The Devil Reached Toward the Sky - by Garrett M Graff (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

On the eightieth anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the Pulitzer Prize finalist whose work is "oral history at its finest" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) delivers an epic narrative of the atomic bomb's creation and deployment, woven from the voices of hundreds of scientists, generals, soldiers, and civilians.

The building of the atomic bomb is the most audacious undertaking in human history: a rush by a small group of scientists and engineers in complete secrecy to unlock the most fundamental power of the universe. Even today, eighty years later, the Manhattan Project evokes boldness, daring, and the grandest of dreams: bringing an end to World War II in the Pacific, a conflict that already had stretched from Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal to Leyte Gulf to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. As Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen fight those battles, men and women strive to discover the atom's secrets at laboratories and plants in places like Chicago, Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Hanford, and Los Alamos. On August 6, 1945, the world discovers what the end of the war--and the new global age--will look like. Science and politics will never be the same again.

The road to the first atomic bomb ends in Hiroshima, Japan, but it begins in Hitler's Europe, where brilliant physicists following the path that Einstein blazed are forced to flee fascism and antisemitism--bringing to America their determination to harness atomic power before it falls into the Führer's arsenal. The Devil Reached Toward the Sky traces the breakthroughs and the breakneck pace of atomic development in the years leading up to 1945, then takes us inside the B-29 bombers carrying Little Boy and Fat Man and finally to ground zero at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

From Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff, The Devil Reached Toward the Sky is the panoramic narrative of how ordinary people grapple with extraordinary wartime risks, sacrifices, and choices that will transform the course of history. Theorists and engineers dare to experiment with forces of terrifying power for the purpose of creating an atomic bomb, knowing each passing day costs soldiers' lives--but fearing too the consequences of their creation. Hundreds of thousands of workers toil around the clock to produce uranium and plutonium in an endeavor so classified that most people involved learn the reality of their effort only when it is announced on the radio by President Truman. The 509th Composite Group trains for a mission whose details are kept a mystery until shortly before takeoff, when the Enola Gay and Bockscar are loaded with bombs the crew has never seen. And the civilians of two Japanese cities that have been spared American attacks--preserved for the sake of judging the power of the bomb on an intact city--escape their pulverized homes into a greater hellscape.

Drawing from dozens of oral history archives and hundreds of books, reports, letters, diaries, and transcripts from across the US, Japan, and Europe, Graff masterfully blends the memories and perspectives from the known and unknown--key figures like J. Robert Oppenheimer, General Leslie Groves, and President Truman; the crews of the B-29 bombers; and the haunting stories of the Hibakusha--the "bomb-affected people." Both a testament to human ingenuity and resilience and a compelling drama told by the participants who lived it, The Devil Reached Toward the Sky is a singular, profound, and searing book about the inception of our most powerful weapon and its haunting legacy.

Review Quotes

"A comprehensive and engrossing account of the atomic bomb's creation--and its effects. . . . The 500 voices who make up the oral history include famous and less-known figures, such as members of the crew who created the first controlled nuclear chain reaction; farmers whose land was needed to build massive complexes to produce enriched uranium and plutonium for the bombs; 'project spouses' at all three locations raising families under difficult living conditions; politicians and military men involved in planning and executing the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and Japanese survivors of the bombings. . . . Excellent oral history." --Kirkus Reviews

"Journalist Graff delivers a magisterial oral history of the atomic bomb. . . . The result is a stunning account that brings to the fore the nuclear saga's surreal combination of ingenuity, fate, and terror." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for The Only Plane in the Sky

"A riveting step-by-step account of the day . . . The technique of letting the witnesses tell the story does a remarkable job of bringing to life the horrific day in a way that a writer's narrative would have a hard time matching. . . . It makes for a gripping read--and a reminder of the country at its best while under attack." --Associated Press

"Graff has woven a powerful, graphic narrative of how September 11 played out everywhere from the International Space Station to the inside of the collapsing World Trade Center towers. . . . I repeatedly cried. I could feel my pulse elevate. I often had to put it down after a dozen pages. But I think that's the point of the book. September 11 was terrible and confusing, and the more time passes, sometimes the harder that is to remember. No matter how much we try to describe those feelings to children who didn't live through them, something will be lost in the translation and telling. This book captures the emotions and unspooling horror of the day. It will be a good text to hand to a curious teenager when he one day asks: What was September 11 really like?" --NPR

"Over 64 fine-sliced chapters, Mr. Graff . . . gives us 'the stories of those who lived through and experienced 9/11--where they were, what they remember, and how their lives changed.' The result is remarkable, and Mr. Graff's curation of these accounts--drawn from hundreds of his own interviews and from the reporting of other journalists and historians--is a priceless civic gift. . . . The book is refreshingly free from editorializing, ideology and ululation. It gives us instead poignant, often distressing, vignettes and impressions of the day and its aftermath. On page after page, a reader will encounter words that startle, or make him angry, or heartbroken, or queasy." --The Wall Street Journal

"Remarkable . . . Incredibly evocative and compelling . . . Allows you to experience this fateful day in an intimately visceral fashion, starting with the ordinary (the sky was gorgeously blue) and progressing to confusion, fear, numbness, and grief. . . . By letting those who were present tell stories in their own words, Graff has created a remarkably effective and deeply moving history. Be careful if you read this book in public--at some point you may encounter a story or detail that will bring back memories that overwhelm you." --The Washington Post

"Intense . . . Dramatic . . . Graff's project beautifully achieves its chief goal--educating people too young or born too late to remember what the day of September 11, 2001, felt like. But it also restores a form [oral history] to its rightful place as necessity." --New York Times Book Review

"An ambitious oral history of 9/11 from the perspective of nearly everyone involved--from Laura Bush to the first firefighter on the scene to the young gate agent who checked the hijackers' plane tickets. Every single line is breathtaking and heartbreaking, weaving together the story of previously unimaginable and tragic events that changed the course of history." --Newsweek

"Compelling . . . The voices in The Only Plane in the Sky are so vivid. . . . There are snippets in Graff's oral history from those who perished--messages for loved ones left by office workers stranded on the upper floors of the towers; calls from flight attendants and passengers aboard United Flight 93 that were recorded or remembered. But most of the voices in the book belong to survivors. That may explain, at least in part, why The Only Plane in the Sky manages to feel hopeful. . . . Eventually, of course, all of us who remember 9/11 will be gone, and some of our stories will be forgotten. But, thanks to Graff's fine work, many will endure." --Jay Carney, Air Mail

"Oral history at its finest . . . Graff's skillful organization and flawless pacing allows him to present multiple perspectives, quickly shifting locations and points of view around the country, to follow every moment. The result is a smooth-flowing, moving and thoroughly human narrative with emotional impact, a sense of detail and immediacy more powerful and moving than any dramatic film or documentary." --Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Woven together, each piece assembles into a fresco/tapestry with great evocative power, one that gives readers the feeling of reliving--minute by minute--a tragic day on which nearly 3,000 people of 90 different nationalities were killed and 6,000 were injured. But The Only Plane in the Sky wouldn't be the gem is it without Garrett Graff's masterful editing and his sense of rhythm; it allows a closeness with the event as it was experienced--and still is today--by those who lived through it. For this reason, this exceptional document must also be read as a brilliant work of immediate history that reports on the upheavals of the world precisely where they happen: at the heart of the human experience." --Le Monde

"Graff excels at re-creating the anxiety and terror of that day . . . Readers who emerge dry-eyed from the text should check their pulses: Something is wrong with their hearts." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Harrowing and powerful . . . This vivid, moving work is painful to read but honors both those who died and those who survived that awful day." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"This is history at its most immediate and moving. Garrett Graff has crafted an enduring portrait of a deadly and consequential day, a day that has shaped all other subsequent days in America for nearly two decades. A marvelous and memorable book." --Jon Meacham, author of The Soul of America

"As I read The Only Plane in the Sky, I was instantly transported back to the chaos, shock, and fear that we all felt on September 11. Reliving the day in real time, through the eyes of Americans on the ground and in the air, had me turning each page with my heart in my throat. I may have known how the story would end, but reading these intensely personal accounts reminded me why this tragic day would change us forever, while the stories of courage and resilience renewed my faith in humanity. There's been a lot written about 9/11, but nothing like this. I urge you to read it." --Katie Couric

Praise for When the Sea Came Alive

"Absolutely gripping. . . . Graff, who was a Pulitzer finalist for Watergate, has collected thousands of short statements from soldiers, nurses, pilots, children, neighbors, sailors, politicians, volunteers, photographers, reporters and so many more and then woven them together to create a contemporaneous narrative of the Allied invasion on June 6, 1944. . . . Given the political situation in the United States today, when some of our leaders are so complacent, even enthusiastic, about the resurgence of fascism, the power of this story feels spiked with foreboding. . . . Never before have I approached Memorial Day in a state of such somber awe." --Ron Charles, The Washington Post

"Garrett Graff is a treasure: a historian rather like Erik Larson with a vast curiosity. He's written some of the very best books out there on UFOs, Watergate, and 9/11 (The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 is brilliant--and not for the faint of heart.) Now he has turned his attention to D-Day, the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, and again he has added so much to what we know and what happened that day (and in the months leading up to it). Using the words of the men and women who were there--some famous, most not--he has crafted a moment by moment and beach by beach narrative that is riveting. As the nephew of a member of the 101st Airborne, Easy Company, it was deeply moving to learn more specifically what my uncle experienced. But, the fact is, you don't need a personal connection to someone who was there to have 'all the feels.' This is the sort of book that is smart, inspiring, and powerful--and adds so much to our knowledge of what that day was like and its historic importance forever." --Chris Bohjalian, New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant

"Gripping and propulsive . . . A panoramic view of an astonishingly intricate plan coming to fruition, undertaken by men and women with a clear sense of its momentousness. Readers will be spellbound." --Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

"From books by historian Stephen Ambrose to films like Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, there's ample works chronicling the June 6, 1944, landing during World War II that ultimately led to the downfall of Nazi Germany. But in When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day, Graff weaves together hundreds of eyewitness accounts to create a history that stands alongside those works, expanding readers' understanding of D-Day and offering a new, complete portrait in time for the 80th anniversary commemorations. . . . The book excels in highlighting the experiences of Black soldiers who landed on D-Day beaches and women who were part of the story, such as correspondent Martha Gellhorn. . . . [A] testimony to the value in preserving memories from grand historical events, demonstrating how much can be unearthed from even the most familiar stories." ?Associated Press

"With well over 200 volumes written about this most important day in World War II, it's difficult to imagine any book breaking new ground. Yet Mr. Graff manages to bring a completely different perspective. . . . Drawing from numerous memoirs, published histories, and thousands of oral histories from all the involved countries, especially the extensive archive at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, the author captures the perspectives of generals and civilians and the numerous ordinary soldiers and sailors that fought on that momentous day. . . . This is the real distinction of this book--it presents D-Day history not as some sweeping battle narrative, but as the thousands of individuals stories that collectively decided the course of the battle that day." --New York Journal of Books

"The oral-history template lends the tale a striking immediacy, and he excavates stories from a wide swath of people from both sides of the war whose testimonies recall immense bravery and utter devastation while reminding readers of the capriciousness of victory, not to mention survival. As one U.S. Navy veteran put it: 'Call it luck, divine providence, call it what you please, but here I am.'" --The Washington Post, "Seven Historical Books to Read This Summer"

"From the wonderfully evocative title to the last mournful memory, this is one of the greatest war stories ever told. Through the words of the people who made D-Day happen or bore the brunt, Garrett Graff has crafted a masterpiece of oral history. When the Sea Came Alive is stirring, surprising, grim, joyous, moving and always riveting." --Evan Thomas

"[Graff] weaves the sprawling story of the Normandy invasion, capturing the raw, human essence of this pivotal day from the perspectives of those who lived it. . . . Graff excels at sifting through an extensive trove of materials to bring the Normandy landings to life. . . . The book stands as a testament to the power of preserving historical memories, demonstrating how much can be gleaned from even the most familiar stories." --Gulf News

"Graff's collection of 700 participants' stories provides a compelling window into the kind of military maneuvers few living Americans can remember. . . . Reading about survivors' experiences in their own words proves a solemn practice." --Los Angeles Times

"If you are an intelligent person, or at the very least think you are, you have to read Garrett Graff's The Devil Reached Toward the Sky. Even if you don't read this lengthy masterpiece, you should keep it in your library to demonstrate that you are curious and literate. If you Zoom frequently, it should be one of the books on the shelves directly behind you so that viewers can register how smart you are. If you need to know something about the story itself--it's everything, and more, about the atom, the atom bomb, the Manhattan Project, and the terrifying destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This period in history has never been more relevant and frightening than it is today." --James Patterson

About the Author

Garrett M. Graff has spent two decades covering politics, technology, and national security. The former editor of POLITICO Magazine and longtime WIRED and CNN contributor, he writes the popular Doomsday Scenario newsletter and hosts the Edward R. Murrow Award-winning podcast Long Shadow. He is the author of ten books, including the #1 national bestseller The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11, the FBI history The Threat Matrix, Raven Rock (about the government's Cold War Doomsday plans), and the New York Times bestsellers When the Sea Came Alive (an oral history of D-Day) and Watergate: A New History, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History.