NEW YORK – The authorized edition of “The 9/11 Commission Report” went on sale Thursday and became a runaway hit.

By 11:20 a.m., The 567-page paperback shot to no. 1 at Barnes & Noble’s Web shop, BN.com, as sales in the chain’s stores also surged. It held at No. 2 at cybergiant Amazon.com.

Sales were brisk across the city, where painful memories have yet to fade nearly three years after the attacks.

“A dear friend of mine was lost that day, and I feel compelled to learn as much as I can about it, as a way of honoring him,” said Emily Wong, 29, of Manhasset, Long Island. “I expect to cry, but it’s what I need to do.”

New York publisher W. W. Norton & Co. printed 600,000 copies to meet anticipated demand, shipping 500,000 of them for immediate sale Thursday.

“I’m interested because I was involved,” said Brian Cummings, a 32-year-old banker and reserve police officer from the upper West Side. “As I understand, this is a review of what al-Qaida did, what the United States did and what they weren’t able to do and what they should do,” he said as he bought his copy at Barnes & Noble on 48th St. “Intelligence reform is a really big issue.”

“It’s imperative to read it and gain an in-depth understanding of what happened that day,” said Jim Richardson, a 55-year-old commuter who watched the towers fall from his midtown office and bought the report yesterday in Penn Station. “I have real questions about our preparedness, both then and now.”



(New York Daily News correspondents Denise Teixeira and Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.)


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