Battle for ground zero : inside the political struggle to rebuild the World Trade Center In the aftermath of 9 11 Americans came together in a way not seen for a generation pledging unity to rebuild after the horrific loss of the Twin Towers. People were signing up to go to war; rescue workers were laboring to clear rubble. But instead of becoming a rallying symbol in the fight against terrorism Ground Zero has been plagued by intense conflict and controversy from the very start. Battle for Ground Zero goes behind the scenes of this fight to rebuild revealing how grieving families commercial interests and politicking bureaucrats clashed at every step of the way confounding progress and infuriating the public. Since the fall of 2001 author Elizabeth Greenspan has been documenting the drama conducting interviews with neighborhood residents architects officials rescue workers and victims relatives as well as key New York players like über developer Larry Silverstein and Governor Pataki.