THE author, Arne G Hallström, provides the background to the book and how the project developed over time. Chapters 1, 2, and part of chapter 3 – up to the end of Thord’s service on Robben Island — are Thord’s own recollections of his childhood and youth, written by Thord himself when he was more than 80 years old, and were initially addressed to the young generation of his family. The rest of the book was written by Arne, based mainly on what Thord wrote himself in letters to his parents and brothers, as well as his diary and other writings dating from his arrival in South Africa up to his death in Miami in 1964. Arne notes that he drew most of his information from about 600 catalogued items, including original documents, books, and press cuttings.