Creating and Failing the 9/11 Generation

Through a chronological and thematical approach, this book examines the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and the effect on what President George W. Bush recognized as the 9/11 Generation. By providing cultural and generational context to 9/11 and its impact on the U.S., this book is the first study to ensure that the voices of this young generation are put at the forefront of analysis. Creating and Failing the 9/11 Generation answers "what happened" and "why" but, more importantly, it reveals the importance of broader themes and ideas such as foreign policy, security, patriotism, the U.S. military, and American democracy. The final chapter, "9/11 and the World," places the events in America on a global scale and demonstrates how 9/11 has remained, and will remain, significant to understanding how different places and cultures interact with each other in the modern world. Creating and Failing the 9/11 Generation is useful for all students who study U.S. foreign relations, terrorism, warfare, memory studies, and the history of modern America.

Matthew Warshauer is a professor of history at Central Connecticut State University, USA, where he has studied and written extensively on what he calls "the American paradox," the conflicting ideological beliefs and practices of the United States.

Introduction 1. A Generation is Born 2. What Happened? 3. Why? 4. America Reacts 5. "Let's Do Iraq" 6. Losing Iraq 7. Our Soldiers and Patriotism 8. 9/11 and the World 9. Epilogue