Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
"For the sake of readability, my Swedish publisher, Erik Johansson at Bokfabriken, and I chose not to use footnotes in the text and not to include a complete list of references."
Sadly, the lack of footnotes actually makes it more difficult to read and this and several other notes in the Afterword severely compromise the reliability of the narrative.
Sadly, the lack of footnotes actually makes it more difficult to read and this and several other notes in the Afterword severely compromise the reliability of the narrative.
Stieg's books have been some of my favorite from the day I read them. But this book was so much more than I expected. Stieg's real work and his life were dedicated to fighting white supremacists and extremist political parties in Sweden and in the world. This book was a lesson in global politics post WWII and the role white supremacists played in many events, assassinations, and arms deals. It's not just about the assassination of a Swedish Prime Minister, but that was certainly a good place to start.
This was an intriguing story about Stieg Larson and the mystery surrounding Swedish Prime Minister Olof Plume’s assassination. It’s nonfiction but reads like a novel. There were some slow sections but overall it was entertaining.
The complexities of the Dragon Tattoo series come off as tame once one reads this book. Larsson was a compulsive researcher into the far right people and their organizations that not infiltrated Swedish politics after WWII, but immersed themselves into several other nations, setting up the worldwide authoritarian bastards that put dumbtruck in the US presidency. The assassination of the Swedish Prime Minister in 1986 (hum, I think that's right), meshed with Larsson's massive research on right wing groups in Sweden. The crime has yet to be officially solved. Stocklassa details the progress of Larsson's work and adds his own, including an evolving theory of the crime and the killer. Too many years and too many people have passed by, so a definitive solution may never be possible... especially since the FBI, the CIA, the US State Dept and several US presidents are co-conspirators due to their illegal secret support of South African apartheid and illegal arms sales to Iran, SA and the fucking Contras. Ronzo Rayguns and Ollie fucking North have so much to account for, if even a fraction of this book turns out to be true.
Drags on a bit, but still reads *almost* like fiction.
Not as much Stieg Larsson as I wanted, more of a continuation into his research on the assassination of the Swedish prime minister in the 80s.
”What you are holding in your hands is a work of creative nonfiction. It is written like a thriller, but it’s factual.”
Not as much Stieg Larsson as I wanted, more of a continuation into his research on the assassination of the Swedish prime minister in the 80s.
”What you are holding in your hands is a work of creative nonfiction. It is written like a thriller, but it’s factual.”
I have to admit that I’m just about the last person to pick up a non-fiction book. Usually, I just can’t bring myself to do so. Thus, I am extremely thankful that Amazon picked this book as one of the books for World Book Day, challenging me to step out of my comfort zone.
The Man Who Played with Fire by Jan Stocklassa is a “creative non-fiction” book (the author’s own words) depicting his delve into the mystery surrounding the Swedish prime minister’s assassination in 1986. Honestly, I did not even know that this event happened but I plead the fact that I wasn’t even born then.. (flimsy excuse for ignorance!>
International arms deals, assassin cells, and extremist groups are all part of the tangle surrounding the assassination. As if that isn’t intriguing enough, part of Stocklassa’s research comes from the personal files of Stieg Larsson, journalist and author of the Millennium trilogy.
The book is split into two parts, with the first focusing mostly on Larsson’s voice, with actual excerpts from his letters and memos. Reading about him makes me want to pick up his books (yes, I have never read them>
After thirty years, it seems kind of crazy to imagine that there might finally be some closure for the Swedish in terms of this case. However, with such a tangled web of politics and money, it might be premature to assume that this is the end of the story. And I gnash my teeth at the thought that I might have to wait years to gain any closure from this.
The Man Who Played with Fire by Jan Stocklassa is a “creative non-fiction” book (the author’s own words) depicting his delve into the mystery surrounding the Swedish prime minister’s assassination in 1986. Honestly, I did not even know that this event happened but I plead the fact that I wasn’t even born then.. (flimsy excuse for ignorance!>
International arms deals, assassin cells, and extremist groups are all part of the tangle surrounding the assassination. As if that isn’t intriguing enough, part of Stocklassa’s research comes from the personal files of Stieg Larsson, journalist and author of the Millennium trilogy.
The book is split into two parts, with the first focusing mostly on Larsson’s voice, with actual excerpts from his letters and memos. Reading about him makes me want to pick up his books (yes, I have never read them>
After thirty years, it seems kind of crazy to imagine that there might finally be some closure for the Swedish in terms of this case. However, with such a tangled web of politics and money, it might be premature to assume that this is the end of the story. And I gnash my teeth at the thought that I might have to wait years to gain any closure from this.
Really interesting and reads like a fiction book. I had never heard of this event so it was especially interesting to hear about a new to me event.
When Olof Palme, the Swedish Primer Minister, was assassinated on February 28, 1986, while going back home after being at the movies, Stieg Larsson, who would become world wide known years later with the “Millenium” trilogy, worked as a graphic designer and journalist for a news agency. One of his passions was investigating the extreme right groups that were growing up in Sweden, publishing a couple of books on the subject. After the death of Olof Palme he carried out a parallel investigation to the police, becoming convinced that these groups were behind the assassination. Several years after his death, swedish journalist Jan Stocklassa had access to Larsson’s huge research , becoming also obsessed with Palme’s murder and continuing the investigation.
“The man who played with fire” is the result of those investigations. While it could have resulted in a tedious essay with lots of data, names, political groups, etc. the author manages for it to read like a novel (the plot could be up there with one of Larsson’s books), taking us through the investigation carried out by Larsson and his subsequent findings years later. At the end, the author just presents his findings, leaving it up to the readers to decide what to believe happened.
When I came upon this book, the only information I had about the Olof Palme murder was that he was shot on the street after being at the cinema, so this book was a real treat, finding out about all the different theories the police and media had run throughout the years: the extreme right groups, the South African secret service, etc.
Knowing next to nothing about Swedish politics I was afraid I would get lost in all the data presented, but nothing farther from reality. I was completely engrossed while reading, as the story had all the twists and turns you could expect of a page-turner thriller.
Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Crossing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
“The man who played with fire” is the result of those investigations. While it could have resulted in a tedious essay with lots of data, names, political groups, etc. the author manages for it to read like a novel (the plot could be up there with one of Larsson’s books), taking us through the investigation carried out by Larsson and his subsequent findings years later. At the end, the author just presents his findings, leaving it up to the readers to decide what to believe happened.
When I came upon this book, the only information I had about the Olof Palme murder was that he was shot on the street after being at the cinema, so this book was a real treat, finding out about all the different theories the police and media had run throughout the years: the extreme right groups, the South African secret service, etc.
Knowing next to nothing about Swedish politics I was afraid I would get lost in all the data presented, but nothing farther from reality. I was completely engrossed while reading, as the story had all the twists and turns you could expect of a page-turner thriller.
Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Crossing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Der 28. Februar 1986 ändert vieles im schwedischen Bewusstsein: auf offener Straße wird Premierminister Olof Palme erschossen und er erliegt am Tatort den Verletzungen. Auch dreißig Jahre nach der Tat sind weder der Täter dingfest gemacht noch die genauen Geschehnisse des Tatabends geklärt. Der Journalist Jan Stocklassa stößt bei seinen Nachforschungen für ein Buch über Tatorte auf die Aufzeichnungen von Stieg Larsson, heute aufgrund der Millennium-Trilogie als Thriller-Autor weltweit bekannt, in den 80er Jahren jedoch in Schweden geschätzter Journalist und Illustrator, der sein Leben lang gegen den Rechtsextremismus anschrieb. Auch Larsson hat bis zu seinem Tod 2004 akribisch geforscht, um den Mordfall Olof Palme aufzuklären. Stocklassa nimmt die Spurensuche wieder auf und vervollständigt Larssons Vorarbeit. Am Ende bleibt die Frage offen, was die schwedische Polizei aus dem Material machen wird.
„Stieg Larssons Erbe“ ist eine detailreiche Dokumentation nicht nur der unmittelbaren Ereignisse vom 28.2.1986, sondern es beschreibt auch wichtige politische Zusammenhänge und Ereignisse, die wesentlich für die Tat sein könnten, und ebenso die geradezu erschrecken komplizierte und von Streitigkeiten geprägte Struktur des Polizei- und Juristereiapparats. Obwohl das Buch einen weitgehend dokumentarischen und beschreibenden Charakter hat, Stocklassa legt auch seine und Larssons Arbeitsweise ausführlich dar, um ihre Gedankengänge und Vorgehen nachvollziehbar zu machen, liest sich das Buch dennoch unheimlich gut und wirkt an keiner Stelle ermüdend oder gar dröge.
Sicherlich hat es einen guten, von Marketing-Gesichtspunkten geprägten Sinn, dass der Name Stieg Larssons im Titel erscheint. Für mein Empfinden verschiebt das leider etwas den Fokus und lenkt potenzielle Leser in eine falsche Richtung. Dies ist besonders schade, da es einen ausgesprochen hohen informativen Wert hat, unterhaltsam zu lesen ist und auch ohne den bekannten Namen wirken kann. „True Crime“ – ja, natürlich, aber faktisch ist es eine Aufarbeitung des Falls Olof Palme, der unheimlich komplex und dadurch enorm interessant ist. Für mich eine sehr lohnende Lektüre, da mir der Fall nur rudimentär bekannt war und ich die Hintergründe und Zusammenhänge nicht wirklich kannte. Sowohl das Vorgehen des Autors bei der Recherche war dabei für mich aufschlussreich zu lesen, aber auch die Situation des Extremismus und Terrorismus in Schweden, was mir bis dato gänzlich unbekannt war.
Fazit: ein Buch, das vor allem durch den Einblick in qualitativ hochwertige journalistische Arbeit überzeugt und für ein Sachbuch in einem hohen Maße ansprechend verfasst wurde.
„Stieg Larssons Erbe“ ist eine detailreiche Dokumentation nicht nur der unmittelbaren Ereignisse vom 28.2.1986, sondern es beschreibt auch wichtige politische Zusammenhänge und Ereignisse, die wesentlich für die Tat sein könnten, und ebenso die geradezu erschrecken komplizierte und von Streitigkeiten geprägte Struktur des Polizei- und Juristereiapparats. Obwohl das Buch einen weitgehend dokumentarischen und beschreibenden Charakter hat, Stocklassa legt auch seine und Larssons Arbeitsweise ausführlich dar, um ihre Gedankengänge und Vorgehen nachvollziehbar zu machen, liest sich das Buch dennoch unheimlich gut und wirkt an keiner Stelle ermüdend oder gar dröge.
Sicherlich hat es einen guten, von Marketing-Gesichtspunkten geprägten Sinn, dass der Name Stieg Larssons im Titel erscheint. Für mein Empfinden verschiebt das leider etwas den Fokus und lenkt potenzielle Leser in eine falsche Richtung. Dies ist besonders schade, da es einen ausgesprochen hohen informativen Wert hat, unterhaltsam zu lesen ist und auch ohne den bekannten Namen wirken kann. „True Crime“ – ja, natürlich, aber faktisch ist es eine Aufarbeitung des Falls Olof Palme, der unheimlich komplex und dadurch enorm interessant ist. Für mich eine sehr lohnende Lektüre, da mir der Fall nur rudimentär bekannt war und ich die Hintergründe und Zusammenhänge nicht wirklich kannte. Sowohl das Vorgehen des Autors bei der Recherche war dabei für mich aufschlussreich zu lesen, aber auch die Situation des Extremismus und Terrorismus in Schweden, was mir bis dato gänzlich unbekannt war.
Fazit: ein Buch, das vor allem durch den Einblick in qualitativ hochwertige journalistische Arbeit überzeugt und für ein Sachbuch in einem hohen Maße ansprechend verfasst wurde.