Synopses & Reviews
The inspiring profile of one man's courage and compassion-now a feature documentary from HBO(tm) films In this perfect match of author and subject, Pulitzer Prize-winner Samantha Power tackles the life of Sergio Vieira de Mello, whose work for the U.N. before his 2003 death in Iraq was emblematic of moral struggle on the global stage. Power has drawn on a staggering breadth of research (including 400 interviews) to show us a heroic figure and the conflicts he took on, from Cambodia's Khmer Rouge to the slaughter in Bosnia to the war-torn Middle East. The result is a peerless portrait of humanity and pragmatism, as well as a history of our convulsive age.
Synopsis
Based on Power's "New York Times"-bestselling biography, "Chasing the Flame," "Sergio" tells the story of Sergio Vieira de Mello who was tragically killed in the first major suicide bombing in Baghdad, and whose story is the basis of a forthcoming documentary.
Synopsis
Now a Netflix biopic, with Narcos star Wagner Moura playing diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello. The best way to understand today's messy world is to read about the inspiring life and diplomatic genius of Sergio Vieira de Mello. -Walter Isaacson
Originally published as Chasing the Flame.
Before his death in 2003 in Iraq's first major suicide bomb attack, Sergio Vieira de Mello--a humanitarian and peacemaker with the United Nations--placed himself at the center of the most significant geopolitical crises of the last half-century. He cut deals with the murderous Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, forcibly confronted genocidal killers from Rwanda, and used his intellect and charisma to try to tame militant extremists in Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Known as a cross between James Bond and Bobby Kennedy, Vieira de Mello managed to save lives in the world's most dangerous places, while also pressing the world's most powerful countries to join him in grappling with such urgent dilemmas as: When should killers be engaged, and when should they be shunned? When is military force justified? How can outsiders play a role in healing broken people and broken places? He did not have the luxury of merely posing these questions; Vieira de Mello had to find answers, apply them, and live with the consequences.
With Sergio, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Education of an Idealist Samantha Power offers a profile in courage and humanity--and an unforgettable meditation on how best to manage the deadly challenges of the twenty-first century.
About the Author
Samantha Power serves in the Obama administration as the Special Assistant to the President for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights. Her previous book, A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, was awarded the 2003 National Book Critics Circle Award, the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award for the best book on U.S. foreign policy, and the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction. She lives in Washington, D.C.