The destruction of the World Trade Center complex on 9/11 set in motion a chain of events that fundamentally transformed both the United States and the wider world. War has raged in the Middle East, and Americans have become accustomed to surveillance, enhanced security, and periodic terrorist attacks. But the symbolic locus of the post-9/11 era has always been “Ground Zero” – the sixteen acres in Manhattan’s financial district where the twin towers fell.

In Power at Ground Zero, Lynne Sagalyn presents the definitive account of one of the greatest reconstruction projects in modern history. The culmination of over a decade of research, her book is both epic in scope and granular in detail. While the emotional dimension of 9/11 shaped the rebuilding effort, supercharging its sanctity and complexity with truly unique politics, Sagalyn shows the process was also a classic New York story.

Lynne B. Sagalyn, author of Times Square Roulette: Remaking the City Icon, is the Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore Professor of Real Estate and Director of the MBA Real Estate Program at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

All book talks are free and open to the public. The gallery opens at 6:00pm.

All guests must RSVP to programs@skyscraper.org to assure admittance.