Knopf Buys September 11 Saga
by John F. Baker -- Publishers Weekly, 1/21/2002
A book by New Yorker writer Lawrence Wright that concentrates on the events of September 11 through a few emblematic figures on both sides was bought by his regular Knopf editor, Ann Close. She bought world rights from agent Wendy Weil for a major six-figure advance. Among the people Wright will follow through that monumental day are Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian terrorist, and John O'Neill, the controversial former antiterrorism expert at the FBI, who died in the World Trade Center collapse--and who will also be the subject of another book already signed (Hot Deals, Dec. 24, 2001 ). Weil says that Wright's book will not, however, be one of the swiftly produced ones designed to hit stores within a year of the disaster, but will entail extensive travel and research, and is scheduled for delivery in two years.
