Chasing the Flame: One Man’s Fight to Save the World

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 draws on a staggering breadth of research (including 400 interviews) to show us a heroic figure and the conflicts he waded into, 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.

Soon to be a Netflix biopic starring Wagner Moura (“Narcos”).

Praise

“An ambitious effort…[that] succeeds brilliantly.” ― The Washington Post

“Her book [has] the dramatic quality of a leaked memo. . . . Sergio Vieira de Mello, with his flaws and heroism, represents us at our best and at our most helpless.” ― Slate

“Power presents a fiercely precise, extraordinary dramatic biography. . . . Strongly argued, lacerating, and utterly human, this invaluable history will be the catalyst for soul searching and debate.” ― Booklist

“A masterful biography.” ― Marie Claire

“Chasing the Flame is a brilliantly researched biography about an extraordinary man.” ―The Times (UK)