Overview

One of the outstanding mysteries of the twentieth century, and one with huge political resonance, is the death of Dag Hammarskjöld and his UN team in a plane crash in central Africa in 1961. Just minutes after midnight, his aircraft plunged into thick forest in the British colony of Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), abruptly ending his mission to bring peace to the Congo. Across the world, many suspected sabotage, accusing the multi-nationals and the governments of Britain, Belgium, the USA and South Africa of involvement in the disaster. These suspicions have never gone away. British High Commissioner Lord Alport was waiting at the airport when the aircraft crashed nearby. He bizarrely insisted to the airport management that Hammarskjöld had flown elsewhere -- even though his aircraft was reported overhead. This postponed a search for so long that the wreckage of the plane was not found for fifteen hours. White mercenaries were at the airport that night too, including the South African pilot Jerry Puren, whose bombing of Congolese villages led, in his own words, to 'flaming huts . . . destruction and death'. These soldiers of fortune were backed by Sir Roy Welensky, Prime Minister of the Rhodesian Federation, who was ready to stop at nothing to maintain white rule and thought the United Nations was synonymous with the Nazis. The Rhodesian government conducted an official inquiry, which blamed pilot error. But as this book will show, it was a massive cover-up that suppressed and dismissed a mass of crucial evidence, especially that of African eye-witnesses. A subsequent UN inquiry was unable to rule out foul play - but had no access to the evidence to show how and why. Now, for the first time, this story can be told. Who Killed Hammarskjöld follows the author on her intriguing and often frightening journey of research to Zambia, South Africa, the USA, Sweden, Norway, Britain, France and Belgium, where she unearthed a mass of new and hitherto secret documentary and photographic evidence.

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9780190873974

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Reviews

"""[Williams] has done a fine job of marshalling new evidence and painting a vivid picture of a past era of Rhodesian colonists in long socks and white shorts, and of cold war politics played out through vicious proxy wars in Africa.""--Sunday Times""A startling, meticulous, convincing book, written in the understated prose of a Scandinavian crime thriller.""- The Financial Times ""This welcome, and highly readable, historical detective story sheds yet more mystery on the sad fate of Dag Hammarskjöld.""--International Affairs""Susan Williams' fascinating book explores the unresolved issues surrounding his death in a plane crash in central Africa. With the help of her engaging and no-nonsense style - part Miss Marple, part No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - we are led through the messy, ugly and secretive dark arts of decolonisation in a world of white supremacists and Cold War lunatics. Kids: don't try this at home.""--Times Higher Education""Part detective, part archivist, part journalist, Williams schmoozed spies, befriended diplomats and mercenaries and won the trust of Hammarskjöld s still grieving relatives and UN colleagues to get her tale. She unwinds each thread of the narrative with infinite patience, leading us carefully down the tortuous paths of Cold War intrigue."" - The Spectator ""Utilizing primary source documents from at least nine countries across three continents, numerous oral history interviews with eye witnesses, and enlisting the help of forensic, ballistic, and medical experts to reexamine the written reports and photographic evidence compiled by the original Rhodesian and UN inquiries into the crash, Williams has authored a fascinating study which is as academic as any international history scholarship and as entertaining as any mystery novel ... 'This book should be on the summer reading list of all historians.""--H-Diplo ""Immensely impressive -- Williams writes with clarity and knowledge, demonstrating a depth of understanding of this crucial period in the history of the UN.""--Irish Examiner ""This engaging book marks a concerted effort to explore the historical mysteries that shroud the UN Secretary-General's death. ... This is a fascinating, meticulously researched, and easy-to-read study of the events surrounding the episode.""--African Affairs ""Fascinating book. . . ""--Philip Muehlenbeck, New Internationalist ""Susan Williams' impressive probing draws together previously secret archived material and witness statements never before aired. The book is rigorously academic, with intensive referencing and quotes from expert informants, but it is also an intriguing whodunnit, albeit one with particularly sombre connotations.""-- The Canberra Times ""The book reads like a thriller, as the author pursues archives, interviews and thousands of documents to find clues to the murder of a man who, according to the British and Belgians, died in an aircraft accident.""--Jamaica Observer ""Susan Williams has produced a compelling account from a monumental amount of historical detective work and encounters with an extraordinary range of personalities, some of them extremely shady.""--The Witness (South Africa)"

"""[Williams] has done a fine job of marshalling new evidence and painting a vivid picture of a past era of Rhodesian colonists in long socks and white shorts, and of cold war politics played out through vicious proxy wars in Africa.""--Sunday Times ""A startling, meticulous, convincing book, written in the understated prose of a Scandinavian crime thriller.""- The Financial Times ""This welcome, and highly readable, historical detective story sheds yet more mystery on the sad fate of Dag Hammarskjöld.""--International Affairs ""Susan Williams' fascinating book explores the unresolved issues surrounding his death in a plane crash in central Africa. With the help of her engaging and no-nonsense style - part Miss Marple, part No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - we are led through the messy, ugly and secretive dark arts of decolonisation in a world of white supremacists and Cold War lunatics. Kids: don't try this at home.""--Times Higher Education ""Part detective, part archivist, part journalist, Williams schmoozed spies, befriended diplomats and mercenaries and won the trust of Hammarskjöld s still grieving relatives and UN colleagues to get her tale. She unwinds each thread of the narrative with infinite patience, leading us carefully down the tortuous paths of Cold War intrigue."" - The Spectator ""Utilizing primary source documents from at least nine countries across three continents, numerous oral history interviews with eye witnesses, and enlisting the help of forensic, ballistic, and medical experts to reexamine the written reports and photographic evidence compiled by the original Rhodesian and UN inquiries into the crash, Williams has authored a fascinating study which is as academic as any international history scholarship and as entertaining as any mystery novel ... 'This book should be on the summer reading list of all historians.""--H-Diplo ""Immensely impressive -- Williams writes with clarity and knowledge, demonstrating a depth of understanding of this crucial period in the history of the UN.""--Irish Examiner ""This engaging book marks a concerted effort to explore the historical mysteries that shroud the UN Secretary-General's death. ... This is a fascinating, meticulously researched, and easy-to-read study of the events surrounding the episode.""--African Affairs ""Fascinating book. . . ""--Philip Muehlenbeck, New Internationalist ""Susan Williams' impressive probing draws together previously secret archived material and witness statements never before aired. The book is rigorously academic, with intensive referencing and quotes from expert informants, but it is also an intriguing whodunnit, albeit one with particularly sombre connotations.""-- The Canberra Times ""The book reads like a thriller, as the author pursues archives, interviews and thousands of documents to find clues to the murder of a man who, according to the British and Belgians, died in an aircraft accident.""--Jamaica Observer ""Susan Williams has produced a compelling account from a monumental amount of historical detective work and encounters with an extraordinary range of personalities, some of them extremely shady.""--The Witness (South Africa)"

"""[Williams] has done a fine job of marshalling new evidence and painting a vivid picture of a past era of Rhodesian colonists in long socks and white shorts, and of cold war politics played out through vicious proxy wars in Africa.""--Sunday Times ""A startling, meticulous, convincing book, written in the understated prose of a Scandinavian crime thriller.""- The Financial Times ""This welcome, and highly readable, historical detective story sheds yet more mystery on the sad fate of Dag Hammarskj�ld.""--International Affairs ""Susan Williams' fascinating book explores the unresolved issues surrounding his death in a plane crash in central Africa. With the help of her engaging and no-nonsense style - part Miss Marple, part No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - we are led through the messy, ugly and secretive dark arts of decolonisation in a world of white supremacists and Cold War lunatics. Kids: don't try this at home.""--Times Higher Education ""Part detective, part archivist, part journalist, Williams schmoozed spies, befriended diplomats and mercenaries and won the trust of Hammarskj�ld s still grieving relatives and UN colleagues to get her tale. She unwinds each thread of the narrative with infinite patience, leading us carefully down the tortuous paths of Cold War intrigue."" - The Spectator ""Utilizing primary source documents from at least nine countries across three continents, numerous oral history interviews with eye witnesses, and enlisting the help of forensic, ballistic, and medical experts to reexamine the written reports and photographic evidence compiled by the original Rhodesian and UN inquiries into the crash, Williams has authored a fascinating study which is as academic as any international history scholarship and as entertaining as any mystery novel ... 'This book should be on the summer reading list of all historians.""--H-Diplo ""Immensely impressive -- Williams writes with clarity and knowledge, demonstrating a depth of understanding of this crucial period in the history of the UN.""--Irish Examiner ""This engaging book marks a concerted effort to explore the historical mysteries that shroud the UN Secretary-General's death. ... This is a fascinating, meticulously researched, and easy-to-read study of the events surrounding the episode.""--African Affairs ""Fascinating book. . . ""--Philip Muehlenbeck, New Internationalist ""Susan Williams' impressive probing draws together previously secret archived material and witness statements never before aired. The book is rigorously academic, with intensive referencing and quotes from expert informants, but it is also an intriguing whodunnit, albeit one with particularly sombre connotations.""-- The Canberra Times ""The book reads like a thriller, as the author pursues archives, interviews and thousands of documents to find clues to the murder of a man who, according to the British and Belgians, died in an aircraft accident.""--Jamaica Observer ""Susan Williams has produced a compelling account from a monumental amount of historical detective work and encounters with an extraordinary range of personalities, some of them extremely shady.""--The Witness (South Africa)"

Author Information

Susan Williams Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Her books on Africa include Spies in the Congo: The Race for the Ore That Built the Atomic Bomb (2011) and Colour Bar: The Triumph of Seretse Khama and His Nation (2006). In autumn 2016, Pathé released a film based on The Colour Bar under the title A United Kingdom https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=url66-67O90, starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike.

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