The Great Successor
The Secret Rise and Rule of Kim Jong Un
Published on 19. March 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-1-5293-8725-4 (ISBN)
Description
The Great Successor is an irreverent yet insightful quest to understand the life of Kim Jong Un, one of the world's most secretive dictators. Kim's life is swathed in myth and propaganda, from the plainly silly--he supposedly ate so much Swiss cheese that his ankles gave way--to the grimly bloody stories of the ways his enemies and rival family members have perished at his command.
One of the most knowledgeable journalists on modern Korea, Anna Fifield has exclusive access to Kim's aunt and uncle who posed as his parents while he was growing up in Switzerland, members of the entourage that accompanied Dennis Rodman on his quasi-ambassadorial visits with Kim, and the Japanese sushi chef whom Kim befriended and who was the first outsider to identify him as the inevitable successor to his father as supreme ruler. She has been able to create a captivating portrait of the oddest and most isolated political regime in the world, one that is broken yet able to summon a US president for peace talks, bankrupt yet in possession of nuclear weapons. Kim Jong Un; ridiculous but deadly, and a man of our times.
One of the most knowledgeable journalists on modern Korea, Anna Fifield has exclusive access to Kim's aunt and uncle who posed as his parents while he was growing up in Switzerland, members of the entourage that accompanied Dennis Rodman on his quasi-ambassadorial visits with Kim, and the Japanese sushi chef whom Kim befriended and who was the first outsider to identify him as the inevitable successor to his father as supreme ruler. She has been able to create a captivating portrait of the oddest and most isolated political regime in the world, one that is broken yet able to summon a US president for peace talks, bankrupt yet in possession of nuclear weapons. Kim Jong Un; ridiculous but deadly, and a man of our times.
Reviews / Votes
An important and rigorous piece of journalism written with clarity and urgency * Sunday Times * Astonishing and insightful - the inside story of the mercurial man now making headlines, and history. Essential reading * Lyse Doucet * Packed with the fascinating and frequently bizarre anecdotal detail -- Richard Lloyd Parry * The Times * By far the most complete insight into the Hermit Kingdom I have ever seen. Full of fascinating details * Christina Lamb * Superb . . . a detailed account of a regime and a personality that are normally shrouded in mystery * Financial Times * Fascinating * Mail on Sunday * Anna Fifield's excellent account, based on years of reporting from Korea, dispenses with the overfamiliar anecdotes about this ghastly spoiled-brat-turned-dictator * Evening Standard * Anna Fifield owns the North Korea story today in a way that few other journalists, myself included, have ever been able to claim mastery over this most elusive subject. -- Barbara Demick, author of the bestseller * Nothing to Envy * Excellent . . . an illuminating insight into the life and thinking of North Korea's ruthless leader * Evening Standard, Book of the Week * Elegantly written and exhaustively researched * Guardian * superb...a model of investigative diligence and rigour * New Statesman * Those anticipating James Bond villain stories will not be disappointed * Spectator * The Great Successor brims with important and exclusive information about the Kim family -- Andrei Lankov * Financial Times * an authoritative, revealing and spry account of the world's most isolated political regime * Sunday Business Post * A hard-earned, comprehensive portrait . . . essential reading * Irish Independent * Fascinating * Hot Press * Anna Fifield disentangles the propaganda that surrounds Kim and presents a clear-eyed portrait of a secretive dictator. * The Sunday Business Post *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Murray Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 191 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
234 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5293-8725-4 (9781529387254)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2019
1st Edition
John Murray
€3.99
Available for download
Person
Anna Fifield is the Beijing bureau chief for The Washington Post, and was previous the Tokyo bureau chief focusing on Japan and the Koreas. Previously she worked for the Financial Times for 13 years. During her time there, she reported from almost 20 countries, from Iran and Libya to North Korea and Australia. During the 2013-2014 academic year, she was a Nieman journalism fellow at Harvard, studying how change happens in closed societies and she is the 2018 Shorenstein Journalism Award recipient for her outstanding reporting on Asia. Her work has appeared in Slate, and she has been a regular commentator on radio and television, including NPR.