Grand Illusion

Rudy Giuliani emerged from 9/11 as the unquestioned hero of the day. However, the mayor's performance, though marked by personal courage and grace under fire, followed two terms in office pursuing an utterly wrongheaded approach to the city's security against terrorism. Grand Illusion is the first clear-eyed evaluation of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's role before, during, and after the disaster.

Grand Illusion serves as an indispensible corrective to the rough draft of history rushed out in the wake of 9/11. It reveals how Giuliani, far from being the savior of the day, was directly responsible for many of the city's inabilities to cope with the crisis. It also demonstrates how Giuliani has himself revised history, inaccurately casting himself as prescient terror hawk when in fact he ignored repeated warnings to take precautions against possible attacks.

Dan Collins, a senior producer at CBSNews.com, is a former New York correspondent for U.S. News and World Report and a reporter for the New York Daily News.

Wayne Barrett is a senior editor at the Village Voice, and the author of the best-selling City For Sale.

"Grand Illusion will forever alter how the world sees Rudy Giuliani's place in America's deadliest terror attacks." -- Newsday