Since his untimely death, Stieg Larsson has become one of the world’s most famous authors. His Millennium Trilogy novels—The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels—have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide and spawned multiple film adaptations. Yet in the years before he introduced Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist to the world, Larsson himself faced real-world intrigue and danger as riveting as anything in his novels. An outspoken investigative journalist, he defied intimidation and death threats to expose extremist and racist groups in his native Sweden. Remarkably prescient, Larsson warned of the disturbing growth of the far right as a political force—an admonition that has proved chillingly apt in recent years, in Sweden and beyond.

With unprecedented access to Larsson's meticulously researched and politically charged archives, as well as interviews with his life partner and colleagues, Stieg Larsson – The Man Who Played with Fire reveals a man whose moral compass led him to unwaveringly protect the principles of democracy and freedom from those who would threaten their continued existence … no matter the cost.