Most everyone in the world with a television set was riveted by the sights and sounds of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. In just a few minutes, two gigantic skyscrapers that had been signatures of the New York skyline had vanished, all of it captured on live television and to be seen countless times in the weeks and months ahead.

Many commented that the image of hijacked planes flying into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and their consequent destruction was like a dream or something out of a movie. But it was all too real. For those...