The definitive account of the bizarre hostage drama that gave rise to the term “Stockholm Syndrome.”

On the morning of August 23, 1973, a man wearing a wig, makeup, and a pair of sunglasses walked into the main branch of Sveriges Kreditbank, a prominent bank in central Stockholm. He ripped out a submachine gun, fired it into the ceiling, and shouted, “The party starts!” This was the beginning of a six-day hostage crisis—and media circus—that would mesmerize the country, drawing into its grip everyone from Sweden’s most notorious outlaw to the prime minister. By the end, the police and press alike would have a new way to understand the complicated emotional relationship between captor and captive. 

Based on a wealth of previously unavailable sources, including rare film footage, and unprecedented access to the main participants, Six Days in August is a groundbreaking work of nonfiction—a rich human drama of loyalty and betrayal, obedience and defiance, fear and attraction.

About the Author: David King is the New York Times best-selling author of The Trial of Adolf Hitler, Death in the City of Light, and Vienna 1814. He taught European history at the University of Kentucky, and lives in Lexington, Kentucky.