The Secrets of 24: The Unauthorized Guide to the Political & Moral Issues Behind TV's Most Riveting Drama »

Critics and audiences agree: 24 is the most addictive thrill ride on TV.

Learn the secrets of its richly complex and irresistible world.

Every week some 15 million people watch the most riveting show in postmodern pop culture: the television series 24. That’s why it has earned countless cover stories and in-depth commentaries in publications ranging from The New Yorker to USA Today, as well as attention from hundreds of bloggers. For political pundits as varied as New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, it’s a Rorschach test of our views on terrorism.

Secrets of ‘24’: The Unauthorized Guide to the Politics, Moral Philosophy, and Technology Behind the Most Riveting Show in TV History uses this blockbuster series as a jumping off point to pursue real issues of relevance to our times—from whether torture is ever justified to whether individual rights should be sacrificed in the fight against terrorism. These are “big think” issues, complemented by a survey and analysis of the technologies and methods that drive the suspenseful plots. The illuminating collection combines original interviews and commissioned essays from leading political figures, cultural commentators, celebrities, and experts on technology, security, and terrorism with carefully selected anthologized op-eds and essays. It follows the wildly successful model the authors established with Secrets of the Code and their Secrets books—which have more than four million copies in print worldwide and have been on more than a dozen international bestseller lists, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and USA Today.

Secrets of ‘24’ is an exciting, engaging, and informative read for everyone fascinated with the series—and an essential companion for understanding the show’s central concerns. It will be in stores just in time for the start of the show’s seventh season in January 2008, and the widely anticipated movie.

Introduction   Dan Burstein     11
24: The Cultural By-Product of the War on Terrorism     20
Whatever It Takes: The Policies of the Man Behind 24   Jane Mayer     22
Confessions of a Serial Viewer: Forget the Time, Agent Bauer. What Year Is It?   Charles McGrath     37
Full-Voltage Shocks: The 24 Addiction   Dorothy Rabinowitz     40
Down with Torture! Gimme Torture!   Sarah Vowell     43
Jack Bauer, Hero for Our Times     46
Rush Hour   John Leonard     48
The Circles of Hell: Dante, Daniel Boone, Gary Cooper, and...Jack Bauer   Rick Moran     50
King of Pain: The Political Theologies of 24   Jerome E. Copulsky     55
Jack, Our Savior?   Deirdre Good     60
In 24's World, Family Is the Main Casualty   Ginia Bellafante     64
Jack Bauer, Meet James Bond   Paul Berger     67
Kiefer Sutherland: Born to Play Jack Bauer   Laura Jackson     72
From Jack Ryan to Jack Bauer: Thoughts from the Master of the Political Thriller   Tom Clancy     80
On the Set of 24     86
There Is Nothing Like It on TV   Joel Surnow     88
ACreator's View: How 24 Became 24   Robert Cochran     92
A Fictional Version of Issues You Read about on the Op-Ed Page   Howard Gordon   Manny Coto   Evan Katz     97
Kiefer Sutherland on Jack Bauer     101
Geek Chic: The Awkward Allure of Chloe O'Brian   Mary Lynn Rajskub     105
Resurrecting Tony: A Chat with Jack's Best Friend   Carlos Bernard     108
I Choose All of My Roles with a Pair of Tweezers   Shohreh Aghdashloo     111
Ahmed Speaks: Actor Kal Penn Talks About Racial Profiling and 24   Kal Penn     116
CTU Director Bill Buchanan Speaks Out   James Morrison     119
Dennis Haysbert on President Palmer: "They Killed Me for the Sake of the Ratings"   Stephen Applebaum     123
24 and the Politics of Culture     126
We Need Chloe!   Maureen Dowd     128
24 and the American Tradition of Vigilantism   Tricia Rose     130
Jonesing for More 24   Judith Warner     134
24 and the Political/Cultural Zeitgeist   Frank Rich     137
24 As Viewed from the Other Side of the Pacific   Jing Guan   Ben Liaw     140
24 and the Fog of Politics: Is Hollywood Driving Public Policy?     143
What Would Jack Bauer Do?   Colin Freeze     144
The GOP's Torture Enthusiasts   Rosa Brooks     147
Memo to the Candidates: 24 Is Just a TV Show   Clarence Page     149
24 and America's Image in Fighting Terrorism: Fact, Fiction, or Does It Matter?   Rush Limbaugh   James Carafano   David Heyman   Joel Surnow   Robert Cochran   Howard Gordon     151
How Well Does 24 Reflect the Real World?     158
Reflections on 24 and the Real World   Michael Chertoff     160
The Threats Portrayed on 24 Are Quite Realistic   R. James Woolsey     164
I Sleep Well at Night   William S. Sessions     170
Focus on the Real Threat (It's Not on TV)   Seymour Hersh     174
24's Unreality Quotient   Amy Zegart     177
The Shadow Hunters: LA's Real CTU   Shane Harris, journalist     185
At the Crossroads of Urgency and Ethics     192
Jack Bauer's Dilemmas-and Ours: Watching 24 As a Primer on Moral Philosophy   Brian Carney     194
An Army Interrogator's Dark Journey Through Iraq   Tony Lagouranis     196
24, Or Himmler in Hollywood   Slavoj Zizek     202
Is Torture Ever Morally Defensible?   Mark Bowden     207
Torture in Prime Time   David Danzig     212
Next Threat: The Battles in Jack Bauer's Future     216
Brave New War: The Next Stage of Terrorism   John Robb     218
Why the Department of Homeland Security Should Be Dismantled   Alvin Toffler     223
24's Suitcase Nuke Scenario: A Real-World Worry   Laura Holgate     227
The Technology of 24: Real and Imagined, Fiction and Nonfiction   David A. Shugarts, journalist     232
About the Contributors and the Cast     242
Acknowlegments     252
Index     254