Books – Jake Tapper

October 2025

Race Against Terror

Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War

In this thrilling true story, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jake Tapper uncovers an investigation—unlike any other in American history—to lock up a dangerous terrorist before he’s set free.

June 2011: The case has been cold for nearly ten years when a terrorist fleeing the Arab Spring turns himself in and confesses to killing American soldiers in Afghanistan. This brazen act sets off an unlikely chain of events that puts the entirety of the American justice system to the test. They have the killer, but no evidence to prove the murders happened.

Determined to deliver justice, a team led by federal prosecutors Dave Bitkower and Shreve Ariail must traverse the globe, uncovering facts across thousands of miles and tracing shocking plots of terror in order to prevent tragedy from striking again.

Through intense reporting and meticulous recreation, this “masterclass in true crime storytelling” (Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author) shows a man radicalized to enact violence, courageous soldiers who risked their lives for each other, and the diverse set of men and women who work tirelessly to stay one step ahead of disaster.

“A pacey, police procedural-style account of the jihadist’s apprehension and trial… Tapper draws suspense out of the authorities’ rush to gather evidence to indict Harun in a U.S. civilian criminal court.” The New York Times

“Tapper’s narrative moves at pace, skillfully blending combat scenes, investigative breakthroughs, and courtroom conflict… A smart page-turner about the atypical trial of an al-Qaida member.” Kirkus

“Riveting… (an) evocative dispatch from America’s war on terror… Tapper crafts riveting accounts of Ghul’s journey through al-Qaeda and that bloody Afghanistan firefight… Tapper’s vivid account of the legal front in the fight against terrorism shows how shaky its foundations are.” Publishers Weekly

“Skillfully unpacks the investigation and trial of a dangerous terrorist in this exciting and little-known story.” Library Journal

“Tapper treats this story like a police procedural… an intriguing exploration of the role law plays in war and terrorism.” Foreign Affairs

May 2025, with Alex Thompson

Original Sin

President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, The Financial Times, Kirkus Reviews, and The Associated Press.

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From two of America’s most respected journalists comes an explosive reckoning with one of the most fateful decisions in American political history: Joe Biden’s run for reelection despite evidence of his serious decline—amid desperate efforts to hide the extent of that deterioration.

In Greek tragedy, the protagonist’s effort to avoid his fate is what seals his fate. In 2024, American politics became a Greek tragedy. Joe Biden launched his successful 2020 bid for the White House with the stated goal of saving the nation from a second Trump presidential term. He, his family, and his senior aides were so convinced that only he could beat Trump again, they lied to themselves, allies, and the public about his condition and limitations. At his debate with Trump on June 27, 2024, the consequences of that deception were exposed to the world. It was shocking and upsetting.

In Original Sin, Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson take us behind closed doors and into private conversations between the heaviest of hitters—from White House staffers to leaders of Congress and the Cabinet, and from governors to donors and Hollywood players—revealing how big the problem was and how many people knew about it. What you will learn makes President Biden’s decision to run for reelection seem shockingly narcissistic, self-delusional, and reckless—a desperate bet that went bust.

The irony is biting. In the name of defeating what they called an existential threat to democracy, Biden and his inner circle ensured it, tossing aside his implicit promise to serve for only one term and denying the existence of health issues the nation had been watching for years. The decision to run again, the Original Sin of this president, led to a campaign of denial and gaslighting, and directly to Donald Trump’s return to power—and all that has happened as a consequence. Wherever you stand on the political spectrum, Original Sin is essential reading.

“A damning account… not really a ‘campaign book’… but its simple assessment of the race is more compelling than anything else I’ve read about it.” The Washington Post

“Superbly reported… Reads like a Shakespearean drama on steroids.” Los Angeles Times

“Explosive.” The New York Times

“A damning, step-by-step account of how the people closest to a stubborn, aging president enabled his quixotic resolve to run for a second term.” The New York Times Book Review

“[The] most significant book to date about Biden’s cognitive decline.” The Atlantic

“Destined to stand alongside classics like Theodore White’s The Making of the President 1960 and even Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s All the President’s Men as one of the great books about American electoral politics.” Richard Aldous, Persuasion

“An authoritative indictment of a denial-plagued presidential run.” Kirkus

The Marder family novels

Jake has also written three detective novels about the fictitious Marder family.

The Hellfire Club

2018. New York Times bestseller.

“Jake Tapper’s Spy Novel Is Startlingly Good.” Tablet

The Devil May Dance

2022. New York Times bestseller.

“The seriousness of this book never gets in the way of the breathless fun. Tapper obviously enjoyed sourcing it, writing it and using can-you-top-this gamesmanship from start to finish. Just when you think he’s pulled the biggest rabbit out of his hat, he turns out to have been hiding something bigger.” The New York Times

All the Demons Are Here

2024

“An absolute page-turner… Tapper’s deep knowledge of American history is on display, as is his obvious love of American pop culture—the good, the bad, and the bizarre.” Gillian Flynn

2012

The Outpost

An Untold Story of American Valor

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At 5:58 AM on October 3rd, 2009, Combat Outpost Keating, located in frighteningly vulnerable terrain in Afghanistan just 14 miles from the Pakistani border, was viciously attacked. Though the 53 Americans there prevailed against nearly 400 Taliban fighters, their casualties made it the deadliest fight of the war for the U.S. that year. Four months after the battle, a Pentagon review revealed that there was no reason for the troops at Keating to have been there in the first place.

In The Outpost, Jake Tapper gives us the powerful saga of COP Keating, from its establishment to eventual destruction, introducing us to an unforgettable cast of soldiers and their families, and to a place and war that has remained profoundly distant to most Americans. A bestseller, it makes a savage war real, and American courage manifest.

“Analyzing the consequences of decisions, large and small, is what makes Tapper’s book so important… for those wishing to understand the middle years of the war, they could do no better than to read THE OUTPOST.” Time

“[Jake Tapper] has woven an intricate account about battlefield bravery hamstrung by military bureaucracy… [his] voice is understated, not polemical—just a good reporter letting the facts speak for themselves.” Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times

“[A] fascinating history… Tapper delivers a blow by blow account of [the soldier’s] actions, their personal stories, and the tortured, often incomprehensible command decisions that kept them fighting despite inadequate support and an ally, Pakistan, that actively encouraged the enemy.” Publishers Weekly

“One of the most important [books] of the year. Jake Tapper’s book is meticulously researched, excellently written and a must-read for everyone who does more than just mouth the phrase, ‘I support the troops.’” Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Jake Tapper has written perhaps the best book set in Afghanistan to date… He provides a window into the false hopes and visions that enabled this failed experiment, an attempt to create government in spaces that had actively avoided such.” Douglas Ollivant, Foreign Policy

“The power of THE OUTPOST lies in Tapper’s development of the main characters… He juxtaposes dramatic battles, complete with limbs blown off and eyes dangling from sockets, with poignant scenes of wives and parents first learning of the deaths of their loved ones.” Seth Jones, Washington Post

“The seminal work of documentary journalism to emerge out of the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan.” Business Standard

“A heartbreaking chronicle of the rotation of soldiers asked to oversee an underfunded, often thankless mission.” Huffington Post

“Meticulously researched, excellently written and a must-read… It may prove one of the most important [books] of the year.” Curt Schleier, Seattle Times

“This is a narrative, not a polemic, and Tapper patiently lays out the history of what happened at Keating in a gripping, forceful style… [T]his unadorned, powerful account challenges the purposes and wisdom of America’s ongoing military presence [in Afghanistan]… A timely indictment of a thoughtless waste of young American lives.” Kirkus

“[An] incredible account of how this outpost was horribly jeopardized.” Booklist

“A chronicle of the commitment and heroism of individual soldiers. As such, it can rarely have been surpassed in the history of military writing.” powerlineblog.com

“Tapper always finds just the right personality traits and stories about [the troops’] backgrounds, allowing readers to respect them and relate to them… The Outpost is an alternately exhilarating, heartbreaking and maddening book. But ultimately… it’s a testament to the fact that the brave men and women who serve and sacrifice for the United States deserve our appreciation.” Patheos.com

Tapper also wrote earlier in his career

Down and Dirty

The Plot to Steal the Presidency, 2001

Body Slam

The Jesse Ventura Story, 1999