Best Selling Books by Mitchell Zuckoff

It was a time when anything seemed possible–instant wealth, glittering fame, fabulous luxury–and for a run of magical weeks in the spring and summer of 1920, Charles Ponzi made it all come true. Promising to double investors’ money in three months, the dapper, charming Ponzi raised the “rob Peter to pay Paul” scam to an art form. At the peak of his success, Ponzi was raking in more than $2 million a week at his office in downtown Boston. Then his house of cards came crashing down–thanks in large part to the relentless investigative reporting of Richard Grozier’s Boston Post. A classic American tale of immigrant life and the dream of success, Ponzi’s Scheme is the amazing story of the magnetic scoundrel who launched the most successful scheme of financial alchemy in modern history.

“Better and more comprehensive than any prior account. . . . Those of us who lived through those days will find the book cathartic; those rising generations who were too young to remember 9/11, or who weren’t yet born, will find it revelatory.” — John Farmer, senior counsel to the 9/11 Commission and author of The Ground Truth “With his rigorous research and moral clarity, Mitchell Zuckoff has provided us with an invaluable service. He has deepened our understanding of what happened on 9/11 and recorded the voices of the victims and the survivors. What’s more, he has ensured that we never forget.” —David Grann, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon Years in the making, this spellbinding, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting narrative is an unforgettable portrait of 9/11. This is a 9/11 book like no other. Masterfully weaving together multiple strands of the events in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Fall and Rise is a mesmerizing, minute-by-minute account of that terrible day. In the days and months after 9/11, Mitchell Zuckoff, then a reporter for the Boston Globe, wrote about the attacks, the victims, and their families. After further years of meticulous reporting, Zuckoff has filled Fall and Rise with voices of the lost and the saved. The result is an utterly gripping book, filled with intimate stories of people most affected by the events of that sunny Tuesday in September: an out-of-work actor stuck in an elevator in the North Tower of the World Trade Center; the heroes aboard Flight 93 deciding to take action; a veteran trapped in the inferno in the Pentagon; the fire chief among the first on the scene in sleepy Shanksville; a team of firefighters racing to save an injured woman and themselves; and the men, women, and children flying across country to see loved ones or for work who suddenly faced terrorists bent on murder. Fall and Rise will open new avenues of understanding for everyone who thinks they know the story of 9/11, bringing to life—and in some cases, bringing back to life—the extraordinary ordinary people who experienced the worst day in modern American history. Destined to be a classic, Fall and Rise will move, shock, inspire, and fill hearts with love and admiration for the human spirit as it triumphs in the face of horrifying events.

The harrowing, true account from the brave men on the ground who fought back during the Battle of Benghazi. 13 Hours presents, for the first time ever, the true account of the events of September 11, 2012, when terrorists attacked the US State Department Special Mission Compound and a nearby CIA station called the Annex in Benghazi, Libya. A team of six American security operators fought to repel the attackers and protect the Americans stationed there. Those men went beyond the call of duty, performing extraordinary acts of courage and heroism, to avert tragedy on a much larger scale. This is their personal account, never before told, of what happened during the thirteen hours of that now-infamous attack. 13 Hours sets the record straight on what happened during a night that has been shrouded in mystery and controversy. Written by New York Times bestselling author Mitchell Zuckoff, this riveting book takes readers into the action-packed story of heroes who laid their lives on the line for one another, for their countrymen, and for their country. 13 Hours is a stunning, eye-opening, and intense book--but most importantly, it is the truth. The story of what happened to these men--and what they accomplished--is unforgettable.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A gripping true story of survival, bravery, and honor in the vast Arctic wilderness during World War II, from Mitchell Zuckoff, the author of New York Times bestseller Lost in Shangri-La On November 5, 1942, a US cargo plane slammed into the Greenland Ice Cap. Four days later, the B-17 assigned to the search-and-rescue mission became lost in a blinding storm and also crashed. Miraculously, all nine men on board survived, and the US military launched a daring rescue operation. But after picking up one man, the Grumman Duck amphibious plane flew into a severe storm and vanished. Frozen in Time tells the story of these crashes and the fate of the survivors, bringing vividly to life their battle to endure 148 days of the brutal Arctic winter, until an expedition headed by famed Arctic explorer Bernt Balchen brought them to safety. Mitchell Zuckoff takes the reader deep into the most hostile environment on earth, through hurricane-force winds, vicious blizzards, and subzero temperatures. Moving forward to today, he recounts the efforts of the Coast Guard and North South Polar Inc.—led by indefatigable dreamer Lou Sapienza—who worked for years to solve the mystery of the Duck’s last flight and recover the remains of its crew. A breathtaking blend of mystery and adventure Mitchell Zuckoff''s Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II is also a poignant reminder of the sacrifices of our military personnel and a tribute to the everyday heroism of the US Coast Guard.

A dramatic and carefully detailed account of one family''s journey through the maze of genetic counseling, medical technology, and disability rights; destined to become required reading for anyone touched by any of these issues.

On May 13, 1945, twenty-four American servicemen and WACs boarded a transport plane for a sightseeing trip over “Shangri-La,” a beautiful and mysterious valley deep within the jungle-covered mountains of Dutch New Guinea. Unlike the peaceful Tibetan monks of James Hilton’s bestselling novel Lost Horizon, this Shangri-La was home to spear-carrying tribesmen, warriors rumored to be cannibals. But the pleasure tour became an unforgettable battle for survival when the plane crashed. Miraculously, three passengers pulled through. Margaret Hastings, barefoot and burned, had no choice but to wear her dead best friend’s shoes. John McCollom, grieving the death of his twin brother also aboard the plane, masked his grief with stoicism. Kenneth Decker, too, was severely burned and suffered a gaping head wound. Emotionally devastated, badly injured, and vulnerable to the hidden dangers of the jungle, the trio faced certain death unless they left the crash site. Caught between man-eating headhunters and enemy Japanese, the wounded passengers endured a harrowing hike down the mountainside—a journey into the unknown that would lead them straight into a primitive tribe of superstitious natives who had never before seen a white man—or woman. Drawn from interviews, declassified U.S. Army documents, personal photos and mementos, a survivor’s diary, a rescuer’s journal, and original film footage, Lost in Shangri-La recounts this incredible true-life adventure for the first time. Mitchell Zuckoff reveals how the determined trio—dehydrated, sick, and in pain—traversed the dense jungle to find help; how a brave band of paratroopers risked their own lives to save the survivors; and how a cowboy colonel attempted a previously untested rescue mission to get them out. By trekking into the New Guinea jungle, visiting remote villages, and rediscovering the crash site, Zuckoff also captures the contemporary natives’ remembrances of the long-ago day when strange creatures fell from the sky. A riveting work of narrative nonfiction that vividly brings to life an odyssey at times terrifying, enlightening, and comic, Lost in Shangri-La is a thrill ride from beginning to end.

The incredible true story of a breathtaking rescue in the frenzied final hours of the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan—and how a brave Afghan mother and a compassionate American officer engineered a daring escape—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 13 Hours “Reads like a thriller . . . The Secret Gate is a fast-paced escape narrative, but it is also a morally complex interrogation.”—The Washington Post (Best Books of the Year) When the U.S. began its withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Afghan Army instantly collapsed, Homeira Qaderi was marked for death at the hands of the Taliban. A celebrated author, academic, and champion for women''s liberation, Homeira had achieved celebrity in her home country by winning custody of her son in a contentious divorce, a rarity in Afghanistan''s patriarchal society. As evacuation planes departed above, Homeira was caught in the turmoil at the Kabul Airport, trying and failing to secure escape for her and her eight-year-old son, Siawash, along with her parents and the rest of their family. Meanwhile, a young American diplomat named Sam Aronson was enjoying a brief vacation between assignments when chaos descended upon Afghanistan. Sam immediately volunteered to join the skeleton team of remaining officials at Kabul Airport, frantically racing to help rescue the more than 100,000 stranded Americans and their Afghan helpers. When Sam learned that the CIA had established a secret entrance into the airport two miles away from the desperate crowds crushing toward the gates, he started bringing families directly through, personally rescuing as many as fifty-two people in a single day. On the last day of the evacuation, Sam was contacted by Homeira''s literary agent, who persuaded him to help her escape. He needed to risk his life to get them through the gate in the final hours before it closed forever. He borrowed night-vision goggles and enlisted a Dari-speaking colleague and two heavily armed security contract “shooters.” He contacted Homeira with a burner phone, and they used a flashlight code signal borrowed from boyhood summer camp. For her part, Homeira broke Sam’s rules and withstood his profanities. Together they braved gunfire by Afghan Army soldiers anxious about the restive crowds outside the airport. Ultimately, to enter the airport, Homeira and Siawash would have to leave behind their family and everything they had ever known. The Secret Gate tells the thrilling, emotional tale of a young man''s courage and a mother and son’s skin-of-the-teeth escape from a homeland that is no longer their own.

Robert Altman—visionary director, hard-partying hedonist, eccentric family man, Hollywood legend—comes roaring to life in this rollicking oral biography. After an all-American boyhood in Kansas City, a stint flying bombers in World War II, and jobs ranging from dog tattoo entrepreneur to television director, Robert Altman burst onto the scene in 1970 with M*A*S*H. He reinvented American filmmaking, and went on to produce such masterpieces as McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts, and Gosford Park. In Robert Altman, Mitchell Zuckoff has woven together Altman’s final interviews; an incredible cast of voices including Meryl Streep, Warren Beatty, Paul Newman, among scores of others; and contemporary reviews and news accounts into a riveting tale of an extraordinary life.

This “irresistibly absorbing” true crime investigation uncovers the brutal murder of two Dartmouth professors by a pair of students in 2001 (Publishers Weekly). On a cold night in January 2001, the idyllic community of Dartmouth College was shattered by the discovery that Half and Susanne Zantop, two of its most beloved professors, had been hacked to death in their own home. Investigators searched helplessly for clues linking the victims to their murderers. Weeks later, in the nearby town of Chelsea, Vermont, they sought out a pair of high school seniors for questioning. Then Robert Tulloch and his best friend, Jim Parker, fled. Suddenly, two of Chelsea’s brightest and most popular sons had become fugitives, wanted for the murders of Half and Susanne Zantop. Authors Mitchell Zuckoff and Dick Lehr provide a vivid explication of a murder that captivated the nation, as well as dramatic revelations about the forces that turned two popular teenagers into killers. Judgement Ridge conveys the devastating loss of Half and Susanne Zantop, while also providing a clear portrait of the killers, their families, and their community—and, perhaps, a warning to any parent about what evil may lurk in the hearts of boys.

A New York Times bestseller, the extraordinary World War II mission to rescue survivors of a U.S. military plane crash in an isolated corner of the South Pacific, and the ancient indigenous tribe members that aided those stranded on the ground in this "Shangri-La." Award-winning former Boston Globe reporter Mitchell Zuckoffunleashes the exhilarating, untold story of an extraordinary World War IIrescue mission, where a plane crash in the South Pacific plunged a trio of U.S.military personnel into a land that time forgot. Fans of Hampton Sides’ Ghost Soldiers, Marcus Luttrell’s Lone Survivor, and David Grann’s The Lost Cityof Z will be captivated by Zuckoff’s masterfullyrecounted, all-true story of danger, daring, determination, and discovery injungle-clad New Guinea during the final days of WWII.

Den 11 september 2012 gick terrorister till attack mot det amerikanska konsulatet och ett närbeläget CIA-annex i libyska Benghazi. Ett team på sex kontraktsanställda amerikanska säkerhetsoperatörer ingrep för att slå tillbaka attackerna och skydda de amerikaner som tjänstgjorde på de båda anläggningarna. I stridens hetta tvingades dessa män fatta en rad tuffa beslut för att avvärja en ännu större tragedi. I 13 timmar berättar de för första gången om den dramatiska händelseutveckling som har väckt så många frågor runt om i världen. Det är en personlig och fängslande redogörelse från slagfältet om de 13 timmar när kulorna ven, byggnader brann och liv räddades, förlorades och förändrades för alltid. 13 timmar är en ärlig, insiktsfull och mycket intensiv förstahandsredogörelse om en natt som länge har varit höljd i mystik och kontroverser. Mitchell Zuckoff är biträdande professor i journalistik vid Boston University och har tidigare publicerat sex facklitterära verk. Säkerhetsteamet består av de fem överlevande CIA-operatörer som deltog i räddningsinsatsen vid konsulatet i Benghazi den 11 september 2012 och de efterföljande angreppen mot CIA-annexet. EPUB3: Reflowable

O best-seller que deu origem ao filme dirigido por Michael Bay 13 Horas apresenta, pela primeira vez, a história real dos acontecimentos de 11 de setembro de 2012, quando terroristas atacaram o Complexo da Missão Especial do Departamento de Estado dos EUA e o Anexo, base da CIA, em Benghazi, na Líbia. Uma equipe de seis soldados lutou bravamente para repelir os agressores e proteger os americanos que lá trabalhavam, indo além de suas obrigações e realizando atos extraordinários de coragem e heroísmo para impedir uma tragédia ainda maior. Este é seu relato pessoal do que aconteceu durante as treze horas do infame atentado. Pondo em pratos limpos o ocorrido em uma noite encoberta por mistério e controvérsia, este livro instigante leva os leitores para dentro da história desses heróis que arriscaram sua vida uns pelos outros, por seus compatriotas e por seu país. Escrito por Mitchell Zuckoff, autor best-seller do New York Times, 13 Horas é uma obra atordoante que fará o leitor arregalar os olhos – e, o mais importante, é a verdade. A história sobre o que enfrentaram aqueles homens – e a grandeza do que realizaram – é inesquecível.

Et vous, que faisiez-vous ce jour-là ? En France, il est 14h46 (8h 46m 25s heure locale), lorsque le Boeing 767 du vol 11 d’American Airlines percute la tour Nord du World Trade Center, ouvrant une gigantesque brèche et tuant sur le coup près de 300 personnes. Le premier attentat du 11 septembre 2001 venait de se produire, trois autres allaient suivre, plongeant la planète dans un état de sidération extrême. Dans une enquête au souffle haletant, Mitchell Zuckoff a reconstitué minutieusement cette journée dramatique. Vingt ans après, il fait entendre la voix des disparus, témoins et sauveteurs dans un livre bouleversant. Hommes et femmes ordinaires, ils sont devenus ces héros d’un jour qui puisèrent en eux une force irréductible dont ils n’avaient pas idée. De ce drame, qui fit basculer le monde dans le XXIe siècle, il reste désormais ces récits magnifiques qui forcent l’admiration et sont autant d’éloges de la vie plus forte que la mort.

Em 13 de maio de 1945, vinte e quatro soldados americanos embarcaram em um avião cargueiro para um passeio sobrevoando Shangri-La, um lindo e misterioso vale no coração das selvas montanhosas da Nova Guiné Holandesa. Quando o avião caiu, milagrosamente, três passageiros conseguiram escapar: Margaret Hastings, John McCollom e Kenneth Decker. Sua única chance era enfrentar uma angustiante descida pela encosta da montanha, em uma jornada que os levaria direto ao território de uma supersticiosa tribo, a qual jamais tivera contato com a civilização.

Geschichten, die man nie mehr vergisst: Es ist ein ganz normaler Dienstag im September. Die kleine Christine freut sich auf ihren ersten Flug zu ihren Großeltern. John – Pilot bei United Airlines – verlässt im Morgengrauen leise das Haus, um Frau und Kinder nicht zu wecken. Und der Architekt Ron nutzt die Fahrt mit der Fähre, um sich auf ein Meeting im World Trade Center vorzubereiten ... 9/11 ist das entscheidende Ereignis unseres Jahrhunderts. Nach 20 Jahren ist es Teil unserer Geschichte geworden. Erst jetzt kann man angemessen davon erzählen. Mitchell Zuckoff rekonstruiert jede Minute dieses Morgens aus der Perspektive derjenigen, die das Schlimmste erlebt haben. Er folgt den Passagieren und Besatzungsmitgliedern in den vier Flugzeugen; den Menschen, die in den brennenden Zwillingstürmen und im Pentagon gefangen sind; den Rettungskräften, die ungeheuer tapfer, aber oft vergeblich ihr eigenes Leben für das anderer aufs Spiel setzen; den ahnungslosen Passanten, auf die der Tod in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, buchstäblich vom Himmel niederregnet. Zuckoff erzählt Geschichten von Leid, Verlust, Mut und Selbstlosigkeit, die niemanden unberührt lassen. Ein dokumentarisches Meisterwerk – episch und zugleich zutiefst persönlich. »Seit der Lektüre dieses Buchs kommt es mir vor, als sei ich dabei gewesen: saß in der Falle eines brennenden Stockwerks, eingeklemmt zwischen Möbelstücken und herabstürzendem Gips, verzweifelte im geschlossenen, stehengebliebenen Lift oder suchte als einer der Helfer meinen Weg durch Asche und Staub. Bilder, die im Kopf bleiben.« Petra Gerster Endnoten übersetzt von Heide Franck

Vele boeken verschenen er al over 11 september, maar Ondergang en opkomst is een verhaal zoals we het nog niet lazen. Vrijwel van minuut tot minuut beschrijft journalist Mitchell Zuckoff wat er gebeurde in New York, Washington en Shanksville zoals het werd ervaren door degenen die omkwamen en degenen van wie het leven door de aanslagen voor altijd veranderde. Uit talloze interviews, weergaves van telefoongesprekken, sms-berichten, verslagen uit de verkeerstorens en andere bronnen destilleert Zuckoff een huiveringwekkend en bloedstollend beeld van de dag die een nieuw tijdperk inluidde. Ondergang en opkomst illustreert daarmee de impact van de tragische gebeurtenissen op gewone mensen die gevangenzaten in omstandigheden die ze niet konden begrijpen noch beïnvloeden.

''Een ongelooflijk avontuur.''- The New York Times Book Review ''Een aangrijpend, filmisch boek met opmerkelijke personages.'' - Entertainment Weekly Waargebeurd! Nederlands Nieuw Guinea, 1945 Wat een pleziervlucht van een groep Amerikaanse militairen boven een pas ontdekte paradijselijke vallei had moeten worden, loopt uit op een drama wanneer het vliegtuig neerstort in de nog onontdekte en onherbergzame jungle. De drie overlevenden, onder wie één vrouwelijke onderofficier, moeten zien te overleven tussen duizenden kannibalen in het ondoordringbare oerwoud in de ''Groote Vallei'', die nagenoeg onbereikbaar is. Onmiddellijk wordt alles in het werk gesteld om de overlevenden te redden en een toevallig op het eiland aanwezige groep Filippijnse parachutisten moet alles op alles zetten om de plaats van de crash te bereiken. Een ex-juwelendief met een alcoholprobleem weet zich als filmmaker bij de expeditie aan te sluiten en ook journalisten doen er alles aan om als eerste een stuk over deze gewaagde reddingsmissie te kunnen schrijven.

« Ce livre raconte les dernières heures de la vie d''un poste diplomatique américain, dans l''une des régions les plus dangereuses de la planète. Basé sur des témoignages de première main, il décrit l''assaut sanglant, les pertes tragiques et les comportements héroïques qui se sont déroulés au compound de la Mission Spéciale américaine du département d''État à Benghazi, ainsi que dans une base proche de la CIA baptisée " l''Annexe de la CIA ", au cours de la nuit du 11 au 12 septembre 2012 et le lendemain matin. Il ne s''agit pas de ce que le gouvernement américain a pu savoir, dire ou faire après l''attaque, ou des controverses animant les débats politiques et les élections, ni même des présomptions de conspirations ou de dissimulation de fautes. Il ne s''agit pas de ce qui s''est déroulé dans les tribunes du Congrès, dans les antichambres de la Maison Blanche, dans les salles de réunion du département d''État ou sur fonds verts dans les studios de télévision. Il s''agit de ce qui est arrivé sur le terrain, dans les rues et sur les toits de Benghazi, lorsque les balles sifflaient, que les bâtiments brûlaient et que les obus de mortiers pleuvaient. Lorsque des vies furent sauvées, d''autres perdues, et avant qu''elle ne soient toutes transformées à jamais. »

Mai 1945 : une vingtaine de membres de l''armée américaine s''écrasent en avion dans une zone inexplorée de Nouvelle-Guinée. Au coeur de cette vallée mystérieuse, absente des cartes (dénommée « Shangri-La » en hommage au lieu imaginaire décrit par James Hilton dans Horizon perdu), trois rescapés, dont l''audacieuse Margaret Hastings de la Women''s Army Corp, doivent affronter les pires dangers pour retrouver les leurs : la faune hostile de la jungle, les combattants japonais cachés dans les parages ; et surtout, la confrontation avec des tribus sauvages cannibales, vierges de tout contact avec la civilisation, ignorant absolument la guerre qui fait rage depuis des années et voyant d''un mauvais oeil l''arrivée des trois soldats. Pour raconter cet épisode méconnu de la guerre du Pacifique, Mitchell Zuckoff a mené une enquête minutieuse : il a interrogé les témoins ou leurs descendants, a eu accès à des archives privées, a consulté des journaux de bord de l''époque, etc. Avec un talent rare pour mettre en scène l''histoire, il fait de cet épisode véridique une odyssée terrifiante, un récit haletant émaillé de photographies des lieux et des personnages, qui nous rappellent à chaque page que cette aventure fut bien réelle.

Describes the 1945 odyssey of three plane crash survivors in New Guinea who endured a harrowing journey through the jungle to seek help, their encounter with a primitive tribe who had never seen white people, and their eventual rescue by a band of paratroopers.