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From the New York Times bestselling author of When the Sea Came Alive and The Only Plane in the Sky, a sweeping and comprehensive oral history of the atomic bomb’s creation and deployment, marking the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.April 12, 1945. Less than three months into his vice presidency, Harry Truman is catapulted into the Oval Office following the sudden death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. As he recites the oath, he learns a chilling secret known only to a select few: the United States is on the verge of deploying a weapon of unimaginable power. This weapon could end the war but also herald a new age of global fear and uncertainty.
Drawing from over twenty-five oral history archives across the US, Japan, and Europe, Graff has masterfully blended the memories and perspectives from key figures like Harry Truman and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the crews of the B-29 bombers,
Enola Gay and
Bock’s Car, and the haunting stories of those at ground zero in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including the experiences of the
hibakusha—the “bomb-affected people”—and the rescuers who bravely faced the devastation.
Enriched by memoirs, diaries, letters, official documents, and news reports, this is an immersive and deeply human account of the then-secret Manhattan Project through the end of World War II and the dawning of the Cold War, capturing the scientific breakthroughs, military decisions, and profound ethical dilemmas that emerged from using nuclear weapons.
A testament to human ingenuity and resilience,
The Devil Reached Toward the Sky explores the complex legacy of the atomic bomb, offering a vivid, multi-dimensional view of events that reshaped the world. It is an essential read for anyone looking to grasp the full impact of this critical moment in history and the enduring questions it raises about wielding such destructive power.
About the author
Garrett M. Graff has spent two decades covering politics, technology, and national security. Today, he’s a columnist for
The Washington Post, where he writes on leadership, serves as the director of cyber initiatives at the Aspen Institute, and hosts the history podcast,
Long Shadow, which received a 2024 Edward R. Murrow Award. The former editor of
POLITICO Magazine and a longtime contributor to
WIRED and CNN, he’s written for publications like
Esquire,
Rolling Stone,
Vanity Fair, and
Foreign Affairs, and authored nine 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.
