September 11, 2001

was a tragic, horrific day that will forever be embedded in our national consciousness. Not since Pearl Harbor has there been an attack on the United States with the destruction, loss of life, and global consequences. Everyone remembers where they were on 9/11, and in this book, we have this first-hand account of what it was like to be at President Bush's side as the awful events unfolded.

From the moment the first plane hit, the whisper in the president's ears from Andrew Card, and the infamous 7 minutes, Gwendolyn Tose'-Rigell, the Principal of Emma E. Booker Elementary in Sarasota, FL was there. She vividly recounts her memories of that terrible, fateful day.

She begins with the logistical and security preparations for the president's impending visit. She describes her personal conversations with him, the realization that we are under a terrorist attack, and concludes with her observations of the president's behavior and the state of our nation in the midst of a national tragedy.

She was at his side until the Secret Service whisked him away to the safety of Air Force One, and thus she is known as the 9/11 Principal.