AMERICAN publishers have stopped their presses to update history textbooks on the terrorist attacks of September 11.

Almost all of the major primary and secondary school American history texts were about to go to press when the attacks occurred. Authors were scrambled to rewrite.

Margaret Sherry, spokeswoman for textbook publishers Houghton Mifflin, said one dilemma was who to blame for the attack: “We didn’t feel comfortable naming Osama bin Laden, because at that point it was speculation.”

There was also the question of how much detail about these traumatic events was appropriate in a schoolbook, and what photographs to print. Some publishers have asked psychologists to review the material.

US history textbooks are generally reissued every two years. In September most were in production to meet a February deadline for the state of Texas, the nation’s single biggest textbook buyer. Many districts in other states wait for Texas to choose its books, then follow suit.

In the past textbooks have been held up briefly for such events as the bombings of Kosovo and last year’s disputed presidential election. But Gilbert Sewall, director of the American Textbook Council, said there is no precedent for stopping the production of so many history textbooks so abruptly.

Now Houghton Mifflin is planning to launch a compilation of news articles and editorials about the terrorist attacks in its Historical Reader Series in March. It is also beefing up its website, called ClassZone, to provide continuing updates on such questions as the history of Islam.