Lavin Exclusive Speaker
In the year of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, much has been said about that fateful day, yet we don’t often explore the story of the day as it was truly lived. One of America’s most distinguished journalists and historians, GARRETT M. GRAFF draws on never-before-published transcripts, recently declassified documents, original interviews, and oral histories from nearly five hundred government officials, first responders, witnesses, survivors, friends, and family members in his New York Times bestselling book The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11. Providing an in-depth narrative woven from the voices of Americans on the front lines of an unprecedented national trauma, Graff helps us to understand the America we live in today by showing us a vivid exploration of humanity and extraordinary resilience on a day that changed the course of history, and all of our lives.
The author of numerous critically acclaimed books, Graff’s The Only Plane in the Sky is the definitive oral history of the worst terrorist attack to happen on U.S. soil. Detailing the horrifying events that led to the largest loss of life since the Battle of Antietam during the civil war, the book pulls together 500 first-hand accounts from Americans across the country as the attacks unfolded. CNN’s Anderson Cooper says, “The Only Plane in the Sky is a stunning and important work—chilling, heartbreaking—and I cannot stop thinking about it.” Graff is also the author of The Threat Matrix: Inside Robert Mueller’s FBI, known as the definitive account of Robert Mueller’s career in the FBI, as well as Dawn of the Code War: America’s Battles Against Russia, China, and the Rising Global Cyber Threat.
As an award-winning journalist, Graff is a frequent contributor to Wired, Longreads, and CNN. He’s also written for publications from Esquire to Rolling Stone to the New York Times, edited two of Washington’s most prestigious magazines, Washingtonian and POLITICO Magazine, and has had his reporting featured on shows like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. As in his writing, Graff’s talks leverage his instinct for hard facts with his imaginative consideration of the history that underpins our present—and future.