"The definitive book on the nineteen men who brought such devastation and terror to this country . . . a well-told, meticulously researched cautionary tale." —Washington Post Book WorldThe attacks of September 11, 2001, were a calamity on a scale few had imagined possible. In their aftermath, we exaggerated the men who perpetrated the attacks, shaping hasty and often mistaken reporting into caricatures we could comprehend—monsters and master criminals equal to the enormity of their crime. In reality, the 9/11 hijackers were unexceptional men, not much different from countless others. It is this ordinary enemy, not the caricature, that we must understand if we are to have a legitimate hope of defeating terrorism.Using research undertaken in twenty countries on four continents, Los Angeles Times correspondent Terry McDermott provides gripping, authoritative portraits of the main players in the 9/11 plot. With brilliant reporting and thoughtful analysis, McDermott brings us a clearer, more nuanced, and in some ways more frightening, understanding of the landmark event of our time."The very best [book] available . . . on the subject." —Los Angeles Times"Absorbing. . . . [A] richly textured narrative full of the sort of small, telling details that turn these men from faceless figures of evil into individuals." —New York Times"Bound to become one of the most insightful books ever published about September 11." —Houston Chronicle"Offers riveting accounts of the final weeks and days as the plotters prepared to carry out their horrific mission." —Booklist"Chilling." —KirkusReviews"This is journalism at its best." —Seymour M. Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist"Engrossing and deeply disturbing." —Publishers Weekly

An obsessive scientist and his eclectic team of researchers race to discover one of the hidden treasures of neuroscience—the physical makeup of memory—and in the process pursue a pharmaceutical wonder drug.Gary Lynch is the real thing, the epitome of the rebel scientist: malnourished, contentious, inspiring, explosive, remarkably ambitious, and consistently brilliant. He is one of the foremost figures of contemporary neuroscience, and his decades-long quest to understand the inner workings of the brain’s memory machine has begun to pay off. Award-winning journalist Terry McDermott spent nearly two years observing Lynch at work and now gives us a fascinating and dramatic account of daily life in his lab—the highs and lows, the drudgery and eureka moments, the agonizing failures. He provides detailed, lucid explanations of the cutting-edge science that enabled Lynch to reveal the inner workings of the molecular machine that manufactures memory. After establishing the building blocks, Lynch then set his sights on uncovering the complicated structure of memory as it is stored across many neurons. Adding practical significance to his groundbreaking work, Lynch discovered a class of drugs that could fix the memory machine when it breaks, drugs that would enhance brain function during the memory process and that hold out the possibility of cures for a wide range of neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Here is an essential story of science, scientists, and scientific achievement—galvanizing in the telling and thrilling in its far-reaching implications.From the Hardcover edition.

A wonderfully informative, exuberant, and entertaining book that explores the evolution and history of baseball pitching through the story of one “perfect” game.   Tracing the evolution of pitching and the pitcher’s art of deception, Terry McDermott tells the fascinating story of baseball’s 150-year hunt for the perfect pitch. Using the framework of a single game (nine chapters, nine innings, nine pitches),  he explores the history of every type of pitch, combining the folk wisdom of the players with the enormous wealth of new data brought to the sport by the growing legion of statisticians who are transforming many of the sport’s once sacred beliefs. As a lifelong baseball fan, McDermott approaches his subject with the love every fan brings to the park plus the expertise of a probing journalist, exploring with irrepressible enthusiasm and curiosity both the science and the romance of the game.From the Hardcover edition.

In this small collection of poetry by Terry McDermott and collected by Jeanne C. DeFazio, McDermott''s poems tenderly speak to the hearts of women who suffer from post-abortion grief, encouraging them to let go of fear, regret, and anger and to thank God for covering the past, present, and future. Further reflection on Nelson Mandela''s poem, "Letting Go," reminds us all of the importance of forgiveness and release.

"The definitive book on the nineteen men who brought such devastation and terror to this country . . . a well-told, meticulously researched cautionary tale." —Washington Post Book WorldThe attacks of September 11, 2001, were a calamity on a scale few had imagined possible. In their aftermath, we exaggerated the men who perpetrated the attacks, shaping hasty and often mistaken reporting into caricatures we could comprehend—monsters and master criminals equal to the enormity of their crime. In reality, the 9/11 hijackers were unexceptional men, not much different from countless others. It is this ordinary enemy, not the caricature, that we must understand if we are to have a legitimate hope of defeating terrorism.Using research undertaken in twenty countries on four continents, Los Angeles Times correspondent Terry McDermott provides gripping, authoritative portraits of the main players in the 9/11 plot. With brilliant reporting and thoughtful analysis, McDermott brings us a clearer, more nuanced, and in some ways more frightening, understanding of the landmark event of our time."The very best [book] available . . . on the subject." —Los Angeles Times"Absorbing. . . . [A] richly textured narrative full of the sort of small, telling details that turn these men from faceless figures of evil into individuals." —New York Times"Bound to become one of the most insightful books ever published about September 11." —Houston Chronicle"Offers riveting accounts of the final weeks and days as the plotters prepared to carry out their horrific mission." —Booklist"Chilling." —KirkusReviews"This is journalism at its best." —Seymour M. Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist"Engrossing and deeply disturbing." —Publishers Weekly

An obsessive scientist and his eclectic team of researchers race to discover one of the hidden treasures of neuroscience—the physical makeup of memory—and in the process pursue a pharmaceutical wonder drug.Gary Lynch is the real thing, the epitome of the rebel scientist: malnourished, contentious, inspiring, explosive, remarkably ambitious, and consistently brilliant. He is one of the foremost figures of contemporary neuroscience, and his decades-long quest to understand the inner workings of the brain’s memory machine has begun to pay off. Award-winning journalist Terry McDermott spent nearly two years observing Lynch at work and now gives us a fascinating and dramatic account of daily life in his lab—the highs and lows, the drudgery and eureka moments, the agonizing failures. He provides detailed, lucid explanations of the cutting-edge science that enabled Lynch to reveal the inner workings of the molecular machine that manufactures memory. After establishing the building blocks, Lynch then set his sights on uncovering the complicated structure of memory as it is stored across many neurons. Adding practical significance to his groundbreaking work, Lynch discovered a class of drugs that could fix the memory machine when it breaks, drugs that would enhance brain function during the memory process and that hold out the possibility of cures for a wide range of neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Here is an essential story of science, scientists, and scientific achievement—galvanizing in the telling and thrilling in its far-reaching implications.From the Hardcover edition.

A wonderfully informative, exuberant, and entertaining book that explores the evolution and history of baseball pitching through the story of one “perfect” game.   Tracing the evolution of pitching and the pitcher’s art of deception, Terry McDermott tells the fascinating story of baseball’s 150-year hunt for the perfect pitch. Using the framework of a single game (nine chapters, nine innings, nine pitches),  he explores the history of every type of pitch, combining the folk wisdom of the players with the enormous wealth of new data brought to the sport by the growing legion of statisticians who are transforming many of the sport’s once sacred beliefs. As a lifelong baseball fan, McDermott approaches his subject with the love every fan brings to the park plus the expertise of a probing journalist, exploring with irrepressible enthusiasm and curiosity both the science and the romance of the game.From the Hardcover edition.

In this small collection of poetry by Terry McDermott and collected by Jeanne C. DeFazio, McDermott''s poems tenderly speak to the hearts of women who suffer from post-abortion grief, encouraging them to let go of fear, regret, and anger and to thank God for covering the past, present, and future. Further reflection on Nelson Mandela''s poem, "Letting Go," reminds us all of the importance of forgiveness and release.