Dear Reader

The Unauthorized Autobiography of Kim Jong Il

By: Michael Malice

Narrated by: Marcus Freeman

Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

No country is as misunderstood as North Korea, and no modern tyrant has remained more mysterious than the Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il. Now, celebrity ghostwriter Michael Malice pulls back the curtain to expose the life story of the "Incarnation of Love and Morality". Taken directly from books spirited out of Pyongyang, Dear Reader is a carefully reconstructed first-person account of the man behind the mythology.

From his miraculous rainbow-filled birth during the fiery conflict of World War II, Kim Jong Il watched as his beloved Korea finally earned its freedom from the cursed Japanese. Mere years later, the wicked US imperialists took their chance at conquering the liberated nation - with devastating results. But that's only the beginning of the Dear Leader's story.

In Dear Reader, Kim Jong Il explains:

• How he can shrink time
• Why he despises the Mona Lisa
• How he recreated the arts in Korea
• Why the Juche idea is the greatest concept ever discovered by man
• How he handled the crippling famine
• Why Kim Jong Un was chosen as successor over his elder brothers

With nothing left uncovered, drawing straight from dozens of books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of years of Korean history, Dear Reader is both the definitive account of Kim Jong Il's life and the complete stranger-than-fiction history of the world's most unique country.

©2014 Michael Malice (P)2017 Listen and Think Audio

Simply brilliant!

The idea, the writing, the balance of hilarious sarcasm and sometimes surprisingly affecting accounts of the tragic events in the "Dear Leader's" life, even the performance of the narrator, all of it amounts to a work of genius. Even though this is a work of fiction, reportedly Michael Malice based all of the stories in the book on North Korean lore, on what the people there are taught in schools, on the official North Korean government statements or press releases, on many other published works of history (both in the Koreas and in other countries), as well as on what the western media knows about this reclusive, little known totalitarian regime. I couldn't stop listening to it. Highly recommended!

Great book

I read just, well listen, to just about everything about North Korea that audible has to offer and this is a very unique take - use the information publicly available about Kim Jong Il, about his amazing life and amazing achievements (according to the NK media) and write out an autobiography. It's more than just a joke book, it really does cover what is really known about his life and I think it does a good job of representing many ideas based on how the NK government claims to see it. The book is very entertaining and I learned a lot - and wow, what a sudden heel turn the book takes to close it out, a very strong ending.

If you read the description and find it interesting then certainly check it out. I do wish it covered more of Kim Jong Il's obsession with western culture, in particular in the 90s when he did things like bring over WCW professional wrestling just so a Korean could beat the evil American Ric Flair in front of 100,000 people who had no idea what in the world they were watching, it's one of my favorite things Kim Jong Il ever did.

The reader is a perfect fit for this book, excellent job.

Horrifying

Narration was perfect. The changing tone of the book perfectly captured. Michael Malice captures the personality cult of the North Korean regime and then gradually brings you into the real life horror film that is life in the DPRK.

Remarkable

I now understand the North Korea situation so much better. Michael Malice does a fantastic job of bringing understanding to a truly contorted and improbable (and horrible) situation. "Sympathy for the devil" is the best phrase for what this brings out. God help the North Korean people.

fascinating read and perspective on north Korea.

Can't believe how fast I finished the audio book. Also happy to say I'm no longer ignorant of the achievements and struggle of the great leader. I've heard Michael Malice on the Tom Woods podcast and had to check this out.

The real North Korea

I great story compiled for North Korean History. Malice does an incredible job making this book feel like Kim Jong Il is telling you his personal story.

Interesting listen....

This story sounds so unrealistic. It's mind boggling that these situations are real. I had to stop and research certain moments because it was so unbelievable. I enjoyed and I would recommend this book.

brutal misinformation

Malice does an excellent job covering the sheer horror of life in the DPRK. what a crazy place.

Thank you for the good book.

amazing. ghost writing takes talent. and mr. malice has a lot of that, so much even he was able to create a masterpiece with this hard to tackle subject.

An amble through the mind of powerful madness.

This is perhaps the most disturbing book I have ever read. It is truly a look into the deeply disturbing mind of one of the most heinous people on the planet. It is so well put together and the voice of the protagonist is so sure and confident of his delusions that I found myself frequently considering the plausibility and having to stop reading to fact check. Normalcy restored I would then delve on.

Be prepared to stare deeply into the abyss of evil and insanity and feel it try to suck you in. Hold on tight, it has a surprisingly powerful gravitational pull.

Having come through the other side still sane, this deep look at a man of power, has further cemented my belief that as Douglas Adams said: Anyone capable of getting themselves made [dear leader] should on no accounts be allowed to do the job.

A true story

Hannah Arendt wrote of the banality of evil having witnessed the Nuremberg nazi trials. Malice uses the vehicle of the ghosted celebrity autobiography, a supremely banal genre, to explain and document the evil in a manner that will coax, cajole and finally threaten you to empathise with the dear leader.

The best audio book I've bought.

This is by far the best audio book I've listened to yet. I use it when I can't sleep. The narrators voice is so relaxing and the style of writing is so humorous despite the dark subject matter.

Thin line between fiction and non-fiction.

While the format is interesting and entertaining, it is difficult for the reader to discern what is true, what is North Korean propaganda and what is a fictional improvisation from the writer.

As such if you want to learn about North Korea it would be better to watch a Michael Malice talk.

Not the book we want but the one we need.

Michael Malice masterfully puts together this book that is centered around Kim Jong Il's life story which is parallel to North Korea's modern history.
It is written in a very clever fashion that retains humour and the irony of some matters that are found in North Korean propaganda and or literature.
I've done a fair amount of research on the author and the subject to see that it is a constructive piece of literature and one of the rare contemporary western works that are not trying to inject their point of view into the writings, the tone and irony retained in it can be perceived as such but most of the content of the book is presented in North Korean fashion.
Leaves me wanting for more such inside information made easy to consume by an NPC such as myself.
Highly Recommended.

Weirdly engrossing

Darkly and dryly humorous, with excellent narrated style well suited to the material. fourteen fifteen

Brilliant

At times hilarious and delivered in such a deadpan manner; this was great fun to listen to.

great book and a must read

after finishing it, the only comparison I could make was with the film 'the usual suspects' you spend time wondering what was real, what was implied by the Mr malice's research, what was put down by the North Korean propaganda machine, and lastly what was written by the man himself. this book works on many levels, but at its heart is a story of power over people in a system that is no where else on earth.

Interesting and fun

got this after seeing podcast with without, the book is simply fun and comedic but has a dark undertone throughout as much is based of facts we can research to day but from the view of the man himself

Regret buying

I couldn't finish, the performance was frustratingly flat. The reader seemed like they were bored or had other things to do. When my battery ran out while listening, I was actually glad I could stop. The content wasn't very enlightening either.