You probably know Jake Tapper as the guy on CNN who looks like he hasn’t slept since the 2000 Florida recount. He’s the anchor who stares down politicians with that "I’m not angry, just disappointed" energy. But honestly? The most interesting thing about him isn't his 4:00 PM show. It’s the fact that he spends his rare free minutes writing high-octane political thrillers and brutal non-fiction exposes.
Books by Jake Tapper aren't just "celebrity vanity projects." Usually, when a TV talking head writes a book, it’s a dry memoir about their childhood in the suburbs or a collection of "important" essays that nobody actually reads past page ten. Tapper went a different route. He decided to write about secret societies, the Rat Pack, 1970s cults, and the gritty, often bloody reality of American war zones.
It’s a weird mix. One minute he’s documenting the tragic details of a firefight in Afghanistan, and the next he’s imagining a fictional congressman getting framed for murder in 1950s D.C. If you’re trying to figure out where to start—or why a news guy is suddenly the king of the "dad thriller"—here is the real deal on his bibliography.
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The Charlie and Margaret Marder Series: Fiction with Teeth
If you like historical fiction that doesn't feel like a dusty textbook, you've gotta look at the Marder series. Most people start here. Tapper created Charlie Marder, a World War II vet turned accidental Congressman, and his wife Margaret, a zoologist who is frankly way smarter than her husband.
They aren't just characters. They’re a window into the gross underbelly of American history.
The Hellfire Club (2018)
This was the fiction debut. It’s set in 1954, right in the heart of the McCarthy era. Imagine the "Red Scare" but with more secret drinking clubs and shady backroom deals. Charlie Marder gets thrust into a New York congressional seat after his predecessor dies mysteriously.
Tapper does this cool thing where he mixes real people—like Joe McCarthy, Bobby Kennedy, and Ike Eisenhower—with his fictional leads. You’ve got Charlie trying to stay "clean" in a city that is fundamentally built on dirt. It’s fast. It’s cynical. It’s basically what happens when a political junkie decides to write a noir film.
The Devil May Dance (2021)
This one moves the clock to 1962. The Marders are older, slightly more world-weary, and now they’re hanging out with the Rat Pack. Bobby Kennedy—who’s now the Attorney General—basically blackmails Charlie into investigating Frank Sinatra.
Why? Because Sinatra was buddy-buddy with the President (JFK) but also allegedly rubbing elbows with the Mob. Tapper spends a lot of time on the glamour of old Hollywood and the Sands in Vegas, but he keeps the stakes high. There’s a body in a trunk. There’s a lot of Scotch. It’s a fun, grimy ride through the Camelot era.
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All the Demons Are Here (2023)
Then things get weird. In a good way. It’s 1977. The focus shifts a bit to the Marder kids, Ike and Lucy. Ike is a AWOL Marine working on a pit crew for Evel Knievel (yes, really). Lucy is a reporter for a tabloid that feels a lot like the early days of Rupert Murdoch’s empire.
This book captures that "everything is falling apart" vibe of the late 70s. Serial killers, disco, the aftermath of Vietnam, and the rise of UFO cults. It’s sprawling. Some critics thought it was a bit much, but if you want a snapshot of 1977’s collective nervous breakdown, this is it.
The Non-Fiction: From Florida to Afghanistan
Before he was writing about fictional murders, Tapper was writing about real ones—or at least real political disasters. His non-fiction is where you see the "serious journalist" side of his brain working overtime.
The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor (2012)
If you only read one book by him, make it this one. Honestly. It is a massive, 600-plus page account of Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistan. It’s a tragic story about a base that was essentially built at the bottom of a bowl, surrounded by mountains filled with Taliban fighters.
It’s not a "rah-rah" war book. It’s a meticulous, often heartbreaking look at why those soldiers were there and the catastrophic battle that happened on October 3, 2009. It was turned into a movie in 2020 starring Orlando Bloom, and it’s widely considered one of the best books written about the Afghan war. Tapper spent years interviewing the survivors and the families of the fallen. It shows.
Original Sin (2025)
This is his most recent heavy-hitter, co-written with Alex Thompson. It’s a brutal look at the 2024 election cycle, specifically focusing on the "cover-up" regarding Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and the internal chaos of the Democratic party.
Whether you like Tapper’s politics or not, the reporting here is intense. They spoke to hundreds of people to piece together how the administration handled Biden’s aging and the eventual "handover" to Kamala Harris. It’s the kind of book that makes everyone in Washington uncomfortable, which is usually a sign of good journalism.
Why These Books Actually Rank
People often ask: "Does he actually write these?"
The answer seems to be yes. He’s famous for writing in 15-minute bursts. On planes. In the makeup chair before a broadcast. During commercial breaks.
You can feel that pace in the prose. The sentences are short. The chapters end on cliffhangers. He writes like someone who knows his audience has a short attention span because his own life is lived in three-minute segments.
The Bibliography at a Glance
- Body Slam: The Jesse Ventura Story (1999) – Early career Tapper looking at the pro-wrestler-turned-governor.
- Down and Dirty (2001) – The definitive "what the heck happened" book about the 2000 election.
- The Outpost (2012) – The definitive Afghan war history.
- The Hellfire Club (2018) – Fiction debut, 1950s thriller.
- The Devil May Dance (2021) – Rat Pack mystery.
- All the Demons Are Here (2023) – 1970s thriller featuring Evel Knievel.
- Race Against Terror (2025) – A deep dive into the hunt for an Al-Qaeda killer.
- Original Sin (2025) – The 2024 election expose.
The Verdict: Is He Worth Your Time?
Look, if you want high-brow literary fiction that uses words like "liminal" and "ethereal," go elsewhere. Jake Tapper writes "dad books." And I mean that as a compliment.
He writes the kind of books you buy at an airport because the cover looks cool and you end up finishing it before the plane touches down. He’s an expert at taking historical facts—the kind of stuff he obsesses over as a self-described "history nerd"—and wrapping them in a plot that actually moves.
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What to do next:
- If you want a thriller: Grab The Hellfire Club. It’s the best entry point for his fiction.
- If you want to cry/feel something: Read The Outpost. It’s a masterpiece of military reporting.
- If you want the gossip: Check out Original Sin to see the behind-the-scenes drama of the 2024 election.
Start with The Outpost if you want to see his best work, or The Hellfire Club if you just want to see if the "news guy" can actually tell a story. He can.