Douglas KeeneY

L. Douglas Keeney is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books including two bestsellers, as well as the producer or writer of more than 80 documentaries.

Keeney’s well reviewed new book is The Lives They Saved: The Untold Story of Medics, Mariners And The Incredible Boatlift That Evacuated Nearly 300,000 People on 9/11 (Lyons Press). On 9.11, medics and mariners evacuated more than 265,000 people from the World Trade Center by boat, hundreds of whom were injured, dozens critically. This is the first comprehensive story of the events at the base of the World Trade Center. This book follows his  widely acclaimed  The Eleventh Hour (Wiley Turner), which gave readers a new  look at the events that shaped the outcome of the 1943 meeting in Tehran between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.  His other books include Lost in the Pacific:Stories of Survival (Courier),  15 Minutes: General Curtis LeMay and the Countdown to Nuclear Annihilation (St.Martin’s),  Lights of Mankind: Earth at Night as Seen From Space (Globe Pequot/Lyons Press), The Pointblank Directive (Osprey-London), Secret Messages (Simon & Schuster), The Doomsday Scenario  (Motorbooks), and John F. Kennedy: Commander-in-Chief (Viking Penguin),

The Lives They Saved.

The Boat Lift That Evacuated More than 260,000 people on 9.11, many injured, dozens critically. 

“A powerful story, perfect for understanding this seminal event.”

Gannet News Syndicate

“Keeney has created a compelling narrative of what happened on 9/11 both at ground zero and in New York harbor, of how mariners and rescue workers combined forces to evacuate survivors to safety as quickly as possible. The book provides unique insight into what was happening in New York and is highly recommended to both those with an interest in maritime security operations as well as readers interested in the history of 9/11.”

Naval Historical Foundation

15 Minutes

"I enjoyed this book immensely. It was fast-paced, exciting, filled with the untold yet in no way unglamorous adventures and perilous day-to-day existence of the United States Air Force ... This is one of the best historical books I have read."
- The San Francisco Book Review (April 16, 2013)

“This is the best book ever written on the political and military influence that nuclear weapons have had on American policy.”—Col. Walter J. Boyne, USAF (Ret.), Former Director of the National Air & Space Museum

"A jolting year-by-year history of Strategic Air Command's transformation into a massive worldwide force primed to launch bombers within 15 minutes of the order." —Publishers Weekly