Uncover the story behind the death of renowned diplomat and UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjoeld 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 Hammarskjoeld 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.
Hammarskjoeld 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 Hammarskjoeld 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.
Show moreUncover the story behind the death of renowned diplomat and UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjoeld 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 Hammarskjoeld 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.
Hammarskjoeld 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 Hammarskjoeld 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.
Show moreRavi Somaiya was most recently a correspondent for the New York Times. He has written for the Guardian, Rolling Stone, and New York Magazine, among others, and has presented and produced documentaries for Vice and HBO. He has covered Islamic extremist terrorism, disinformation, mass shootings, Anonymous, and Wikileaks, among other long-running stories.
"[An] impressive debut...This is an eye-opening account that could
lead to renewed public interest in this tragedy."--Publishers
Weekly (Starred Review)
"[A] gripping account of Hammarskjöld's death and the ensuing
search for the truth about what happened to him."--InsideHook
"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."--Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN Human
Rights Chief (2014-2018) and UN peacekeeper (1994-1996)
"THE GOLDEN THREAD is as exciting as the best spy novels, with the
enormous advantage of being completely true. Ravi Somaiya
masterfully teases out the tangled strands of a Cold War mystery in
a place where nothing and no one are quite what they seem. The
result is a gripping book by a gifted writer and a dogged
investigator."--Mitchell Zuckoff, #1 New York Times bestselling
author of 13 Hours and Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11
"THE GOLDEN THREAD is one of the most gripping nonfiction books
I've read in a very long time, a real-life thriller about the
mysterious death of Dag Hammarskjold, the second Secretary General
of the UN, in 1961. Somaiya is one of the country's best
journalists, and he's used his prodigious reporting and researching
skills to dig up some truly startling new information about the
plane crash in the Congo that killed Hammarskjold and spawned an
almost never-ending series of conspiracy theories. Somaiya does a
masterful job sifting the evidence and building a case of murder.
This is a fabulous page turner. I highly recommend it."--Douglas
Preston, #1 bestselling author of The Monster of Florence
"...an adroitly written, compelling book. If Mr. Somaiya doesn't
deliver a final solution to the mystery--who could?--he leads the
reader through the tangled brush to the most likely explanation.
It's unlikely that a definitive answer to the mystery will ever
materialize. Mr. Somaiya's fascinating book is the best proxy we
can expect."--Wall Street Journal
"A tour de force of a real-life murder mystery."--Christian Science
Monitor
"Fans of novelists such as Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum, as well as
military history and true crime enthusiasts, will find much to
enjoy about this riveting read."--Library Journal
"This taut investigative history...all but proves the role of foul
play."--The New Yorker
"One of the mysteries I've long been fascinated by, and am so
grateful that Ravi Somaiya has cracked it open so
brilliantly."--David Grann
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