trade Center was destroyed on 9/11, the offices of the Journal, located just across the street, were torn asunder as well, absorbing a “near-fatal blow.” The fog of chaos was formidable—while many staffers hadn’t arrived for work yet, others needed to be evacuated. Paul Steiger, the paper’s “journalistic North Star,” was incommunicado for so many hours that many presumed he was dead. Besides the fight for survival, the paper’s staff responded valiantly to the “palpable” pressure to make its routine deadlines and print an edition the next day, keeping its understandably anxious readers informed. Rotbart, a former Journal reporter and columnist, pieces together a collection of narrative vignettes that tell the story of that day’s grim struggle, filled with fear, sadness, and extraordinary courage. The affecting account includes a wide range of perspectives, from the paper’s well-known luminaries like Steiger, Bob Bartley, and Paul Gigot to the “small battalion of unheralded journalists.” Amazingly, the paper was successfully printed, a feat that required a large organization with considerable internal fissures to achieve a unity of purpose: “On September 11 and early September 12, all of those quarrels were set aside for a fleeting moment. America had come under attack, and, as never before, the extended network of Wall Street Journal employees and contractors, union and non-union alike, were of one mind.” The author paints a moving tableau of journalists torn between their familial obligations and their professional ones as well as shaken by fear. Some acted heroically—John C. Bussey, a foreign editor, defied orders to evacuate the stricken building because he was so dedicated to doing his job. This is a remarkable testament to the valor of the paper’s staff and a poignant picture of journalism at its heights.

A thrilling and inspiring tale of journalistic dedication.