Engelska

Since I an situated pretty far up north, my dear Stockholmers don´t normally get many hot days and nights. So they always enjoy them while they can, occupying my parks and my open-air cafés, bars and restaurants.<br/><br/>I love it when the children go sledding in Vitabergsparken. I love to hear their laughter!<br/>I love to see their happy faces! Why don´t you go too, and feel like a kid again?<br/><br/>My dear Östermalm was not always the posh neighborhood it is today. I remember when it was pure boonies and mainly made up of the King´s farms - four of them - supplying the Swedish King and his court whit food provision<br/><br/>Take the subway to Fridhemsplan and walk ten minutes to Smedsuddsbadet or Fredhällsbadet, perhaps the nicest beaches within my city limits. Here my dear Stockholmers bask in the sun and swim in my clean waters.

When the war on terror became a war on journalists. This book would not exist if things had not gone off the rails. On the night of 28 June 2011, we risked everything when, under cover of darkness, we slipped across the border between Somalia and Ethiopia. We wanted to investigate how relentless oil prospecting was affecting people in the closed-off and conflict-ridden region of Ogaden. Our goal was to go beyond the alarmist reports, or the descriptions provided by refugees to get at the truth using our own eyes and ears. Five days later we lay shot and bleeding in the desert sand. But in that very moment when the original assignment died, another story began. A story of legal tampering, propaganda, and geopolitical manoeuvring. After a Kafkaesque trial we were sentenced to eleven years in prison for terrorist offences. We were far from alone. Streams of journalists and ­politicians, as if on a conveyor belt, were being imprisoned for refusing to be at the beck and call of the dictatorship. Our investigation into oil had turned into a story about ink. Everyday life turned into a battle for survival in the notorious Kality Prison. On a cement floor under a corrugated iron roof in a world of deadly diseases, beatings and oppression we carved an existence based on rigid adherence to routine. Despite our shoe-laces and our freedom of speech being taken from us, we struggled to hold on to the most valuable thing in the world. The freedom to determine ones own identity. /Martin Schibbye & Johan Persson "438 Days" is one of the best-selling non-fiction books ever in Sweden, and is about to be turned into a motion picture. It has been unanimously hailed by critics as a real page-turner, utterly outstanding and extremely well-written, captivating and fascinating. Its authors have received numerous prizes, among them the Anna Politkovskaya Memorial Award and Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Prize.

Review on Amazon from reader Alfred Scott:<br/>5 star out of 5. A great way to start my adventure with Horse Novels This book is so amazing to me. I couldn't drop it, from the start of the first chapters to the very end. It is so captivating. I am mostly impressed with the writing style, got me wandering if truly this was translated from a different language aside English. The storyline get me bewitched by the characters, I love the protagonist, Tuva, and her love for horses. Ida, is a great character as well, and those guys in America, they are so lovely. It was great that despite the hate expressed towards Colorado, he still came out strong and victorious. I can't wait to read more of this series. The book reminded me of Susan Richard's Chosen by a Horse. I anticipate more from this series, would keep myself alert.<br/><p></p> P. English Literature/Peter Okonkwo, Goodreads:, 5 star. "Unstoppable, Undefeatable; Colorado the chosen Horse"..."Helena Mansen's Colorado is a book that held me enthralled until I finish indulging my emotions in it. Gripping, hilarious, and suspenseful, it had me intrigued especially during the description of the racing scenes."..."The quest for Colorado's identity is an interesting one and I would love to restrict from revealing further in an attempt to keep this review spoiler free. However, this novel piqued my interest, it is hilarious, full of suspense, and beautifully written and I solely admire the characterization, there are characters that you will fall in love with and there are some that you would hate. The plot twist and storytelling techniques were beyond amazing. This was a great read and I can't wait to read the coming series."<br/><p></p><br/><p></p>"The author´s own long experience of the horse world is mirro­red in this strong and nice story about both animals and people."......"Throughout the book the reader is all the time pushed on by eager expectation."<br/><em></em>2012-01-19 BTJ - Bok- och bibliotekstjänst (Book and Library Service), Anna-Karin Lundh, the BTJ-folder (12105663).<i></em><br/><p></p> "Helena Mansén has a sound experience and knowledge of the horse world. That she herself has been riding gallop not only on Taeby but also in France and in USA surely explains why the experience of Tuva´s moments on racing course and in training is felt in the hands, legs and seat of the reader. Even if Mansén, like most debutants, feeds the story with more intrigues than necessary, her love of horses is enough to make one wish for more books about horses signed by Mansén."<br/><em></em>Kristin Hallberg, Svenska Dagbladet (Swedish Daily News, one of two largest morning newspaper in Sweden) 2012-01-24<i></em><br/><p></p> "A story including lots of "love" of the endearing kind." <em></em>Nina Lekander, Expressen, March 2012.<i></em><br/><p></p> "A book to dream of, a classic style book." <em></em>Boktipset (The Book Tip), The Sundbyberg Library<i></em>