Author(s): Tom Burgis

Non-Fiction

"It was easy for Vladimir Putin. He could erase the past by hurling secret files into his KGB station’s furnace at the end of the Cold War. In the era of globalised corruption he has since helped to create, destroying the past is not so simple. Every bribe, every kickback to a crony, every transfer of dirty money leaves a digital trace. The truth stays obstinately out there. And yet what the rulers of this corrupt order most desire is to mould reality as they wish and impose that reality on the rest of us. So they can hold themselves aloft as statesmen, entrepreneurs and visionaries while they go on hoarding wealth and power. Cuckooland is the true story of how the rich and powerful construct a fake world. From Kathmandu to the Kremlin, Swiss banks to Buckingham Palace, the book unfolds as a thriller through one jaw-dropping narrative. By turns harrowing and hilariously absurd, it reveals the chilling toll of this war on reality. We see how those who profit from regimes that rule through extreme violence and transnational terror are welcomed into the highest circles of power in western democracies. All that’s required to pass the threshold is enough money to buy a ticket. For the right fee, an entire industry of lawyers, high society fixers and spin doctors can make you whoever you want to be. This is why freedom is corroding and tyranny is growing strong – because tyranny is hijacking freedom. Occupying it. Cuckooing it."