Ralph Pezzullo
Born in New York. Raised in Saigon, La Paz, Bogotá, Montevideo and Managua, the son of an American diplomat. As a boy he lived through a coup in Saigon. Later he witnessed the first days of the Sandinista Revolution. His mission ever since: to tell the stories of the people behind the history.
Author · Journalist · Playwright · Screenwriter · Host of Heroes Behind Headlines
- New York
- Mexico
- Saigon
- La Paz
- Bogotá
- Guatemala
- Uruguay
- Nicaragua
- Los Angeles
He did not come to history from the outside. He grew up inside it. As a boy he sat in rooms with the historical political figures of the age, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger among them, and they were never strangers to him. They were the adults at the dinner table.
The boy who listened to them became the man who writes their stories.
- The New York Times
- The Washington Post
- USA Today
- The Guardian
- Publishers Weekly
- Kirkus Reviews
- Going Rogue with Lara Logan
- The Adam Carolla Show
- The Wall Street Journal
- Newsweek
- The Washington Post
- Sports Illustrated
- GQ
- The Miami Herald
In Their Words
The story of a complex and vicious attack on the underpinnings of American and global democracy.
This novel is what thrillers aspire to be.
Ghost is absolutely riveting. I couldn’t put it down.
Elections, Empire And War
Stolen Elections
Built on a four year investigation by two government whistleblowers, including former CIA operations officer Gary Berntsen, into how electronic voting systems developed by hostile states have been used to determine the results of elections in more than seventy countries.
“Enough people doubt the process that we need exactly what Ralph Pezzullo does in these pages.” Gavin de Becker, author of The Gift of Fear
The Great Chinese Art Heist
A string of daring museum thefts, traced back to the looting of the Old Summer Palace in 1860.
“A treat for history buffs and caper fans alike.” Publishers Weekly
Saigon
A story told in a time of war, drawn from the years Ralph lived in Saigon as a boy, from 1963 to 1965.
Approved by the Vietnamese government, Saigon has been translated and published by the country’s state publishing house, and is distributed across Vietnam as a loving portrait of the country and its people.
Deep Cover, Shallow Graves
Deep Cover, Shallow Graves is a political minefield filled with high level government corruption and top secret CIA military covert operations. Robert Plumlee, a former contract operative for the CIA, and Ralph Pezzullo, a New York Times bestselling author, guide us on an incredible journey through a no man’s land of political intrigue and covert CIA and Pentagon military operations sanctioned by the White House.
“So, get ready for quite a ride down the rabbit hole of the JFK assassination and subsequent events of the Cold War in which Tosh Plumlee played a role. You won’t be disappointed.” Dick Russell, author of The Man Who Knew Too Much
“Forget Tom Clancy. This is the real deal.” Saint John Hunt, author
Sài Gòn, In Vietnam
Few Western writers are ever invited to tell Vietnam’s story to the Vietnamese. Saigon, drawn from the years Ralph lived in the city as a boy, was approved by the Vietnamese government and translated into Vietnamese by Đinh Trọng Minh.
It is published by the state’s own press, the National Political Publishing House Sự Thật, and distributed across the country as recommended reading for the Vietnamese people.
“When Pezzullo makes a claim you can check, he shows you where to check it. That discipline is rare.”
Stolen Elections
Ralph and former CIA operations officer Gary Berntsen have taken the investigation to audiences across the country, and now across Latin America. In August 2026 Ralph presented the Spanish edition in Guatemala City. Hear them tell it.
Ralph was a featured international speaker at the Electoral Integrity Summit in Guatemala City, where he presented Democracias en Peligro, the Spanish edition of Stolen Elections, to an audience drawn from across Latin America. His face and the book appeared on billboards in the city.
See Ralph And Gary Berntsen On The Investigation
Heroes Behind Headlines
“The real stories behind the headlines you know, told by the heroes you don’t.”
Firsthand accounts from the men and women who work behind the scenes in intelligence, diplomacy, politics and the military.
“Redefining the hero’s journey.”Digital Journal
Watch the Trailer · 1:23
Stolen Elections: The Takedown
A documentary on the investigation at the heart of Stolen Elections. Release details to follow.
Written With Those Who Were There
The SEAL Team Six thriller series, written with former Navy SEAL Don Mann. Eight books.
An Award Winning Playwright
More than a dozen of Ralph’s plays have been produced Off and Off Off Broadway, alongside screenplays, radio drama and fiction drawn from real events.
Ralph Speaks Worldwide
Keynotes, conferences, podcasts, television and radio. Ralph speaks to audiences around the world on Stolen Elections, intelligence and covert operations, and the true stories behind the headlines. Recent appearances include Going Rogue with Lara Logan, The Adam Carolla Show and The Sharyl Attkisson Podcast. Ralph accepts a limited number of invitations each year. Every request is reviewed, and not all can be accepted.
Raised Inside History
Born in New York City, Ralph grew up the son of a US diplomat, living in Mexico, South Vietnam, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala and Nicaragua. He was in Saigon during the overthrow of Diem and in Managua for the first days of the Sandinista Revolution.
After working on Capitol Hill and as an Associated Press correspondent in Latin America, he wrote At the Fall of Somoza and Plunging Into Haiti. Jawbreaker, his account of the CIA led campaign against the Taliban in 2001, became a bestseller and opened the door to the officers, agents and operators whose stories he has told ever since. Away from the page he is a musician, who has written and produced albums of his own.
Full Biography