Summary of Garrett M. Graff's When the Sea Came Alive

Summary of Garrett M. Graff's When the Sea Came Alive
Author: Milkyway Media
Publisher: Milkyway Media
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2024-10-23
Genre: Study Aids
ISBN:

Buy now to get the main key ideas from Garrett M. Graff's When the Sea Came Alive When the Sea Came Alive (2024) by bestselling author Garrett M. Graff uses oral histories to chronicle the pivotal events of D-Day, the Allied invasion of France in 1944. Graff covers the strategic planning, the deception tactics used to confuse Nazi Germany, and the rigorous training of Allied forces. His vivid account of D-Day portrays the chaos, heroism, and sacrifices of soldiers on the beaches of Normandy. Personal stories from soldiers, civilians, and leaders illustrate the human cost and resilience. Through detailed recollections, Graff captures the monumental effort and enduring legacy of D-Day.

Raven Rock

Raven Rock
Author: Garrett M. Graff
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2017-05-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 147673545X

Now a 6-part mini-series called Why the Rest of Us Die airing on VICE TV! The shocking truth about the government’s secret plans to survive a catastrophic attack on US soil—even if the rest of us die—is “a frightening eye-opener” (Kirkus Reviews) that spans the dawn of the nuclear age to today, and "contains everything one could possibly want to know" (The Wall Street Journal). Every day in Washington, DC, the blue-and-gold first Helicopter Squadron, codenamed “MUSSEL,” flies over the Potomac River. As obvious as the Presidential motorcade, most people assume the squadron is a travel perk for VIPs. They’re only half right: while the helicopters do provide transport, the unit exists to evacuate high-ranking officials in the event of a terrorist or nuclear attack on the capital. In the event of an attack, select officials would be whisked by helicopters to a ring of secret bunkers around Washington, even as ordinary citizens were left to fend for themselves. “In exploring the incredible lengths (and depths) that successive administrations have gone to in planning for the aftermath of a nuclear assault, Graff deftly weaves a tale of secrecy and paranoia” (The New York Times Book Review) with details "that read like they've been ripped from the pages of a pulp spy novel" (Vice). For more than sixty years, the US government has been developing secret Doomsday strategies to protect itself, and the multibillion-dollar Continuity of Government (COG) program takes numerous forms—from its potential to evacuate the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to the plans to launch nuclear missiles from a Boeing-747 jet flying high over Nebraska. Garrett M. Graff sheds light on the inner workings of the 650-acre compound, called Raven Rock, just miles from Camp David, as well as dozens of other bunkers the government built for its top leaders during the Cold War, from the White House lawn to Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado to Palm Beach, Florida, and the secret plans that would have kicked in after a Cold War nuclear attack to round up foreigners and dissidents and nationalize industries. Equal parts a presidential, military, and cultural history, Raven Rock tracks the evolution of the government plan and the threats of global war from the dawn of the nuclear era through the War on Terror.

The Threat Matrix

The Threat Matrix
Author: Garrett M. Graff
Publisher: Little, Brown
Total Pages: 698
Release: 2011-03-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 031612088X

An intimate look at Robert Mueller, the sixth Director of the FBI, who oversaw the investigation into ties between President Trump's campaign and Russian officials. Covering more than 30 years of history, from the 1980s through Obama's presidency, The Threat Matrix explores the transformation of the FBI from a domestic law enforcement agency, handling bank robberies and local crimes, into an international intelligence agency -- with more than 500 agents operating in more than 60 countries overseas -- fighting extremist terrorism, cyber crimes, and, for the first time, American suicide bombers. Based on access to never-before-seen task forces and FBI bases from Budapest, Hungary, to Quantico, Virginia, this book profiles the visionary agents who risked their lives to bring down criminals and terrorists both here in the U.S. and thousands of miles away long before the rest of the country was paying attention to terrorism. 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 Munich Olympics in 1972 to the attempted Times Square bombing in 2010. It also tells the inside story of the FBI's behind-the-scenes fights with the CIA, the Department of Justice, and five White Houses over how to combat terrorism, balance civil liberties, and preserve security. The book also offers a never-before-seen intimate look at FBI Director Robert Mueller, the most important director since Hoover himself. 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.

The Only Plane in the Sky

The Only Plane in the Sky
Author: Garrett M. Graff
Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
Total Pages: 512
Release: 2019-09-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 150118220X

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “This is history at its most immediate and moving…A marvelous and memorable book.” —Jon Meacham ​“Remarkable…A priceless civic gift…On page after page, a reader will encounter words that startle, or make him angry, or heartbroken.” —The Wall Street Journal “Had me turning each page with my heart in my throat…There’s been a lot written about 9/11, but nothing like this. I urge you to read it.” —Katie Couric The first comprehensive oral history of September 11, 2001—a panoramic narrative woven from voices on the front lines of an unprecedented national trauma. Over the past eighteen years, monumental literature has been published about 9/11, from Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower to The 9/11 Commission Report. But one perspective has been missing up to this point—a 360-degree account of the day told through firsthand. Now, in The Only Plane in the Sky, Garrett Graff tells the story of the day as it was lived—in the words of those who lived it. Drawing on never-before-published transcripts, declassified documents, original interviews, and oral histories from nearly five hundred government officials, first responders, witnesses, survivors, friends, and family members, he paints the most vivid and human portrait of the September 11 attacks yet. Beginning in the predawn hours of airports in the Northeast, we meet the ticket agents who unknowingly usher terrorists onto their flights, and the flight attendants inside the hijacked planes. In New York, first responders confront a scene of unimaginable horror at the Twin Towers. From a secret bunker under the White House, officials watch for incoming planes on radar. Aboard unarmed fighter jets in the air, pilots make a pact to fly into a hijacked airliner if necessary to bring it down. In the skies above Pennsylvania, civilians aboard United 93 make the ultimate sacrifice in their place. Then, as the day moves forward and flights are grounded nationwide, Air Force One circles the country alone, its passengers isolated and afraid. More than simply a collection of eyewitness testimonies, The Only Plane in the Sky is the historic narrative of how ordinary people grappled with extraordinary events in real time: the father and son caught on different ends of the impact zone; the firefighter searching for his wife who works at the World Trade Center; the operator of in-flight telephone calls who promises to share a passenger’s last words with his family; the beloved FDNY chaplain who bravely performs last rites for the dying, losing his own life when the Towers collapse; and the generals at the Pentagon who break down and weep when they are barred from trying to rescue their colleagues. At once a powerful tribute to the courage of everyday Americans and an essential addition to the literature of 9/11, The Only Plane in the Sky weaves together the unforgettable personal experiences of the men and women who found themselves caught at the center of an unprecedented human drama. The result is a unique, profound, and searing exploration of humanity on a day that changed the course of history, and all of our lives.

When the Sea Came Alive

When the Sea Came Alive
Author: Garrett M. Graff
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 608
Release: 2024-06-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1668027836

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Absolutely gripping.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post • “A masterpiece of oral history…stirring, surprising, grim, joyous, moving, and always riveting.” —Evan Thomas • “Gripping and propulsive...Readers will be spellbound.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky and Pulitzer Prize finalist for Watergate comes the most up-to-date and complete account of D-Day—the largest seaborne invasion in history and the moment that secured the Allied victory in World War II. June 6, 1944—known to us all as D-Day—is one of history’s greatest and most unbelievable military triumphs. Though the full campaign lasted a little over two months, the surprise sunrise landing of more than 150,000 Allied troops on the beaches of occupied northern France is one of the most consequential days of the 20th century. It was the moment that turned the tide for the Allied forces and ultimately led to the defeat of the Axis powers in World War II, freeing Europe from the clutches of fascism and tragedy. In the decades since, countless stories of bravery, brotherhood, and sacrifice have made up and sustained our collective memory. Now, Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff, historian and author of The Only Plane in the Sky and Watergate, brings them all together in a one-of-a-kind oral history that explores this seminal event in vivid, heart-pounding detail. The story begins in the opening months of the 1940s, as the Germany army tightens its grip around eastern and western Europe, seizing control of entire nations on the ground and bombarding others into submission by air. The United States, who has resolved to remain neutral, is forced to enter the conflict after an unexpected attack by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. For the second time in fifty years, the world is at war, with the stakes higher than they’ve ever been before. Then, in 1943, as morale and resources start to wane, Allied leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Casablanca to discuss a new plan for victory: a coordinated invasion of occupied France, led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Failure, it is understood, is not an option. Over the next eighteen months, under the codename OVERLORD and a deep veil of secrecy, the large-scale action is organized, mobilizing soldiers across Europe by land, sea, and sky. And when the day comes, it is unlike anything the world has ever seen. These moments and more are seen in real time, through the eyes of those who experienced them: the children and citizens whose towns are suddenly populated by troops training on the coast of England; the COSSAC planners bent over maps and meteorological reports, making sure that every scenario is planned through; the airmen and paratroopers glancing out the sides of their planes, ready to jump into occupied territory and fight; the intelligence operatives seeding disinformation with the enemy so that they don’t catch on to the Allied plan; the army correspondents and journalists taken along for the ride, unaware that they will have a front seat to history; the generals and leaders upon whom the weight of their mission rests; and the young men, with no idea of what awaits them, boarding landing craft bound for Normandy, ready to lay down their lives for a cause greater than themselves. A visceral, page-turning drama, When the Sea Came Alive is the most comprehensive account of D-Day that we have yet to see, and an unforgettable, fitting tribute to the men and women of the Greatest Generation.

No Better Place to Die

No Better Place to Die
Author: Robert Murphy
Publisher: Casemate
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2009-04-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1935149881

The you-are-there story of one of the most ferocious small-unit combats in US history . . . As part of the massive Allied invasion of Normandy, three airborne divisions were dropped behind enemy lines to sew confusion in the German rear and prevent panzer reinforcements from reaching the beaches. In the dark early hours of D-Day, this confusion was achieved well enough, as nearly every airborne unit missed its drop zone, creating a kaleidoscope of small-unit combat. Fortunately for the Allies, the 505th Regimental Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division hit on or near its drop zone. Its task was to seize the vital crossroads of Ste Mère Eglise, and to hold the bridge over the Merderet River at nearby La Fière. Benefiting from dynamic battlefield leadership, the paratroopers reached the bridge, only to be met by wave after wave of German tanks and infantry desperate to force the crossing. Reinforced by glider troops, who suffered terribly in their landings from the now-alert Germans, the 505th not only held the vital bridge for three days but launched a counterattack in the teeth of enemy fire to secure their objective once and for all, albeit at gruesome cost. In No Better Place to Die, Robert M. Murphy provides an objective narrative of countless acts of heroism, almost breathtaking in its “you are there” detail. No World War II veteran is better known in 82nd Airborne circles than Robert M. (“Bob”) Murphy. A Pathfinder and member of A Company, 505th PIR, Bob was wounded three times in action, and made all four combat jumps with his regiment, fighting in Sicily, Italy, Normandy, and Holland. He was decorated for valor for his role at La Fière, and is a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. After the war, he was instrumental in establishing the 505th RCT Association. A selection of the Military Book Club

Striking Back

Striking Back
Author: Peter Masters
Publisher: Presidio Press
Total Pages: 380
Release: 1997
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Masters, a member of 3 Troop, 10 Commando--a small British Army Commando unit comprised almost entirely of Jewish refugees--discusses how the unit formed, how members had to change their names and conceal their identities, the elaborate and grueling training sessions which prepared them for their part in the D-day invasion, and numerous battles and reconnaissance missions, offering glimpses into battlefronts in France, Italy and Holland. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Das Reich

Das Reich
Author: Max Hastings
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2013-06-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 161058824X

A world-renowned British historian recounts the actions of one of Hitler’s most elite armor units in one of World War II’s most horrific months. June 1944, the month of the D-Day landings carried out by Allied forces in Normandy, France. Germany’s 2nd SS Panzer Division, one of Adolf Hitler’s most elite armor units, had recently been pulled from the Eastern Front and relocated to France in order to regroup, recruit more troops, and restock equipment. With Allied forces suddenly on European ground, the division—Das Reich—was called up to counter the invasion. Its march northward to the shores of Normandy, 15,000 men strong, would become infamous as a tale of unparalleled brutality in World War II. Das Reich is Sir Max Hastings’s narrative of the atrocities committed by the 2nd SS Panzer Division during June of 1944: first, the execution of 99 French civilians in the village of Tulle on June 9; and second, the massacre of 642 more in the village of Oradour-sur-Glane on June 10. Throughout the book, Hastings expertly shifts perspective between French resistance fighters, the British Secret Service (who helped coordinate the French resistance from afar and on the ground), and the German soldiers themselves. With its rare, unbiased approach to the ruthlessness of World War II, Das Reich explores the fragile moral fabric of wartime mentality. Praise for Das Reich “A gripping blend of narrative and investigation.” —Evening Standard “This classic account of WWII is a microcosm of the global conflict. Hastings brings to life the horror that the 2nd SS Panzer division, Das Reich, inflicted upon the citizens living in a bucolic corner of France.” —Dennis Showalter, author of Patton and Rommel and Hitler’s Panzers

Trafalgar

Trafalgar
Author: Nicholas Best
Publisher: Phoenix Press (CA)
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2006-06-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780753820957

An account of the most famous sea fight in history.

The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc

The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc
Author: Douglas Brinkley
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2005-05-31
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0060565276

The acclaimed historian and author of "Tour of Duty" chronicles the heroism of the brave men of D-Day whose selfless courage was celebrated by President Ronald Reagan 40 years later.