The September 11 report is out today.  I picked it up at a local bookstore for only $10.00.  I recommend everyone who is concerned about public policy to pick this up and read it.  So far, I am not through a quarter of the book, but it is an easy read for a government report.  The first chapter details the events of September 11 and is a gripping read.  If you read nothing else in the report, read Chapter 1.  It describes the coordination of the hijackers and the complete disorganization of the US government in minute-by-minute detail.  It has conversations between passengers and their families, one of which is cut off while the passenger's father watches the plane crash on television. 

The second chapter details the history of the rise of al Qaeda and the evolution of terrorism, while the third chapter describes the evolution of counterterrorism in the US, including the failures and shortcomings of everyone involved as well as some successes.  No one is left unmentioned in this chapter, from Presidents as far back as Reagan to the FAA, the State Department, the CIA and FBI, Congress and by implication, the American Public.

If you read only one political book this year, read the 9/11 report.