The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation by Philip Shenon

Well, it's about time that a major reviewer didn't much like the book. The Washington Post assigned its review to one of its reporters, Michael Dobbs, against whom I've sometimes competed over the years. Michael labels me a "revisionist'' and argues that the 9/11 commission's final report "stands up pretty well'' despite the criticisms cited in my book. Michael defends Philip Zelikow against some of the harsher criticism of his leadership. Let the debate continue! Here's the full review: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/28/AR2008022803102.html?sub=AR. I was pleased to see Michael describe The Commission as "a detailed narrative of the most important government investigative body since the Warren Commission'' and say that the book is "full of vivid anecdotes.'' I was also pleased to hear Friday night from former Senator Slade Gorton, one of the Republican commissioners and a valuable source for the book. He, too, is critical of my portrayal of Dr. Zelikow and the allegations of conflict of interest. "I believe that the report would not have been as good, and might well not have been unanimous, had it not been for Philip,'' Senator Gorton wrote me in an email. At the same time, the senator says that he "read the book from cover to cover with genuine interest" and that it makes "a real contribution to our history" and that he "learned a great deal that I did not know about our proceedings.'' Beyond that, Senator Gorton gives me the ultimate compliment: His says his quotes are correct. The book, he says "quotes me accurately (something to which I was only occasionally privileged during my political career).'' But he caught me on misspellings of his name at a few points in the text. It is Slade, not Slate. It is Gorton, not Gordon. Dumb, dumb mistakes, and they will be corrected in any reprinting. (I'm not aware of any other mispellings in the book, thank goodness.) I'll post the full letter from Senator Gorton as soon as I get his permission. Phil Shenon