Publisher Description
LONGLISTED FOR THE ALCS “GOLD DAGGER” AWARD FOR NON-FICTION CRIME WRITING
Uncover the story behind the death of renowned diplomat and UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld in this true story of spies and intrigue surrounding one of the most enduring unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century.
On September 17, 1961, Dag Hammarskjöld boarded a Douglas DC6 propeller plane on the sweltering tarmac of the airport in Leopoldville, the capital of the Congo. Hours later, he would be found dead in an African jungle with an ace of spades playing card placed on his body.
Hammarskjöld had been the head of the United Nations for nine years. He was legendary for his dedication to peace on earth. But dark forces circled him: Powerful and connected groups from an array of nations and organizations—including the CIA, the KGB, underground militant groups, business tycoons, and others—were determined to see Hammarskjöld fail.
A riveting work of investigative journalism based on never-before-seen evidence, recently revealed firsthand accounts, and groundbreaking new interviews, The Golden Thread reveals the truth behind one of the great murder mysteries of the Cold War.
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Ravi Somaiya’s brilliant unwrapping of the mystery surrounding Hammarskjold’s death will convert the reader into an avid investigator the moment they pick up this book! A compelling read — filled with revelations and written in a style that’s clean and fast-paced, THE GOLDEN THREAD also raises key questions before governments who still act suspiciously: Why? What are you hiding exactly? At its heart, the book lays bare not only Hammarskjold’s undoubted heroism and the sad realities of the Congo in the 1960s (many features of which regrettably persist to this day), but also the stark dilemmas that beset the UN, when principle falls neatly into the cross-hairs of power.
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p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 3.0px 0.0px; line-height: 27.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; color: #181817; -webkit-text-stroke: #181817; background-color: #ffffff}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN Human Rights Chief (2014-2018) and UN peacekeeper (1994-1996)
