One Nation

In this expanded tenth-anniversary edition of the No. 1 New York Times bestselling book, LIFE returns to the story that it chronicled with such immediacy following the devastating, heartbreaking, and inspiring events in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. These pages bear witness to the horrific losses of 9/11 but also celebrate the inspirational bravery of those who persevered, risking their lives in unpredictable and terrifying circumstances. This became the document of the day, the book Americans needed at the time-and can gain some measure of understanding from once more. ONE NATION was and is, as the Wall Street Journal said ten years ago, "a thoughtful and thorough telling."

This expanded edition includes a new foreword by Tom Brokaw, reflections on how the nation has changed in the decade since 9/11, updates on the people involved that day, and new and exclusive portraits by award-winning photographer Joe McNally, who made indelible pictures at Ground Zero in the immediate aftermath of the tragic event.

For decades, Americans have turned to LIFE to see, understand, and remember the most important events of history. In addition to a powerful array of photographs taken by many of the world's greatest photographers, ONE NATION includes original essays by some of our finest writers. Contributors include David McCullough, Maya Angelou, James Bradley, Melissa Fay Greene, Margaret Carlson, Bob Greene and many others. To re-read these pieces today is to revisit an astonishing moment. There is an immediacy and passion to the writing that speaks, just as the photographs do, to what 9/11 was-and meant to us all.