Guantánamo Diary Paperback – December 1, 2015

Amazing book. Definitely recommend

Read this book!I have always been a fan of first person narrative. I prefer to hear about someone's life through their own mouth and this book did not disappoint me. I have known for years that Gitmo exists and what they do to those who are held there, the torture and abuse and denial of basic human rights. As I read this book, I felt like I was sitting on a couch listening to a man tell his story, a calm man, a man who is comfortable in his own skin, a man speaking the truth. This book is written without hate, without anger, without any attempt to manipulate my emotions through exaggerations or gory details. MOS (Mohamedou Ould Slahi) and the man who brought his writings into finished form (Larry Siems) tell a story of abuse and manipulation, torture and lies, coercion and unjust treatment. It is an American tale, of Americans doing horrible things to Muslims and not being held accountable for it, Americans and foreigners that they employ (Germans, Israelis, Jordanians), people, humans. Mohamedou tells how our President, the military leaders, officers, agents of the CIA and other organizations, all approved or performed horrible things in lands governed by other nations, in secret. MOS tells his story. Are you willing to listen? If you are not afraid to learn the truth about what we (Americans) really do, then buy this book and read what Mohamedou has to say. He speaks from his heart, trying to be true to his religion and his philosophy of life. He has no agenda, no anti-Christian rhetoric, no anti-American propaganda. He just tells his story.After reading this book, I returned online to leave my critique at Amazon and discovered that Mohamedou was finally released from his illegal abduction and captivity (on Oct 17, 2016), no charges, no crime. He is home now, with his family, free. I hope that he reads what people say here at Amazon about his book. I hope that he knows that there are many Americans who do not support or condone the abuse he went through. I hope that he realizes that he has left behind a work of art (this book) that will shine light on abuse globally, just by telling his story. I hope that he realizes that we expect our leaders to prove that crimes were committed, quickly and legally, and not just detain someone for 14 years. I hope that he knows that he has influenced the lives of many, and that we expect our leaders to make amends, if that is possible.

Haven't finished, but will update as I do.The hyper blacking out gets very annoying and I feel bad for the author as a result of censorship. Many times it (censorship) seems quite arbitrary and lacks consistency. There are many places where a name or description is blacked out only to later have been forgotten, or in some cases you can put together what was blacked out within a paragraph.That being said, this book is an interesting (not the best word, admittedly) look into the global War on Terror on the ground in other countries and through one man's perspective. Sure there are some that will say he must have done something to end up where he did, but the manner in how he arrived there seems to cause more anti-American sentiment than anything else the US has done. I won't make this a political review but it is hard to not be sympathetic to this man (knowing what we know now). His journey around the world is marked by injustice, ignorance, hyper-security policies that seem put forward despite contradictory intelligence.Surely people who have complete faith in America's justice system will dismiss this book outright, with little thought; however for those you think improvements can (and should) be made, or who have an open mind, will gain great insight into the inner workings of the GWOT. One comes to understand the international relations and pressures, the hardships of all involved, and the investigative/interrogation tactics of different countries. Obviously this book is not a tell all but it's important for those seeking to understand a different perspective- and one from an innocent man caught up in the fear and terror of the GWOT.

Definitely a great read as well as an insiders look into Guantánamo.