PARI: An Untold History of Spacemen and Spies

After six decades, the communities of Rosman and Balsam Grove are finally learning the truth about the large, mysterious satellite dishes that operate in their neighborhood behind a gated chain-link fence. Craig Gralley’s new book, “PARI: An Untold History of Spacemen and Spies,” reveals the secret past of PARI—a facility buried deep in the mountains of western North Carolina, whose very existence was denied for decades by the U.S. government. Gralley charts the Rosman site’s proud history and through personal stories and declassified government documents tells how its employees helped to win the space race, the Cold War, and are now embarked on a critically important new mission: science education. All author profits are being donated to further PARI’s science education programs.

Craig Gralley, a former CIA senior executive, served as an analyst, manager and chief speechwriter for three agency directors. He’s now a freelance writer and author of “Hall of Mirrors—Virginia Hall: America’s Greatest Spy of WWII,” a Kirkus Reviews “Best Book.” Craig’s work has appeared in the Washington Post, World War II Magazine, Elan and The Sun among others. He graduated with honors from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA, and holds master’s degrees from Georgetown University (government) and Johns Hopkins University (writing).