An in depth look at the hostage situation in Sweden in the early 70's, that for good, or bad, led to the term and the concept of Stockholm Syndrome. Part thriller; part Swedish social history; part comment on the power/menace of the media; part psychological treatise; this exceptionally researched book will grip you from beginning to end. The absolutely amazing accomplishment of this book, is that the reader gets a little taste of what the hostages may have felt during their six days of captivity, in that the reader does find themselves sympathizing with the captors and can understand why the hostages acted the way they did. I admit that with the caveat that this reader never forgot that the hostages would never have been in that situation in the first place if Janne hadn't taken them hostage in the first place. But because of this strange dichotomy of thoughts, I could easily see why the hostages could seem to have been sympathetic to their captors. David King does an amazing job at presenting all sides of the story, without judgement, which is no small task. A fascinating read!
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