Beyond the Great Divide
(eBook)

Following the attacks of September 11th, New York Governor George Pataki witnessed a truly the United States of America rise like the mythological phoenix. People came together regardless of their generational, ethnic, situational, or cultural background, and he stated, "On that terrible day, a nation became a neighborhood. All Americans became New Yorkers." The economic and emotional fallout post-9/11 was devastating. The political toll was even worse, bringing us to where we are today, a society separated by political tribes that demand ideological purity coupled with blind loyalty. Along with President George W. Bush and Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Pataki was one of only three people directly involved in, commanding, and making life or death decisions during 9/11. In sharing his perspective of where we were and where we are today, he hopes to shed light on what he calls the great divide. It's a divide not just between left and right or Republicans and Democrats, but between the American people and their government. Now, almost twenty years since the deadliest attack on American soil, Americans have reached another critical moment: will we unite again, or this time gets lost in the divide? The Great Divide gives an unprecedented, shocking, heart-pounding inside view into what happened before, during, and after 9/11. The Governor reflects on where our country is today and how we can rebuild a common future and perhaps return to a time when a nation became a neighborhood.