days at Sandhamn in September and October, and in great haste and under the
utmost secrecy it was printed by Hallvigs Reklam in Morgongåva. It was the first
book to be published under Millennium’s own logo. It was eccentrically
dedicated: To Sally, who showed me the benefits of the sport of golf.
It was a brick of a book, 608 pages in paperback. The first edition of 2,000 copies
was virtually guaranteed to be a losing proposition, but the print run actually sold
out in a couple of days, and Berger ordered 10,000 more copies.
The reviewers concluded that this time, at any rate, Mikael Blomkvist had no
intention of holding back since it was a matter of publishing extensive source
references. In this regard they were right. Two-thirds of the book consisted of
appendices that were actual copies of the documentation from Wennerström’s
computer. At the same time as the book was published, Millennium put the texts
from Wennerström’s computer as source material in downloadable PDF files on
their website.
Blomkvist’s extraordinary absence was part of the media strategy that he and
Berger had put together. Every newspaper in the country was looking for him. Not
until the book was launched did he give an exclusive interview to She on TV4, once
again scooping the state-run stations. But the questions were anything but
sycophantic.
Blomkvist was especially pleased with one exchange when he watched a video of
his appearance. The interview was broadcast live at the very moment when the
Stockholm Stock Exchange found itself in freefall and a handful of financial yuppies
were threatening to throw themselves out of windows. He was asked what
was Millennium’s responsibility with regard to the fact that Sweden’s economy was
now headed for a crash.
“The idea that Sweden’s economy is headed for a crash is nonsense,” Blomkvist
said.
The host of She on TV4 looked perplexed. His reply did not follow the pattern she
had expected, and she was forced to improvise. Blomkvist got the follow-up
question he was hoping for. “We’re experiencing the largest single drop in the
history of the Swedish stock exchange—and you think that’s nonsense?”
“You have to distinguish between two things—the Swedish economy and the
Swedish stock market. The Swedish economy is the sum of all the goods and