A Heart, a Cross, and a Flag America Today

On the morning of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,Wall Street Journalcolumnist Peggy Noonan sat down to write -- and produced at least one essay every week through September 11, 2002. The candid and sometimes heart-wrenching pieces collected here are full of insights and observations on how the events influenced our perceptions of what it means to be a New Yorker, an American, a patriot. By training our gaze on everyone from firemen, the President, and Catholic and Muslim mourners to news anchors, bus drivers, and school kids, these essays depict America in all its beauty, diversity, and strength. With a sharp but compassionate eye, Noonan balances the immediacy of the tragedy with its broader meaning for our world.At once outraged and tender, street smart and down-home wise,A Heart, a Cross, and a Flagis a first draft of history and an apt tribute to everything we lost and learned.

Peggy Noonan is a contributing editor of The Wall Street Journal and a columnist for the Journal's online editorial page.