Phenomena

"Gripping....It blew my mind."--Tom Ashbrook, WBUR's "On Point" "With Annie Jacobsen's OPERATION PAPERCLIP for the first time the enormity of the effort has been laid bare. The result is a book that is at once chilling and riveting, and one that raises substantial and difficult questions about national honor and security...This book is a remarkable achievement of investigative reporting and historical writing."--Boston Globe "Richly researched.... Jacobsen shows that, in the face of inexplicable events, even 'the most pragmatic, commonsense thinkers found themselves uncertain.'"--The New Yorker "Journalist Jacobsen continues her disturbing excavations of the inner workings of the American defense and intelligence establishment in this fascinating expose of governmental research into 'anomalous mental phenomena'....Jacobsen artfully deals card after dutifully researched card in her enthralling reportage on one of America's most curious defense endeavors."--Publishers Weekly "Jacobsen journeys into the realm where the paranormal and the bureaucratic meet.... she looks into the men-who-stare-at-goats investigations of the government, programs born of the Cold War and the need to combat the Red Menace on all fronts, including the extrasensory.... entertaining reading... The occultly inclined will by duly enchanted."--Kirkus "In her latest eye-opening work of investigative journalism, Jacobsen digs deeply into the rich vein of information gleaned from declassified U.S. government documents that catapulted her previous books, Area 51 (2011) and The Pentagon's Brain (2015), to best-seller status.... Jacobsen offers a smorgasbord of captivating and often-surprising facts unearthed from more than four decades of secret investigations... A fascinating peek at a little-seen side of national security."--Carl Hays, Booklist "Important, superbly written.... Jacobsen's book allows us to explore these questions with the ultimate tool: hard evidence. She confronts us with the full extent of Paperclip's deal with the devil, and it's difficult to look away."--Matt Damsker, USA Today (4 stars) "Filled with the intrigue and high stakes of a spy novel, Jacobsen's history of DARPA is as much a fascinating testament to human ingenuity as it is a paean to endless industrial warfare and the bureaucracy of the military-industrial complex."--Kirkus Reviews "Compelling....This is an excellent read that gives evidence on both sides of the argument that extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis exist, complementing suchworks as W. Adam Mandelbaum's The Psychic Battlefield and Ann Finkbeiner's The Jasons. Highly recommended for those interested in the military and the paranormal." --Library Journal (starred review) "Chilling, compelling, and comprehensive accounting.... Jacobsen's impressive book plumbs the dark depths of this postwar recruiting and shows the historical truths behind the space race and postwar US dominance. Highly recommended for readers in World War II history, espionage, government cover-ups, or the Cold War."--Library Journal (starred) "As comprehensive as it is critical, this latest expose from Jacobsen is perhaps her most important work to date.... Jacobsen persuasively shows that it in fact happened and aptly frames the dilemma.... Rife with hypocrisy, lies, and deceit, Jacobsen's story explores a conveniently overlooked bit of history."--Publishers Weekly (starred) "Annie Jacobsen is back with a new tome that should entice anyone who doesn't mind thinking outside the box; or as referenced in her book, as if there is no box....Not only is it a well-researched and fascinating tale, but there are some lessons for anyone wanting to truly break the mold in business."--Simon Constable, Forbes "Annie Jacobsen has written an entertaining narrative of the many salaried people in our government who have su

Annie Jacobsen is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Area 51 and Operation Paperclip and was a contributing editor at the Los Angeles Times Magazine. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.