UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government's Search for Alien Life Hereand Out There

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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky and Raven Rock, the first comprehensive and eye-opening exploration of our governments decades-long quest to solve one of humanitys greatest mysteries: Are we alone in the universe

From the post-war Project Blue Book to the Pentagons modern-day Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, bestselling author and historian Garrett M. Graff presents the first serious narrative history of humanitys hunt for alien lifeincluding the military and CIAs secret, decades-long quest to study UFOs.

A thrilling story of science, the Cold War, Nazi research, atomic anxieties, secret spy planes, and the space race, UFO traces the real-life history of the U.S. governments hunt for unidentified aerial phenomena here on Earth, from Roswell to Rendlesham Forest, as well as the story of the small group of forward-thinking scientistsastronomers like J. Allen Hynek, Frank Drake, Carl Sagan, and Jill Tarterwho launched the search for extraterrestrial intelligence far from Earth. Drawing on original archival research, declassified documents, and interviews with senior intelligence and military officials, Graff's book traces the long history of our quest to understand one of the most profound and popular questions of all time: whether or not aliens exist.

Reviews

PRAISE FORWATERGATE: A NEW HISTORY

Do we need still another Watergate book The answer turns out to be yes this one: Garrett M. Graffs Watergate: A New History. It is a remarkably rich narrative with compelling characters, who range from criminal and flawed to tragic and heroic. As someone who played a small role in the drama while I was editing many of The Washington Posts Watergate stories, I found that Graff convincingly populates and re-creates an extraordinary time in the history of the country and this city. ...fast-paced ... filled with apt sketches of its many characters, major and minor, from all the presidents men, and some of their spouses, to journalists, investigators, lawyers and members of Congress. It vividly re-creates all the key events, from Nixons overreaction to the revelation of the Pentagon Papers about the Vietnam War in June 1971 to his resignation in August 1974.... engaging, informative and thought-provoking, more than earning its place on bookshelves alongside the old histories.Len Downie, Jr., The Washington Post

Dazzling. . . A lively writer, Graff explores the dramatic scope of the Watergate saga through its participants politicians, investigators, journalists, whistle-blowers and, at center stage, Nixon himself.Douglas Brinkley,The New York Times Book Review

Award-winning author Graff aims to give readers the full scope of Watergate a much bigger, more bizarre story than even remembered telling the full story from start to finish in this ambitious book. New York Post

A definitive, exhaustive account of the scandal. . .a fascinating, horrifying examination of the Nixon presidency up closeenough to scare the record straight.AirMail

A meticulously researched, expansive history of the Watergate scandal from start to finish, from the release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 to the reverberations that echo through present day. Barbara VanDenburgh, USA TODAY

A brisk, riveting, compulsively readable, comprehensive, up-to-date narrative of the entire tangled affair, and it's hard to imagine it better told. . . . Now the best and fullest account of the Watergate crisis, one unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon.Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Monumental. . . effortlessly clarifies the strands of one of the most complex episodes in modern history. . . A masterful, epic look at a story that is still barely believable.The Daily Mail

This meticulously researched and documented book should now become the definitive source for those who wish to dive into the cesspool of deceit, intrigue and criminal behavior that were associated with the seemingly innocuous break-in and the cover-up. ... [Graff] makes a valiant attempt to connect all the disparate threads from the confusing tapestry of multiple investigations, muffled tapes and self-serving memoirs available. His organization of the book makes the 700-plus pages flow seamlessly as the investigators reach their inevitable conclusions. In summary, this book should be required reading for any citizen with the faintest interest in how the sausage-factory of Washington politics functions and how our country has managed to arrive at todays dysfunctional impasse. J. Kemper Campbell,Lincoln Journal-Star

Lively, wide-ranging, detailed. Erica J. Smith, The Virginian Pilot

Garrett Graff aptly calls Watergate a 'Gordian knot of scandal.' This comprehensive, searching, yet elegant book untangles it more completely than any attempt so far. I learned a lot!Rick Perlstein, bestselling author of Nixonland and Reaganland

Watergate is one of the great tragic double-edged swords of modern American history: its crimes were swiftly exposed, the criminals punished, the rule of law restoredand it profoundly, permanently undermined American citizens' trust in their government. Garrett Graff's fresh chronicle of that inflectionpoint is lucid, enlightening and indispensable.Kurt Andersen, author ofEvil Geniusesand writer-host of Nixon at War

Expertly researched and assembled, this is a valuable introduction to one of historys greatest political scandals. . . . Graff skillfully interweaves the perspectives of journalists and law enforcement officials investigating the Watergate break-in with the Nixon teams attempts to use the organs of government to cover up their own rogue operation, and incisively analyzes how the congressional inquiry into the scandal resulted in Democrats and Republicans coming together to uphold the Constitution and limit the powers of the president.Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

Garrett M. Graff,a distinguished journalist and bestselling historian, has spent more than a dozen years covering politics, technology, and national security. Today, he serves as the director of cyber initiatives for The Aspen Institute and is a contributor toWired, CNN, andPolitico. Hes written for publications fromEsquiretoRolling StonetoTheNew York Times, and edited two of Washingtons most prestigious magazines, Washingtonian andPolitico. Graff is the author of multiple books, includingThe Threat Matrix, the national bestsellerRaven Rock,and theNew York TimesbestsellerThe Only Plane in the Sky.