Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to the Facts

by David Dunbar, Brad Reagan, Popular Mechanics, James B. Meigs

Overview

A decade after the World Trade Center disaster, rampant speculation abounds on what actually happened. Wild talk flourishes on the Internet, TV, and radio. Was the Pentagon really struck by a missile? Was the untimely death of Barry Jennings, who witnessed the collapse of Tower 7 and thought he heard “explosions,” actually an assassination ? Not everyone is convinced the truth is out there. Once again, in this updated edition of the critically acclaimed Debunking 9/11 Myths, Popular Mechanics counters the conspiracy theorists with a dose of hard, cold facts.
 
The magazine consulted more than 300 experts in fields like air traffic control, aviation, civil engineering, fire fighting, and metallurgy, and then rigorously, meticulously, and scientifically analyzed the 25 most persistent 9/11 conspiracy theories. Each one was conclusively refuted with facts, not politics and rumors, including five new myths involving the collapse of 7 World Trade Center and four longstanding conjectures now considered in the context of new research.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781588165473
Publisher:	Hearst
Publication date:	08/02/2011
Edition description:	Updated
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

David Dunbar is executive editor of POPULAR MECHANICS and led the editorial team that produced the groundbreaking cover story debunking the conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11. He has also directed the magazine’s coverage of the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina.

Brad Reagan is a contributing editor to POPULAR MECHANICS and has reported for the magazine on digital forensics and on the counterterrorism programs of the New York Police Department and other law enforcement agencies. He was previously a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal.

Popular Mechanics is read by 9.6 million people every month. With more than 100 years of expertise in covering science and technology, the magazine is ideally equipped to confront the rumors surrounding 9/11 and explore the evidence with scientific facts.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Foreword James B. Meigs ix

Introduction xix

1 The Planes 1

The Hijackers' Flying Skills 3

Where's the Pod? 8

Flight 175's Windows 12

No Stand-Down Order 14

Military Intercepts 22

2 World Trade Center Towers 1 & 2 27

The Empire State Building Accident 29

Widespread Damage 32

Melted Steel 36

Free-Fall Times 42

Puffs of Dust 46

"Nano-Thermite" in the Towers 54

Seismic Spikes 60

3 World Trade Center Building 7 64

Fire and Debris Damage 67

Wreckage Pile 72

Silverstein's "Pull It" Quote 78

The Death of Barry Jennings 80

Minimal Wreckage to Study 85

4 The Pentagon 89

Flight 77 Debris 92

Big Plane, Small Holes 96

Intact Pentagon Windows 101

5 Flight 93 104

F-16 Pilot 106

The White Jet 110

Cell-Phone Calls 112

The Wreckage 116

Indian Lake 119

Afterword: The Conspiracy Industry 121

Appendix A Experts Consulted 138

Appendix B World Trade Center Report 142

Appendix C World Trade Center Building 7 164

Appendix D Pentagon Building Report 176

Notes 195

Index 210

What People are Saying About This

Richard Clarke

"9/11 Myths is a reliable and rational answer to the many fanciful conspiracy theories about 9-11. Despite the fact that the myths are fictitious, many have caught on with those who do not trust their government to tell the truth anymore. Fortunately, the government is not sufficiently competent to pull off such conspiracies and too leaky to keep them secret. What happened on 9-11 has been well established by the 9-11 Commission. What did not happen has now been clearly explained by Popular Mechanics."
—former White House anti-terror advisor

Editorial Reviews

Debunking 9/11 Myths is a reliable and rational answer to the many fanciful conspiracy theories about 9/11… What happened on 9/11 has been well established by the 9/11 Commission. What did not happen has now been clearly explained by Popular Mechanics.”--Richard A. Clarke, former national security advisor, author of Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror

“This book is a victory for common sense; 9/11 conspiracy theorists beware: Popular Mechanics has popped your paranoid bubble world, using pointed facts and razor-sharp analysis.” -Austin Bay, national security columnist (Creators Syndicate) and co-author of From Shield to Storm

“There is no time to waste. You must purchase Debunking 9/11 Myths.”--Rocky Mountain News

“Certainly one of the most original--and potentially controversial--titles on the topic.”--Publishers Weekly

“Do you have a friend who emails you the most recent documentary 'proving' that a missile impacted the Pentagon or that timed explosions brought down WTC-7? Buy him a copy of this book. He'll thank you later.”--Weekly Standard

From the Publisher

Conspiracy theories are the fast food of the Internet: instantly appealing; easy to prepare; created for mass consumption. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, conspiracy buffs of both the left and the right have constructed scenarios that contradict the accepted story of four teams of al Qaeda hijackers taking over commercial jets. According to some of these theories, the World Trade Center was brought down not by planes but by internal explosives; an airplane did not hit the Pentagon; a heat-seeking missile hit Flight 93. In 9/11 Myths Debunked, David Dunbar and Brad Reagan report on the in-depth findings of the practical scientists at Popular Mechanics.