On September 10, 2001, the United States was the most open country in the world. But since 19 hijackers turned America's welcome mat into a weapon that could be used against it, the nation has been shutting its door.

In The Closing of the American Border, Alden goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the Bush administration’s struggle to balance security and openness in the wake of the worst attack on U.S. soil. The goal was to build new lines of defense that could keep out terrorists without stifling the flow of people and ideas from abroad that have helped to build the world's most dynamic economy. But instead, the government created an obstacle course that has made it vastly harder for people from across the world to come to the U.S., hurting America's image abroad and damaging its economic prospects at home.

EDWARD ALDEN is the former Washington bureau chief for the financial times and is currently the Bernard L. Schwartz senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has been a guest on numerous TV and radio shows, including the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, McLaughlin Group, NPR, the BBC, CNN, and MSNBC.