July 1, 2007

Herewith, the 100th entry on this book blog.

I'm gratified that so many readers have reacted to Watching the World Change and have continued to remain engaged with the book's themes by using this Web site to share their observations, photographs, and recollections.

In looking back over ten months of entries, perhaps the most startling contribution came from photo-shop owner Art NeJame, of Delray Beach, Florida, who revealed that he had been the man operating the camera when the ringleader of the 9/11 hijack-plot, Mohammed Atta, came into his store and asked to be photographed for his I.D. picture, which would later be printed in newspapers and magazines around the world. [CLICK HERE to read Art's chilling account, "I Photographed Mohammed Atta."]

PHOTO OF ATTA BY ART NEJAME

And no other image on the Web site (published for the first time in America in Watching the World Change and then viewed on this blog by countless visitors) caused as much controversy as this one, which prompted an entire New York Times Op-Ed piece by Frank Rich, and an ensuing debate [covered HERE and HERE and HERE] among online columnists, Hoepker, and the subjects in the photograph:

PHOTO (c) THOMAS HOEPKER/MAGNUM PHOTOS