dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y
written, edited and directed by Johan Grimonprez
excerpts from Mao II and White Noise by Don
DeLillo and essay by Slavoj Zizek.

Published by Hatje Katz, Germany, 2002
design Peter Bilak

Shown initially at Documenta X, Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y is a story about the history of aircraft hijacking and media. A tragic news item becomes banal screen spectacle, informing of events but at the same time causing them, stimulating them to evolve in a particular direction, to the extent that the aim of some hijacks was simply to attract the attention of the media, with telling circularity.

As opposed to video, the book is not showing any of the planes hijacked, but focusing on the story of people. The only plane is presented on the cover.