Bad News from a Black Coast

Avid followers of the career and life of Mr. Thomsen have known of this unpublished manuscript. We are so pleased to put into print the first edition of Bad News. The editors, with the permission of the Thomsen family, created this edition from a photocopy of the original typed manuscript, which includes the author’s own handwritten notes and corrections. With this first edition, the family seeks to bring Mr. Thomsen’s newest book to a loyal and appreciative readership that has long wondered about the existence of the Bad News manuscript, and were eager to see it in print. In this book, Mr. Thomsen presents us with a series of 30+ insightful vignettes dating back to his arrival in Ecuador in 1964. These snapshots of many of the characters of earlier books add depth and perspective to Mr. Thomsen’s attempt at making sense of the tragedy and beauty of his complex world in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. The work builds not only upon his previous studies of poverty, but builds methodically through specific memories that frame his, and now our, understanding of what he witnesses.