Why am I passionate about this?

I was researching the assassination of Sweden’s Prime Minister Olof Palme when I came across the private archive of author Stieg Larsson. After eight years of research, my book The Man Who Played with Fire – Stieg Larsson’s Lost Files and the Hunt for an Assassin was published, which shines new light on the conspiracy behind the unsolved murder. The book has been translated into 27 languages. My first book Gripen by Prague exposes corruption by Saab and BAe in connection with the sale of supersonic jet fighters to the Czech Republic. In the aftermath of the book, police investigations were opened in seven countries including the US and the UK.


I wrote

The Man Who Played with Fire: Stieg Larsson's Lost Files and the Hunt for an Assassin

By Jan Stocklassa,

Book cover of The Man Who Played with Fire: Stieg Larsson's Lost Files and the Hunt for an Assassin

What is my book about?

When Stieg Larsson died, the author of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo had been working on a true mystery…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Marita: The Spy Who Loved Castro

Jan Stocklassa Why did I love this book?

This is an incredible story about the young Marita Lorenz who falls in love with Fidel Castro one month after the Cuban Revolution and then gets persuaded by the CIA to try and assassinate him. Marita Lorenz was a spy for the CIA, had a child with at least one Latin American dictator and several lovers among the New York Mafia. That much we know, but it’s up to you if you believe her take on the JFK assassination. As she puts it herself at the beginning of the book: “I have been a woman in a man’s world. I have lied to protect myself and my children and I have told the truth when it suited me. Now I want to leave things clear”.

By Marita Lorenz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Marita as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Few can say they've seen some of the most significant moments of the twentieth century unravel before their eyes. Marita Lorenz is one of them.

Born in Germany at the outbreak of WWII, Marita was incarcerated in a Nazi concentration camp as a child. In 1959, she travelled to Cuba where she met and fell in love with Fidel Castro. Yet upon fleeing to America, she was recruited by the CIA to assassinate the Fidel. Torn by love and loyalty, she failed to slip him the lethal pills.

Her life would take many more twists and turns - including having…


Book cover of America's Stolen Narrative: From Washington and Madison to Nixon, Reagan and the Bushes to Obama

Jan Stocklassa Why did I love this book?

This is an encyclopedia for anybody who wants to doublecheck the official version of events in US history starting from George Washington all the way through the presidencies of Nixon, the two Bushes, and Barak Obama. Investigative journalist Robert Parry worked for Associated Press and Newsweek on the Iran-Contra affair and spent years on the October Surprise, that cost President Jimmy Carter a second term. If you want to understand the role of the arms industry on US foreign policy since World War II, this is a great start. Or as President Eisenhower put it in his farewell address: “… we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.”

By Robert Parry,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked America's Stolen Narrative as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Investigative reporter Robert Parry reframes key chapters of American history by exploring past events that still drive the U.S. political narrative – from why the Framers junked the Articles of Confederation in favor of the Constitution, to how the modern Republican Party embraced a win-at-all-cost ethos, to why the Democrats shy away from the hard work of accountability.

AMERICA’S STOLEN NARRATIVE takes you on a journey from America’s founding – and the plotting of George Washington and James Madison – to Richard Nixon’s sabotage of Lyndon Johnson’s Vietnam peace talks, on to the Watergate scandal (showing how those two dark…


Book cover of The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Jan Stocklassa Why did I love this book?

Wars are fought on many fronts and one of the most important during the Cold War was economic warfare. This is the bestselling inside story of John Perkins whose role was to persuade Third World countries to take large, unnecessary loans so they would become dependent on the West. It made a few individuals very rich and the countries even poorer. The book sheds light t into dealings you wouldn’t hope were true about institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF, and the US Treasury Department. But it is. A similar strategy has later been adopted by China, which makes the book even more relevant.

By John Perkins,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?


***THE WORD OF MOUTH INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER NOW UPDATED WITH 15 EXPLOSIVE NEW CHAPTERS***

False economics. Threats, bribes, extortion. Debt, deception, coups, assassinations and unbridled military power. These are the tools used by the 'corporatocracy' - a vast network of corporations, banks, colluding governments and rich and powerful individuals - to ensure that they retain and expand their wealth and influence, growing richer and richer as the poor become poorer.

In his original, post 9/11 book, John Perkins revealed how he was recruited as an economic hit man in the 1970s, and exposed the corrupt methods American corporations use to spread…


Book cover of Warrior: Frank Sturgis---The Cia's #1 Assassin-Spy, Who Nearly Killed Castro But Was Ambushed by Watergate

Jan Stocklassa Why did I love this book?

My first pick was the story of Marita Lorenz who tried to kill Fidel Castro. This book is the story of the man who gave her that assignment. Frank Sturgis struggled side-by-side with Fidel Castro in the Cuban revolution only to turn against him when he realized that Castro had become a communist. Then Sturgis joined forces with the American Mafia as well as with the CIA. He made several attempts to assassinate Castro during several decades as well as carried out assignments for the Mafia and the CIA in the US, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. We know he was one of the “Plumbers” arrested for the Watergate burglary, but was he involved in the assassination of John F Kennedy as Marita Lorenz claimed? Opinions differ…

By Jim Hunt, Bob Risch,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Warrior as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The press called him a "real-life James Bond."

Fidel Castro called him "the most dangerous CIA agent."

History remembers him as a Watergate burglar, yet the Watergate break-in was his least perilous mission.

Frank Sturgis―using more than thirty aliases and code names―trained guerilla armies in twelve countries on three continents and spearheaded assassination plots to overthrow foreign governments including those of Cuba, Panama, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.

Warrior follows the shocking, often unbelievable adventures of Sturgis, brought to life by his nephew, Jim Hunt, and his cowriter, Bob Risch. Also included are never-before-seen personal photos of Sturgis and…


Book cover of Adequately Explained by Stupidity?: Lockerbie, Luggage and Lies

Jan Stocklassa Why did I love this book?

No list of books on real conspiracies should leave out the bombing of Pan Am 103 over the Scottish village Lockerbie in December 1988. After reading Morag Kerr’s book, it’s impossible to trust any of the evidence in the case against Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. The book goes into a lot of detail but is still easy to read. If you like detective stories that focus on forensics, then this is the real deal. The only thing missing are the names of the people behind the bombing, but that may come in my next book, to be published in 2022…

By Morag G. Kerr,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Adequately Explained by Stupidity? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Tunnel vision or organised cover-up? How the Lockerbie investigation got the wrong man. Twenty-five years after Maid of the Seas crashed on the town of Lockerbie, this groundbreaking book introduces an entirely new perspective on the controversial investigation and subsequent conviction. Concentrating almost entirely on the transfer baggage evidence, it exposes shocking deficiencies in both the police inquiry and the forensic investigation, which led the hunt in entirely the wrong direction. Cleverly constructed to lead the reader through the complexities of the case, the book provides insights which will be new to even the most seasoned Lockerbie pundit, while remaining…


Explore my book 😀

The Man Who Played with Fire: Stieg Larsson's Lost Files and the Hunt for an Assassin

By Jan Stocklassa,

Book cover of The Man Who Played with Fire: Stieg Larsson's Lost Files and the Hunt for an Assassin

What is my book about?

When Stieg Larsson died, the author of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo had been working on a true mystery that out-twisted his Millennium novels: the assassination on February 28, 1986, of Olof Palme, the Swedish prime minister. It was the first time in history that a head of state had been murdered without a clue who'd done it--and on a Stockholm street at point-blank range.

Internationally known for his fictional villains, Larsson was well acquainted with their real-life counterparts and documented extremist activities throughout the world. For years he'd been amassing evidence that linked their terrorist acts to what he called "one of the most astounding murder cases" he'd ever covered. Larsson's archive was forgotten until journalist Jan Stocklassa was given exclusive access to the author's secret project.

In The Man Who Played with Fire, Stocklassa collects the pieces of Larsson's true-crime puzzle to follow the trail of intrigue, espionage, and conspiracy begun by one of the world's most famous thriller writers. Together they set out to solve a mystery that no one else could.

Book cover of Marita: The Spy Who Loved Castro
Book cover of America's Stolen Narrative: From Washington and Madison to Nixon, Reagan and the Bushes to Obama
Book cover of The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

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Book cover of Locked In Locked Out: Surviving a Brainstem Stroke

Shawn Jennings Author Of Locked In Locked Out: Surviving a Brainstem Stroke

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Shawn's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Can there be life after a brainstem stroke?

After Dr. Shawn Jennings, a busy family physician, suffered a brainstem stroke on May 13, 1999, he woke from a coma locked inside his body, aware and alert but unable to communicate or move. Once he regained limited movement in his left arm, he began typing his story, using one hand and a lot of patience. 

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Locked In Locked Out: Surviving a Brainstem Stroke

By Shawn Jennings,

What is this book about?

Can there be life after a brainstem stroke?

After Dr. Shawn Jennings, a busy family physician, suffered a brainstem stroke on May 13, 1999, he woke from a coma locked inside his body, aware and alert but unable to communicate or move. Once he regained limited movement in his left arm, he began typing his story, using one hand and a lot of patience.

With unexpected humour and tender honesty, Shawn shares his experiences in his struggle for recovery and acceptance of his life after the stroke. He affirms that even without achieving a full recovery life is still worth…


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