A Kim Jong-Il Production -- by Paul Fischer

 Author Paul Fischer did quite well in his debut. A Kim Jong-Il Production was largely journalistic in nature, and structure, noting facts and sources all the way to the end.

Some readers might ask why there wasn't more balance, more from the North Korean side of events. The answer is the dark nature of North Korea: speak ill of the Great Leader, and you would likely wind up imprisoned or dead. Or both. If there were any sources to enlighten us on things in The Hermit Kingdom, remember that the dead don't talk.

Kidnapped South Korean moviemakers Shin Sang-Ok, and off-and-on, wife Choi Eun-Hee were thrown back together to make good films for dictator Kim Jong-Il, and for about three years they did. They might've made more, but Shin was delayed in meeting with Choi, due to his propensity to try and escape, sending him to prison. Both had been kidnapped separately out of Hong Kong.

Fischer, and his sources didn't spare us on the horrors of North Korea's prisons and justice system that rivaled anything Nazi Germany ever had. Cruelty was the norm. 

A reader learns a lot about the Koreas, and moviemaking in this one. A lot about people, too.

Ironically, I found this book on the cheap rack at Dollar Tree. It deserved much better.