In Episode 38, Garrett M. Graff goes behind the scenes of his new book, The Only Plane in the Sky (one of my top books of 2019).

This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

Highlights

• Where Garrett was on 9/11.
• What he was trying to accomplish with his book.
• The big challenge of understanding 9/11 as it moves “from memory into history.”
• The lack of communications and confusion of that day.
• How Garrett compiled all these little snippets of memory into a compelling story arc.
• How 9/11 was an inflection point in how Americans respond to a potential threat.
• What Garrett thinks is the “most interesting moment of 9/11.”
• The general demeanor of people he interviewed in person as they reflected back on 9/11.
• The one person he wanted to interview for the book that declined and why it ultimately ended up being a good thing for the book.
• The original length of the book.
• Why Garrett was able to talk about the U.S. government’s emergency plans, bunkers, etc.
• How The Only Plane in the Sky sort of came out of Garrett’s previous book, Raven Rock.
• Survivor’s guilt surrounding 9/11 and reaction from the Clinton Administration.
• Garrett’s favorite fiction writer.
• Garrett’s favorite narrative nonfiction of 2019.

Garrett’s Book Recommendations

Two OLD Books He Loves

• Robert Caro’s biographies of Lyndon Johnson (Book 1: The Path to Power) | Buy from Amazon [31:39]
• Author Graham Greene (particularly The Power and the Glory) | Buy from Amazon [33:16]

Three NEW Books He Loves

• Midnight in Cheynobylby Adam Higginbotham | Buy from Amazon [34:44]
• Furious Hours by Casey Cep | Buy from Amazon [37:08]
• Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Mayhem in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe | Buy from Amazon [38:56]

One NEW RELEASE He’s Excited About

• Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright by Paul Hendrickson (Released October 1, 2019) | Buy from Amazon [40:57]

Other Books Mentioned

• The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff (My Review) | Buy from Amazon[0:54]
• Raven Rock by Garrett M. Graff | Buy from Amazon [1:37]
• Working: Researching, Interviewing, and Writing by Robert Caro | Buy from Amazon [32:43]
• The Quiet American by Graham Greene | Buy from Amazon [33:35]
• The End of the Affair by Graham Greene | Buy from Amazon [33:35]
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote | Buy from Amazon [37:50]
• Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson | Buy from Amazon [41:38]
• Loving Frank by Nancy Horan | Buy from Amazon [42:33]

Other Links

• Garrett Graff’s full bio
• “We’re the Only Plane in the Sky” by Garrett M. Graff, Politico Magazine
• Nonfiction November
• Chernobyl (HBO series)
• 2019 National Book Awards Longlist for Nonfiction

About Garrett

Author Website | Twitter | Instagram 

Garrett M. Graff, a distinguished magazine journalist, bestselling historian, and regular TV commentator has spent more than a dozen years covering politics, technology, and national security—helping to explain where we’ve been and where we’re headed.

Today, he serves as the director of the Aspen Institute’s cybersecurity and technology program, and is a contributor to WIRED, Longreads, and CNN. He’s written for publications from Esquire to the New York Times, and served as the editor of two of Washington’s most prestigious magazines, Washingtonian and POLITICO Magazine, which he helped lead to its first National Magazine Award, the industry’s highest honor.

Graff is the author of multiple books, including The First Campaign: Globalization, the Web, and the Race for the White House, which examined the role of technology in the 2008 presidential race, and The Threat Matrix: Inside Robert Mueller’s FBI, which traces the history of the FBI’s counterterrorism efforts. His book, Raven Rock, a national bestseller, about the government’s Cold War Doomsday plans, was published in May 2017, and his most recent book, co-authored with John Carlin, examined the rise of cyber threats, Dawn of the Code War: America’s Battle Against Russia, China, and the Rising Global Cyber Threat.

Inside both journalism and politics, he has a long history as a new media pioneer. He was the founding editor of mediaBistro.com’s FishbowlDC (www.FishbowlDC.com), a popular blog that covers the media and journalism in Washington, and co-founder of EchoDitto, Inc., a multi-million-dollar Washington, D.C.-based internet strategy consulting firm. During his time at FishbowlDC, he was the first blogger admitted to cover a White House press briefing in 2005, a moment considered significant enough that his reporter’s notebook from that first briefing is on display at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. A Vermont native and graduate of Harvard, he served as deputy national press secretary on Howard Dean’s presidential campaign and, beginning in 1997, was then-Governor Dean’s first webmaster. 

He taught at Georgetown University for seven years, including courses on journalism and technology, and his writing and commentary has appeared in publications like the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, New York, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Rolling Stone, 5280, Politico, AARP Magazine, Eater, Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine, USA Today, GQ UK, NextCity, and he has appeared on CBS This Morning, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBC, the BBC, Al Jazeera English, the History Channel, National Geographic, and various NPR programs, including “This American Life,” “Fresh Air,” and “All Things Considered.” His reporting has been cited on shows ranging from Stephen Colbert to John Oliver to Rachel Maddow. 

He also is the chair of the board of the National Conference on Citizenship, a congressionally-charted civic engagement group founded by Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, and serves on the board of Vermont Public Radio and the Burlington Housing Authority.

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