9/11: Is there any more to say?

Watching the World Change: The Stories Behind the Images of 9/11, by David Friend: Hundreds of professional and amateur photographers preserved 9/11 on film. The Associated Press alone distributed 1,700 frames in the 18 hours after the attacks.

Mr. Friend, an editor at Vanity Fair magazine and former director of photography at Life magazine, offers a fascinating day-by-day account of how both still photographers and television cameramen flew into action over seven days.

Friend explores how 9/11 reflected – and brought about – changes in the technology of photography. And he carefully mixes the stories behind the images in the book – both famous and obscure – with perceptive commentary on their power to dispense "ripples of compassion, sorrow and valor."

The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón: Some critics have mocked this comic-book-style recap of the 9/11 Commission's report, rapping its supercharged dialogue and sound effects reminiscent of "Batman" (including the words "Whoom!" and "Blamm!") in panels depicting the attacks.

But 9/11 commissioners Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean supported the book by writing its foreword, and the Houston Chronicle wrote this week that it "manages at once to be accessible and intelligent, and marks an important publishing experiment."

Other new books about 9/11 on store shelves include:

Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission, by Messrs. Kean and Hamilton: The two leaders of the 9/11 Commission reveal their struggles with government ineptitude and stubbornness.

Aftermath: Unseen 9/11 Photos by a New York City Cop, by John Botte: A retired police detective chronicles the ground zero cleanup in grainy, gritty, black-and-white photos of weary workers. (The book has stirred controversy over who owns the photos, Mr. Botte or the city, since Botte took them while working as a police officer.)

Wake-Up Call: The Political Education of a 9/11 Widow, by Kristen Breitweiser: In this often-angry memoir, the wife of a 9/11 casualty tells the story of her mission to understand why the attacks happened.

Love You, Mean It: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Friendship, by Patricia Carrington, Julia Collins, Claudia Gerbasi, and Ann Haynes: Four women whose husbands died in the World Trade Center attacks create a deep bond through "The Widows Club."

Reclaiming the Sky: 9/11 and the Untold Story of the Men and Women Who Kept America Flying, by Tom Murphy: An aviation trainer finds inspiration in the air industry employees who were on duty on Sept. 11.

Closure: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Recovery Mission, by William Keegan and Bart Davis: One of the men who oversaw the recovery effort describes the moving struggles of those who sifted through ground zero remains.

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