The Dead Do Not Die - by Sven Lindqvist (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Sven Lindqvist is one of our most original writers on race, colonialism, and genocide, and his signature approach--uniting travelogues with powerful acts of historical excavation--renders his books devastating and unforgettable.

Now, for the first time, Lindqvist's most beloved works are available in one beautiful and affordable volume with a new introduction by Adam Hochschild. The Dead Do Not Die includes the full unabridged text of "Exterminate All the Brutes", called "a book of stunning range and near genius" by David Levering Lewis. In this work, Lindqvist uses Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness as a point of departure for a haunting tour through the colonial past, retracing the steps of Europeans in Africa from the late eighteenth century onward and thus exposing the roots of genocide via his own journey through the Saharan desert.

The full text of Terra Nullius is also included, for which Lindqvist traveled 7,000 miles through Australia in search of the lands the British had claimed as their own because it was inhabited by "lower races," the native Aborigines--nearly nine-tenths of whom were annihilated by whites. The shocking story of how "no man's land" became the province of the white man was called "the most original work on Australia and its treatment of Aboriginals I have ever read . . . marvelous" by Phillip Knightley, author of Australia.

Review Quotes

Praise for Sven Lindqvist:
"One of the best storytellers in the historical profession today."
--Joanne Bourke

"A brilliant and original writer."
--Geoff Dyer

"Once you've stepped into Lindqvist's world, things will never look the same again."
--Gavin Shields

"One of Sweden's greatest contemporary writers."
--Richard Gott

Praise for "Exterminate All the Brutes" :
"A book of stunning range and near genius."
--David Levering Lewis

"Lindqvist's disturbing, brilliant work of historical sleuthing deserves to be taken up in a thousand classrooms."
--Rob Nixon, Voice Literary Supplement

"Lindqvist's book is virtually unprecedented. It is also a perfect illustration of reading and criticism as lived--as opposed to desk-bound--activities."
--Geoff Dyer

"Extraordinary."
--The Guardian

Praise for Terra Nullius :
"The most original work on Australia and its treatment of Aboriginals I have ever read . . . a marvelous book."
--Phillip Knightley, author of Australia: A Biography of a Nation

"Fascinating."
--Hugh Brody, The Guardian

"Lindqvist is a provocative guide through the intractable shame of the past."
--Victoria Segal, The Guardian

About the Author

Sven Lindqvist was the author of more than thirty books, including "Exterminate All the Brutes," The Skull Measurer's Mistake, A History of Bombing, Terra Nullius, and The Dead Do Not Die (all published by The New Press). A resident of Stockholm, he held a PhD in the history of literature from Stockholm University, an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University, and an honorary professorship from the Swedish government.