Garrett M. Graff – författare

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “Do we need still another Watergate book? The answer turns out to be yes—this one.” —The Washington Post * “Dazzling.” —The New York Times Book Review From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky, comes the first definitive narrative history of Watergate—“the best and fullest account of the crisis, one unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)—exploring the full scope of the scandal through the politicians, investigators, journalists, and informants who made it the most influential political event of the modern era.In the early hours of June 17, 1972, a security guard named Frank Wills enters six words into the log book of the Watergate office complex that will change the course of history: 1:47 AM Found tape on doors; call police. The subsequent arrests of five men seeking to bug and burgle the Democratic National Committee offices—three of them Cuban exiles, two of them former intelligence operatives—quickly unravels a web of scandal that ultimately ends a presidency and forever alters views of moral authority and leadership. Watergate, as the event is called, becomes a shorthand for corruption, deceit, and unanswered questions. Now, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Garrett M. Graff explores the full scope of this unprecedented moment from start to finish, in the first comprehensive, single-volume account in decades. The story begins in 1971, with the publication of thousands of military and government documents known as the Pentagon Papers, which reveal dishonesty about the decades-long American presence in Vietnam and spark public outrage. Furious that the leak might expose his administration’s own duplicity during a crucial reelection season, President Richard M. Nixon gathers his closest advisors and gives them implicit instructions: Win by any means necessary. Within a few months, an unsteady line of political dominoes are positioned, from the creation of a series of covert operations code-named GEMSTONE to campaign-trail dirty tricks, possible hostage situations, and questionable fundraising efforts—much of it caught on the White House’s own taping system. One by one they fall, until the thwarted June burglary attracts the attention of intrepid journalists, congressional investigators, and embattled intelligence officers, one of whom will spend decades concealing his identity behind the alias “Deep Throat.” As each faction slowly begins to uncover the truth, a conspiracy deeper and more corrupt than anyone thought possible emerges, and the nation is thrown into a state of crisis as its government—and its leader—unravels. Using newly public documents, transcripts, and revelations, Graff recounts every twist with remarkable detail and page-turning drama, bringing readers into the backrooms of Washington, chaotic daily newsrooms, crowded Senate hearings, and even the Oval Office itself during one of the darkest chapters in American history. Grippingly told and meticulously researched, Watergate is the defining account of the moment that has haunted our nation’s past—and still holds the power to shape its present and future.

THE THREAT MATRIX is the story of a small group of FBI agents who believed that they could confront a new generation of international terrorists like al Qaeda without sacrificing America's moral high ground. At the heart of this classic good versus evil battle are decades of tensions between the FBI and the CIA, which repeatedly fell short as America's eyes overseas. Given unprecedented access, thousands of pages of once secret documents, and hundreds of interviews, Garrett M. Graff takes us inside the FBI and its attempt to protect America. From the corridors of the Hoover Building to the cells of Gitmo and the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Graff tells the true story of how a generation of FBI agents taught themselves to confront threats no one had ever seen before.Brilliantly reported and suspensefully told, THE THREAT MATRIX peers into the darkest corners of this secret war and will change your view of the FBI forever.

A leading national security expert, who publicly predicted Vladimir Putin's intention to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine months before it took place, lays out the case for why China's Xi Jinping is preparing to conquer Taiwan in the coming years and the dire stakes for America and the whole world if he is not deterred.In World on the Brink, security expert Dmitri Alperovitch makes the case that we are already in the midst of Cold War II, with China, and that Taiwan is the perilous strategic flashpoint of this new conflict that risks triggering a devastating war between major nuclear powers in a similar role that West Berlin nearly played during Cold War I.Laying out the comprehensive strategy to deter war and maintain U.S. place as the world's leading superpower in the face of rising China, Alperovitch breaks down not only the significant weaknesses that can prevent China from surpassing the United States, but also the key policies that will enable America to maintain primacy even as China ramps up its efforts. As Alperovitch explains, we must play to our strengths and address our weaknesses, using our leverage as the strongest nation on the planet to tactfully navigate the next Cold War. This sharp, timely book is the essential blueprint for doing just that.

Over the past decade, there have been a series of internet-linked attacks on American interests, including North Korea's retaliatory hack of Sony Pictures, China's large-scale industrial espionage, Russia's 2016 propaganda campaign, and quite a lot more. The cyber war is upon us.Former Assistant Attorney General John Carlin has been on the frontlines of America's ongoing cyber war with its enemies. In this dramatic book, he tells the story of his years-long secret battle to keep America safe, and warns us of the perils that await us as we embrace the latest digital novelties -- smart appliances, artificial intelligence, self-driving cars -- with little regard for how our enemies might compromise them. The potential targets for our enemies are multiplying: our electrical grid, our companies, our information sources, our satellites. As each sector of the economy goes digital, a new vulnerability is exposed.The Internet of Broken Things is not merely a cautionary tale, though. It makes the urgent case that we need to start innovating more responsibly. As a fleet of web-connected cars and pacemakers rolls off the assembly lines, the potential for danger is overwhelming. We must see and correct these flaws before our enemies exploit them.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA LANDMARK NEW ACCOUNT OF THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF WW2, IN THE WORDS OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED IT**** 'Comprehensive... from a large and wide range of witnesses on both sides' -The Telegraph'A sprawling history of D-Day from the point of view of participants on both sides.' -Kirkus'A masterpiece of oral history. Stirring, surprising, grim, joyous, moving and always riveting.' -Evan Thomas'A new, complete portrait in time for the 80th anniversary [...] Graff uses a wide array and diversity of voices that give a fuller picture of the lead-up to the invasion, as well as the fighting itself.' -Associated PressOn 6th June 1944, the Allied invasion began. For hours, wave after wave of soldiers, sailors, and airmen crossed the channel and stormed the Normandy coast, fighting to gain a foothold in Nazi-occupied Northwest Europe. It was the largest combined air and seaborne invasion ever, involving over 150,000 Allied troops on the ground, and its eventual success became a critical turning point in the war, spelling the beginning of the end for the Third Reich.As the events of that day fade from living memory, it's more important than ever to understand what it felt like to be there and to live through it, on both sides. In this definitive work, Garrett M. Graff, the bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky: The Oral History of 9/11, compiles over 600 US, Canadian, UK, French and German voices to tell the full story of exactly how that historic day unfolded, in visceral detail - as well as the weeks and months leading up to it. From paratroopers to fighter pilots to nurses, generals, French villagers, German Defenders to Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, this is the most intimate re-telling of D-Day published to date. Praise for THE ONLY PLANE IN THE SKY: "The most moving and chilling oral history you will read." The Times"Incredibly evocative and compelling." The Washington Post"A hugely powerful new book." Dan Snow"Astonishing book about an astonishing, terrifying atrocity, relived in real time by those who were there. I read it in one sitting & was utterly gripped from start to finish." Piers Morgan

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA LANDMARK NEW ACCOUNT OF THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF WW2, IN THE WORDS OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED IT**** 'Comprehensive... from a large and wide range of witnesses on both sides' -The Telegraph'A sprawling history of D-Day from the point of view of participants on both sides.' -Kirkus'A masterpiece of oral history. Stirring, surprising, grim, joyous, moving and always riveting.' -Evan Thomas'A new, complete portrait in time for the 80th anniversary [...] Graff uses a wide array and diversity of voices that give a fuller picture of the lead-up to the invasion, as well as the fighting itself.' -Associated PressOn 6th June 1944, the Allied invasion began. For hours, wave after wave of soldiers, sailors, and airmen crossed the channel and stormed the Normandy coast, fighting to gain a foothold in Nazi-occupied Northwest Europe. It was the largest combined air and seaborne invasion ever, involving over 150,000 Allied troops on the ground, and its eventual success became a critical turning point in the war, spelling the beginning of the end for the Third Reich.As the events of that day fade from living memory, it's more important than ever to understand what it felt like to be there and to live through it, on both sides. In this definitive work, Garrett M. Graff, the bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky: The Oral History of 9/11, compiles over 600 US, Canadian, UK, French and German voices to tell the full story of exactly how that historic day unfolded, in visceral detail - as well as the weeks and months leading up to it. From paratroopers to fighter pilots to nurses, generals, French villagers, German Defenders to Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, this is the most intimate re-telling of D-Day published to date.** This book was originally published as D-Day The Oral History, and the contents are the same. **

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERTHE 'MASTERPIECE' COMPLETE ORAL HISTORY OF THE ATOMIC BOMB - BY A PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST'Magisterial...A stunning account that brings to the fore the nuclear saga's surreal combination of ingenuity, fate, and terror.' -Publishers Weekly (starred review)'If you are an intelligent person, or at the very least think you are, you have to read The Devil Reached Toward the Sky...This period in history has never been more relevant and frightening than it is today.' -James Patterson 'Comprehensive and engrossing...Excellent oral history.' -Kirkus ReviewsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of When the Sea Came Alive and The Only Plane in the Sky, a sweeping and comprehensive oral history of the atomic bomb's creation and deployment, marking the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.April 12, 1945. Less than three months into his vice presidency, Harry Truman is catapulted into the Oval Office following the sudden death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. As he recites the oath, he learns a chilling secret known only to a select few: the United States is on the verge of deploying a weapon of unimaginable power. This weapon could end the war but also herald a new age of global fear and uncertainty.Drawing from over twenty-five oral history archives across the US, Japan, and Europe, Graff has masterfully blended the memories and perspectives from key figures like Harry Truman and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the crews of the B-29 bombers, Enola Gay and Bock's Car, the rescuers who bravely faced the destruction, and the haunting stories of those at ground zero in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including the experiences of the hibakusha - the 'bomb-affected people'.Enriched by memoirs, diaries, letters, official documents, and news reports, this is an immersive and deeply human account of the Manhattan Project through the end of World War II and the dawning of the Cold War, offering a vivid, multi-dimensional view of events that reshaped the world forever.*New York Times #7 on the Hardcover Non-Fiction Chart, week of August 25th, 2025.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERTHE 'MASTERPIECE' COMPLETE ORAL HISTORY OF THE ATOMIC BOMB - BY A PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST'Magisterial...A stunning account that brings to the fore the nuclear saga's surreal combination of ingenuity, fate, and terror.' -Publishers Weekly (starred review)'If you are an intelligent person, or at the very least think you are, you have to read The Devil Reached Toward the Sky...This period in history has never been more relevant and frightening than it is today.' -James Patterson 'Comprehensive and engrossing...Excellent oral history.' -Kirkus ReviewsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of When the Sea Came Alive and The Only Plane in the Sky, a sweeping and comprehensive oral history of the atomic bomb's creation and deployment, marking the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.April 12, 1945. Less than three months into his vice presidency, Harry Truman is catapulted into the Oval Office following the sudden death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. As he recites the oath, he learns a chilling secret known only to a select few: the United States is on the verge of deploying a weapon of unimaginable power. This weapon could end the war but also herald a new age of global fear and uncertainty.Drawing from over twenty-five oral history archives across the US, Japan, and Europe, Graff has masterfully blended the memories and perspectives from key figures like Harry Truman and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the crews of the B-29 bombers, Enola Gay and Bock's Car, the rescuers who bravely faced the destruction, and the haunting stories of those at ground zero in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including the experiences of the hibakusha - the 'bomb-affected people'.Enriched by memoirs, diaries, letters, official documents, and news reports, this is an immersive and deeply human account of the Manhattan Project through the end of World War II and the dawning of the Cold War, offering a vivid, multi-dimensional view of events that reshaped the world forever.*New York Times #7 on the Hardcover Non-Fiction Chart, week of August 25th, 2025.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST - THE 'MASTERPIECE' DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF THE ATOMIC BOMB'A comprehensive account... focuses not just on the voices of scientists [but] explores overlooked pieces of the Manhattan Project's history.' -Daily Mail'This period in history has never been more relevant and frightening than it is today... A masterpiece.'-James Patterson "Comprehensive and engrossing...Excellent oral history."-Kirkus Reviews***From the international bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky, a sweeping oral history of the atomic bomb's creation and deploymentApril 12, 1945. Less than three months into his vice presidency, Harry Truman is catapulted into the Oval Office following the sudden death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. As he recites the oath, he learns a chilling secret known only to a select few: the United States is on the verge of deploying a weapon of unimaginable power. This weapon could end the war but also herald a new age of global fear and uncertainty.Drawing from over twenty-five oral history archives across the US, Japan, and Europe, Graff has masterfully blended the memories and perspectives from key figures like Harry Truman and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the crews of the B-29 bombers, Enola Gay and Bock's Car, the rescuers who bravely faced the destruction, and the haunting stories of those at ground zero in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including the experiences of the hibakusha - the 'bomb-affected people'.Enriched by memoirs, diaries, letters, official documents, and news reports, this is an immersive and deeply human account of the Manhattan Project through the end of World War II and the dawning of the Cold War, offering a vivid, multi-dimensional view of events that reshaped the world forever.

"Incredibly evocative and compelling." - The Washington Post "The most moving and chilling oral history you will read." - The Times"Astonishing. I read it in one sitting & was utterly gripped from start to finish." - Piers Morgan** Updated 25th Anniversary edition with additional content **The Only Plane in the Sky is the first comprehensive oral history of 9/11, deftly woven and told in the voices of ordinary people grappling with extraordinary events.It begins predawn, where we meet airport staff who unknowingly usher terrorists onto their flights. From a secret bunker beneath the White House, Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice watch for incoming planes on radar. At the Pentagon, officials feel a violent tremor as they come under attack. We hear the stories of the father and son working on separate floors in the North Tower; the firefighter who rushes there to search for his wife; the phone operator who keeps her promise to share a passenger's last words with his family; the chaplain who stays on the scene to perform last rites, losing his own life when the Twin Towers collapse. In New York, first responders confront a scene of unimaginable chaos. At the Pentagon generals break down and weep when they are barred from rushing into the burning building to try and rescue their colleagues.Drawing on never-before-published transcripts, declassified documents and interviews from nearly five hundred people, award-winning historian Garrett Graff skilfully tells the story of the day that changed all of our lives - as it was lived.The Only Plane in the Sky is a unique, profound, and searing exploration of humanity on a day that changed the course of history, and all of our lives, 25 years ago.

"Incredibly evocative and compelling." - The Washington Post"The most moving and chilling oral history you will read." - The Times"Astonishing book about an astonishing, terrifying atrocity, relived in real time by those who were there. I read it in one sitting & was utterly gripped from start to finish." - Piers Morgan"The most vivid portrait of 9/11 I've ever read."- Mike Morell, former deputy director of the CIA** Updated 20th Anniversary edition with additional content **The Only Plane in the Sky is the first comprehensive oral history of 9/11, deftly woven and told in the voices of ordinary people grappling with extraordinary events.It begins predawn, where we meet airport staff who unknowingly usher terrorists onto their flights. From a secret bunker beneath the White House, Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice watch for incoming planes on radar. At the Pentagon, officials feel a violent tremor as they come under attack. We hear the stories of the father and son working on separate floors in the North Tower; the firefighter who rushes there to search for his wife; the phone operator who keeps her promise to share a passenger's last words with his family; the chaplain who stays on the scene to perform last rites, losing his own life when the Twin Towers collapse.In New York, first responders confront a scene of unimaginable chaos. At the Pentagon generals break down and weep when they are barred from rushing into the burning building to try and rescue their colleagues.Drawing on never-before-published transcripts, declassified documents and interviews from nearly five hundred people, award-winning historian Garrett Graff skilfully tells the story of the day that changed all of our lives - as it was lived.The Only Plane in the Sky is a unique, profound, and searing exploration of humanity on a day that changed the course of history, and all of our lives, 20 years ago.

From Garrett M. Graff, New York Times bestselling author of Raven Rock, The Only Plane in the Sky, and Pulitzer Prize finalist for history Watergate, comes the first comprehensive and eye-opening exploration of our government’s decades-long quest to solve one of humanity’s greatest mysteries: Are we alone in the universe?For as long as we have looked to the skies, the question of whether life on Earth is the only life to exist has been at the core of the human experience, driving scientific debate and discovery, shaping spiritual belief, and prompting existential thought across borders and generations. And yet, the idea of extraterrestrial intelligence has been largely seen as a joke, banished to the realm of fantasy and conspiracy. Now, for the first time, the full story of our national obsession with UFOs—and the covert, decades-long search by scientists, the United States military, and the CIA for proof of alien life—is told by bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff in a deeply reported and researched history. It begins in 1947, when two headline-making sightings of strange flying objects—the first near Mount Rainier, Washington, involving a pilot named Kenneth Arnold, and the second a ranch on the outskirts of a New Mexico town called Roswell—prompt the US Air Force’s newly formed Department of Defense to create a series of secret programs to determine how unidentified phenomena may pose a threat to national security. Over the next half-century, as the atomic age gives way to the space race and the Cold War, the search continues, bringing together an unexpected group of astronomers, military officials, civilian contactees, and true believers who bring us closer, then further, then closer again, to answering one of our most enduring questions: What exactly is out there? Drawing from original archival research, declassified documents, and interviews with senior intelligence and military officials, Graff brings every moment of this extraordinary quest to life, transporting readers from secret military meetings and congressional hearings, where the validity of the search is debated, to the cluttered offices of UFOlogists and hoaxers determined to see the truth revealed, remote observatories where astronomers monitor the stars, and even the halls of the White House, where staffers and presidents alike eagerly await answers. Filled with twists and turns, and populated by an unforgettable cast of characters, UFO is a thrilling story of science, national security, the secrets of space, and the enduring mysteries of the universe.

“One of the rare books on the topic that manages to be both entertaining and factually grounded.” —The Wall Street Journal From the bestselling author of Raven Rock, The Only Plane in the Sky, and Watergate (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history) comes the first comprehensive and eye-opening exploration of our government’s decades-long quest to solve one of humanity’s greatest mysteries: Are we alone in the universe?For as long as we have looked to the skies, the question of whether life on earth is the only life to exist has been at the core of the human experience, driving scientific debate and discovery, shaping spiritual belief, and prompting existential thought across borders and generations. It’s one of our culture’s favorite conversations, and yet, the idea of extraterrestrial intelligence has been largely banished to the realm of fantasy and conspiracy. Now, for the first time, the full story of our national obsession with UFOs—and the covert search by scientists, the United States military, and the CIA for proof of alien life—is told by bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff in a deeply reported and researched history. It begins in 1947, when two headline-making sightings of strange flying objects prompt the US Air Force’s newly formed Department of Defense to create a series of secret programs to determine how unidentified phenomena may pose a threat to national security. Over the next half-century, as the atomic age gives way to the space race and the Cold War, the mission continues, bringing together an unexpected group of astronomers, military officials, civilian contactees, and true believers who bring us closer, then further, then closer again, to answering one of our most enduring questions: What exactly is out there? Drawing from original archival research, declassified documents, and interviews with senior intelligence and military officials, Graff brings readers a story that’s “Loads of fun…[a] fascinating deep dive down the rabbit hole” (Publishers Weekly).