Palmetto Publishing Releases Art Menna's Insider Memoir on NSA Decline and the Joint Congressional 9/11 Inquiry

Newly published by Palmetto Publishing, Turmoil at the Turn of the Century offers the only firsthand working-level account of the National Security Agency's institutional failures and the politically charged investigation that followed the September 11 attacks.

CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Palmetto Publishing has released Turmoil at the Turn of the Century, a new memoir by Art Menna, a former National Security Agency technical expert and staff member of the Joint Congressional 9/11 Inquiry. The book provides what Menna describes as the only firsthand, working-level account of the NSA's decline in the years before the September 11 terrorist attacks and the congressional investigation that followed.

Menna spent 17 years at the NSA during what he characterizes as a transformative and ultimately damaging period for the agency. His account traces the NSA's fall from its position as America's premier intelligence organization in the 1980s to an agency plagued by shrinking budgets, uncertain mission priorities, and leadership failures in the aftermath of the Cold War. The memoir details how the agency struggled to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology and emerging threats. Menna then takes readers inside his experience as a congressional fellow on the staff of a United States senator, offering a ground-level view of how Congress operates day to day.

The book's second act follows Menna onto the staff of the Joint Congressional 9/11 Inquiry, the politically charged investigation into what went wrong before the worst terrorist attack on American soil. He describes the turf battles, political dynamics, and personal tensions that shaped the inquiry behind closed doors, far from cameras and press conferences. Menna authored the technical section of the inquiry's work and testified at a congressional hearing.

Turmoil at the Turn of the Century is available for purchase online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. For more information about the author, please visit his website at art4prez.com or follow his latest commentary at mennaminute.substack.com

About the Author: Art Menna brings nearly four decades of experience in the U.S. Intelligence Community to his writing. He began his career at the National Security Agency, where he served for 17 years during a transformative period in American intelligence. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with a Minor in Economics from Case Western Reserve University, along with two master's degrees. In 2002, he was selected to serve on the staff of the Joint Congressional 9/11 Inquiry, investigating the intelligence failures that preceded the September 11 attacks, and he authored the technical section of the Inquiry's final report. He later supported military intelligence programs at the Pentagon.

Born and raised in a suburb of New York City, Menna now resides in Arlington, Virginia. A lifelong observer of the world, he has traveled to over 55 countries, experiences that inform his broad perspective on global security and American governance.

About the Book:

Title: Turmoil at the Turn of the Century
Author: Art Menna

Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
ISBN-13: 9798318853098, 9798318853081, 9798318853104

Available for interviews: Author, Art Menna

SOURCE Palmetto Publishing