Annie Jacobsen

Jacobsen graduated from Princeton University, where she was captain of the women’s ice hockey team.⁠[1]

Jacobsen was a contributing editor at the Los Angeles Times Magazine.⁠[2]

On May 17, 2011, Little, Brown and Company released the ebook edition of Jacobsen’s Area 51, at 592 pages. The book is about Area 51, the secret military base in the Nevada desert; the author had exclusive access to 19 men who served at the base for decades and also interviewed 55 additional military and intelligence personnel, scientists, pilots, and engineers linked to the base, covering topics such as nuclear weapons testing and the development of secret supersonic aircraft. The book became a New York Times bestseller.⁠[3][3][3][3][4]

On February 11, 2014, Little, Brown and Company published the hardcover of Operation Paperclip, at 592 pages. The book tells the story of Operation Paperclip, the US government’s secret postwar program to bring Nazi German scientists and their families to the United States. The author interviewed dozens of family members, colleagues, and interrogators of those involved, and drew on German archives and files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act to follow more than a dozen German scientists through their postwar lives. The book also became a New York Times bestseller.⁠[5][5][5][5][5][2]

On September 15, 2015, Little, Brown and Company released the ebook edition of The Pentagon’s Brain, at 560 pages. The book is a history of the US Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), tracing its development from its Cold War founding in 1958 to the present, written using inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents, and declassified memos.⁠[6][6][6]

In 2016, The Pentagon’s Brain was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. The Pulitzer citation described it as “A brilliantly researched account of a small but powerful secret government agency whose military research profoundly affects world affairs.”⁠[2][7][6]

On March 28, 2017, Little, Brown and Company released the ebook edition of Phenomena, at 544 pages. The book tells the story of the US government’s secret programs over more than forty years to research extrasensory perception (ESP) and attempt to use it for intelligence and military purposes such as locating hostages, fugitives, secret bases, and downed fighter jets, involving the CIA, the DIA, the NSA, and the military services; the author drew on declassified documents and interviewed more than fifty people involved in the programs.⁠[8][8][8][8]

On May 14, 2019, Little, Brown and Company released the ebook edition of Surprise, Kill, Vanish, at 560 pages. The book is a history of the paramilitary operations of the CIA’s Special Activities Division; the author interviewed 42 people who worked on CIA covert operations from the early Cold War to the present, and drew on declassified documents and historical research.⁠[9][9][9]

On January 12, 2021, Dutton released First Platoon as an ebook and audiobook, and the paperback was published on January 25, 2022. Starting from the experience of a platoon of mostly nineteen-year-olds sent to Afghanistan, the book extends to the US Department of Defense’s effort to build the world’s most powerful biometrics database, and is based on hundreds of formerly classified documents, Freedom of Information Act requests, and exclusive interviews.⁠[10][10][10][10][10][10][10]

On March 26, 2024, Dutton published the hardcover of Nuclear War: A Scenario, at 400 pages. The book is a ticking-clock scenario of what happens after a nuclear missile is launched toward the United States, focusing on the minutes after the launch, and is based on new interviews with dozens of military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, have been privy to the response plans, or have been responsible for the decisions. After publication, the book became an instant New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller, and it was later shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, a British nonfiction award. On January 27, 2026, Dutton published the paperback, at 416 pages.⁠[11][11][11][11][12][1][11]

On April 4, 2024, Legendary Pictures announced that it would work with director Denis Villeneuve on a film adaptation of Nuclear War: A Scenario, with Villeneuve’s involvement possibly including producing, adapting, and/or directing; his longtime producing partner Tanya Lapointe would also be involved.⁠[12][12][12]

On April 2, 2025, Jacobsen made her first appearance on the podcast Change Agents with Andy Stumpf, hosted by Andy Stumpf and produced by IRONCLAD, discussing nuclear war, government secrecy, and global security.⁠[13][13][13][13]

On July 28, 2026, Dutton published the hardcover of Biological War: A Scenario, at 432 pages. The book follows the scenario-based approach of Nuclear War: A Scenario, turning its subject to biological warfare.⁠[14][14][14]

On July 29, 2026, Change Agents with Andy Stumpf released a new interview with Jacobsen centered on Biological War: A Scenario.⁠[13][13][13]

On October 5, 2026, Change Agents with Andy Stumpf re-released its interview with Jacobsen under the label “REBROADCAST,” noting that the interview was recorded in July.⁠[13][13][13]

Jacobsen also writes and produces television series, including Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.⁠[1][12]

As of October 2026, Jacobsen has published eight nonfiction books, which have been translated into 26 languages. She has spoken or been interviewed at the United Nations, at the Vatican, and on Joe Rogan’s podcast.⁠[1][7][1]

Personal website: https://www.anniejacobsen.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[4][2]

X: Public account: https://x.com/AnnieJacobsen (opens in a new window)⁠[15][4]

Instagram: Public account: https://www.instagram.com/anniejacobsenbooks/ (opens in a new window)⁠[15]

Facebook: Public account: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieJacobsenAuthor/ (opens in a new window)⁠[15][2]