Description
Book Synopsis''Propulsive . . . Deeply reported and novelistic. I flew through it'' Ed Caesar
''Jaw dropping even for North Korea . . . A terrific piece of up-close reportage that reads like a spy thriller but is all too real'' Anna Fifield
HOW DID A COLLEGE KID BECOME A GLOBAL FUGITIVE?
In the early 2000s, Adrian Hong was a soft-spoken Yale undergraduate looking for his place in the world. After reading a harrowing account of life inside North Korea, he realised he had found a cause to which he could devote his life.
Hong journeyed to China, outwitting Chinese security services as he helped ferry asylum-seeking North Korean escapees to safety. Meanwhile, Hong''s secret organization, Cheollima Civil Defense (later renamed Free Joseon), began tracking the North Korean government''s activities, and its volatile ruler, Kim Jong-un.
Free Joseon targeted North Korean diplomats who might be persuaded to defect, while drawing up plans
Trade Review
A propulsive investigation into the wild adventures of a man determined to bring down the North Korean regime . . . Deeply reported and novelistic. I flew through it -- Ed Caesar, author of THE MOTH AND THE MOUNTAIN
One of the most harrowing and inspiring stories I've ever read. This book left me in tears. Hope tells this inconceivable and heart-wrenching story with compassion, humanity, and integrity -- Yeonmi Park, bestselling author of IN ORDER TO LIVE
The engrossing inside story of two recent events that are jaw-dropping even for North Korea, and the obsessive man behind them . . . A terrific piece of up-close reportage that reads like a spy thriller but is all too real -- Anna Fifield, author of THE GREAT SUCCESSOR
Mesmerising -- 5 star review, Sunday Telegraph
A mystery story about an elusive human rights activist - and it reminds us all of the essential evil weirdness of the North Korean regime. Adrian Hong has disappeared, a fugitive from the FBI - but I'd wager that someday we will hear from this quixotic young man again -- Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of THE OUTLIER
Thrilling, edifying, funny, and profound. Reading this book, I couldn't help but feel uplifted to learn that, even in our disaffected age, there are people who are willing to give their life to a cause, whatever the personal cost -- Kit Chellel, co-author of DEAD IN THE WATER
Only Bradley Hope could take us so deep into this world of diplomats, dictators, and would-be spies and achieve a book that is both utterly gripping and darkly funny. Not since Bill Browder's Red Notice have I gone on such an exhilarating trip into the geopolitical underbelly -- Zeke Faux, investigative reporter, Bloomberg News and Businessweek
A fast-paced, true-life thriller pitting a merciless North Korean state against a band of high-tech, courageous activists . . . thoroughly engaging . . . a page-turner of a spy-vs.-spy tale -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A riveting saga of one man's unlikely crusade to free North Korea . . . This is the stuff great political thrillers are made of -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
An expertly crafted thriller that makes you turn the page. What makes it all the more remarkable is that it's all true. Bradley Hope is a first-rate reporter and writer, and he has found a subject worthy of his skills in Adrian Hong, a Korean American idealist who set out, improbably enough, to topple the North Korean regime -- Max Boot, author of THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
