Brad Meltzer (born April 1, 1970) is an American novelist, non-fiction writer, TV show creator, and comic book author.

[5][6][7][8][9] Meltzer is also responsible for helping find the missing 9/11 flag that the firefighters raised at Ground Zero at the World Trade Center site, making national news on the 15th anniversary of 9/11.

Using his TV show, Brad Meltzer's Lost History, he told the story of the missing flag and asked Americans for their help in returning it.

Four days later, a former Marine walked into a fire station in Everett, Washington, said that he saw Meltzer's TV show, and that he now wanted to return the flag.

[13] In September 2006, Meltzer participated in a work group with the CIA, the FBI, various psychologists, and Department of Homeland Security intelligence staff to brainstorm new ways that terrorists might attack the U.S.[14][15] As an inspirational speaker, Meltzer's TEDx Talk, "How to Write Your Own Obituary", has been viewed over 50,000 times, and prompted TED to ask him to do another TED Talk: "Write Your Story, Change History", which has been viewed over 230,000 times as of February 2025.

[31] While Meltzer was conducting research for his 2011 novel The Inner Circle, former U.S. President George H. W. Bush gave him a copy of the secret letter that he had left in the Oval Office desk for Bill Clinton.

[36] The book is a collection of stories from the lives of 52 people such as Jim Henson, Rosa Parks and Mr. Rogers, and was written with the intention of being presented one day to his then-eight-year-old son.

[9] In January 2014, Meltzer and artist Chris Eliopoulos launched a line of biographies for kids, starting with I Am Amelia Earhart and I Am Abraham Lincoln, which debuted on The New York Times bestseller list.

[38] He followed the initial books with I Am Albert Einstein, I Am Rosa Parks, I Am Lucille Ball, I Am Jackie Robinson, I Am Helen Keller,[33] I Am Martin Luther King, Jr., I Am Jane Goodall, I Am George Washington and I Am Jim Henson.

[39] In October 2018, PBS announced an animated adaptation of the series called Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, which debuted in November 2019.

[40] In January 2019, Meltzer released The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington, cowritten with Josh Mensch.

[56] In January 2014 Meltzer and artist Bryan Hitch collaborated on a retelling of Batman's first appearance for Detective Comics (vol.

Each episode of Lost History presents both solved and unsolved cases and success stories where Americans have helped find missing historic objects such as the Ground Zero flag from 9/11 and the original Wright Brothers flying machine patent.

Viewers are encouraged to submit tips to an online site, in an effort to provide key information leading to the return of these treasures.