The Book Bush Was Reading on 911

than 20 minutes before the first tower had collapsed

I’m often asked why I have this book - well, this book is a piece of American History. It is the book that George W. Bush was reading when 9/11 happened that morning. He was at Emma Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, following along as students read his story from Reading Mastery Level 2 Storybook 1 Rainbow Edition - specifically, the story on page 152 - The Pet Goat - it’s about a little girl who gets a goat that won’t stop budding things.

At 9:05, his Chief of Staff whispered into his ear, “A second plane has hit the second tower - America is under attack.” And what he later described as an effort to project strength and calm, Bush continued to sit and listen to the story for 10 more minutes. Critics called it inaction, indecisiveness - Michael Moore made the moment infamous in Fahrenheit 911 - and a few weeks later, Osama Bin Laden jumped on the incident in an attempt to embarrass Bush.

Since then, many students and faculty present that day have defended Bush, asking what good it would have done if he’d rushed out of the room 22 minutes before the Pentagon was struck. The classroom read the final words of The Pet Goat more than 20 minutes before the first tower had collapsed.