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allbookedup_'s review against another edition
4.0
The interesting part of this book was the point of view that is was written from. You’re not hearing from the prisoners themselves but from one of the lawyers who came to their aid.
Mahvish explores the world and hears the stories of the prisoners that stand accused and are held in Guantanamo Bay. Instead of facing hard nose criminals she meets men who remind her of her family. Men who when are given food insist that everyone shares these treats even if they themselves are starved of such joys. She meets men who touch her so much that after they are freed she visits them in Afghanistan where she is welcomed in their home like family.
These prisoners are not your standard bad guys in black and white stripped uniforms with grisly faces of terror that are perceived. These are men who have found themselves in a place of hopelessness and feel as if they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
This book is very well written. Even though it does cover various prisoners’ stories it is weaved together in a way that makes it informative and enjoyable to read.
Mahvish explores the world and hears the stories of the prisoners that stand accused and are held in Guantanamo Bay. Instead of facing hard nose criminals she meets men who remind her of her family. Men who when are given food insist that everyone shares these treats even if they themselves are starved of such joys. She meets men who touch her so much that after they are freed she visits them in Afghanistan where she is welcomed in their home like family.
These prisoners are not your standard bad guys in black and white stripped uniforms with grisly faces of terror that are perceived. These are men who have found themselves in a place of hopelessness and feel as if they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
This book is very well written. Even though it does cover various prisoners’ stories it is weaved together in a way that makes it informative and enjoyable to read.
catladylover94's review against another edition
5.0
really really good, did not know a lot about Gitmo, or cuba for that matter, so learned something
christyrunsdc's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fascinating read, particularly in light of the current controversy over Bergdahl exchange. I had hoped the book was more about Khan's work to get these prisoners a trial, rather than just the experiences of the detainees she met with. Their experiences were harrowing and I can understand why a lot of critics called her a sympathizer, however, she really brings to light that so many detainees in Guantanamo were there simply because they had enemies who took advantage of the bounties that the US were offering. I felt that she should have gone much more extensively into this, but it was a good, fast read.
rebeccafromflorida's review against another edition
5.0
“My Guantanamo Diary” by Mahvish Rukhsana Khan is not a book that I had on a list or had recommended to me. While gazing through the “Librarian’s Choice” section in my library, I stumbled across the book and thought the title looked intriguing. Luckily, I decided to read “My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me” because it was a fantastic, thoughtful, and even political, read.
“My Guantanamo Diary” is written by former law student and journalist Mahvish Rukhsana Khan, who has been published in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times.
The book tells the story of Mahvish in law school, learning about the injustices that were occurring at Guantanamo Bay, and wanting to get involved. Mahvish begins her journey believing that these men may be terrorists and dangerous criminals, but they deserve a fair trial. She quickly discovers that more of the detainees may be innocent rather than guilty, and the evidence for their detention is slim to none. Mahvish explores some of the Afghan detainee’s stories, their capture, torture, journey through Gitmo, as well as their family life at home.
The book does get political (although very easy to read and understand for someone who is not political at all), and has some anti-Bush comments, although it is not anti-America. The stories are touching and the injustices that are committed are hard to argue with. Here are some of the quotes that I found notable from the book, which may help to illustrate what I mean:
“While I believe that Guantanamo may hold evil men as well as innocent ones, I also believe that only a full and fair hearing can separate the good from the bad” – Author’s note, xxi
“A statistical analysis of DOD documents relating to 517 current and former Guantanamo detainees shows that only 5 percent of the detainees has been captured as a result of U.S. intelligence work.” – p. 59, regarding the fact that many detainees were given up by Pakistani society for large bounties, so big that the bounty could take care of the families for life
“The West fears the Muslim world because of the actions of a few bad people, and those bad people are considered just as evil in the Muslim world as they are in America.” – p. 242, spoken by a Gitmo detainee
Mahvish also described Afghan society, humanizing the men, women, and children, and reminding readers that there are many Muslims and Afghans out there that are not Taliban, that love America and Americans, and that are suffering injustices due to the Taliban regime. Some startling faces about Afghan life are that the average Afghan earns $0.83 a day, and one in four children dies before the age of five.
“My Guantanamo Diary” also illustrates some baffling situations, such as when flowers are no longer allowed inside Gitmo (threat to security?) and when one law firm representing clients was accused by Gitmo superiors of giving his clients Under Armour underwear, and the ensuing responses back and forth with which to prove the law firm’s innocence and the back story of where the underwear might have come from.
I highly recommend “My Guantanamo Diary.” It’s a book that will make you think, feel, and maybe research some of the information yourself.
“It’s easy to mistreat something being called No. 1154. It’s easy to shave its beard, kick it around like an object, to spit on it, torture it, or make it cry. It’s harder to dole out such abuse when No. 1154 retains its identity: Dr. Ali Shah Mousovi, a pediatrician who fled the Taliban, worked for the United Nations encouraging Afghans to participate and vote in the new democracy.” – back cover
Like my review? Check out my blog and tell me what YOU think!
“My Guantanamo Diary” is written by former law student and journalist Mahvish Rukhsana Khan, who has been published in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times.
The book tells the story of Mahvish in law school, learning about the injustices that were occurring at Guantanamo Bay, and wanting to get involved. Mahvish begins her journey believing that these men may be terrorists and dangerous criminals, but they deserve a fair trial. She quickly discovers that more of the detainees may be innocent rather than guilty, and the evidence for their detention is slim to none. Mahvish explores some of the Afghan detainee’s stories, their capture, torture, journey through Gitmo, as well as their family life at home.
The book does get political (although very easy to read and understand for someone who is not political at all), and has some anti-Bush comments, although it is not anti-America. The stories are touching and the injustices that are committed are hard to argue with. Here are some of the quotes that I found notable from the book, which may help to illustrate what I mean:
“While I believe that Guantanamo may hold evil men as well as innocent ones, I also believe that only a full and fair hearing can separate the good from the bad” – Author’s note, xxi
“A statistical analysis of DOD documents relating to 517 current and former Guantanamo detainees shows that only 5 percent of the detainees has been captured as a result of U.S. intelligence work.” – p. 59, regarding the fact that many detainees were given up by Pakistani society for large bounties, so big that the bounty could take care of the families for life
“The West fears the Muslim world because of the actions of a few bad people, and those bad people are considered just as evil in the Muslim world as they are in America.” – p. 242, spoken by a Gitmo detainee
Mahvish also described Afghan society, humanizing the men, women, and children, and reminding readers that there are many Muslims and Afghans out there that are not Taliban, that love America and Americans, and that are suffering injustices due to the Taliban regime. Some startling faces about Afghan life are that the average Afghan earns $0.83 a day, and one in four children dies before the age of five.
“My Guantanamo Diary” also illustrates some baffling situations, such as when flowers are no longer allowed inside Gitmo (threat to security?) and when one law firm representing clients was accused by Gitmo superiors of giving his clients Under Armour underwear, and the ensuing responses back and forth with which to prove the law firm’s innocence and the back story of where the underwear might have come from.
I highly recommend “My Guantanamo Diary.” It’s a book that will make you think, feel, and maybe research some of the information yourself.
“It’s easy to mistreat something being called No. 1154. It’s easy to shave its beard, kick it around like an object, to spit on it, torture it, or make it cry. It’s harder to dole out such abuse when No. 1154 retains its identity: Dr. Ali Shah Mousovi, a pediatrician who fled the Taliban, worked for the United Nations encouraging Afghans to participate and vote in the new democracy.” – back cover
Like my review? Check out my blog and tell me what YOU think!
vcallgood's review against another edition
4.0
I read this on accident. Let me explain: I am trying to complete Book Riot’s 2019 Read Harder Challenge, and one of the tasks is to read a book written in prison. This is definitely not in my wheelhouse, so I took to the goodreads group for recs. I kept seeing “Guantanamo Diary” recommended, so I checked its availability at my library, and this book popped up. You can see how I might have thought it was the one I was looking for.
I eventually realized this book was not written in prison, and there is ANOTHER book called “Guantanamo Diary” written by a detainee. But I was already hooked. She does such a beautiful job conveying the brutality and harsh conditions these men were living under while maintaining their dignity and honor. I had very little understanding of what really went on at GITMO under the Bush administration, or how the war on terror was run. This was devastating, heartbreaking, and eye opening. She does such a great job of presenting facts without vilifying any groups in their entirety.
A main take away from this book for me is that there are evil people on all sides of a conflict just as there are innocents, and when we blur the line between evil and innocence just because of a person’s race, nationality, or religious preference, we run the risk of perpetrating great evil ourselves.
I eventually realized this book was not written in prison, and there is ANOTHER book called “Guantanamo Diary” written by a detainee. But I was already hooked. She does such a beautiful job conveying the brutality and harsh conditions these men were living under while maintaining their dignity and honor. I had very little understanding of what really went on at GITMO under the Bush administration, or how the war on terror was run. This was devastating, heartbreaking, and eye opening. She does such a great job of presenting facts without vilifying any groups in their entirety.
A main take away from this book for me is that there are evil people on all sides of a conflict just as there are innocents, and when we blur the line between evil and innocence just because of a person’s race, nationality, or religious preference, we run the risk of perpetrating great evil ourselves.
leerazer's review against another edition
3.0
Much more of a personal impressionistic account of Guantanamo than a comprehensive look at any cases or issues involved. The author is a young idealistic law student from an immigrant Afghan family who volunteered as an interpreter for the lawyers working with Afghans imprisoned on the base. She was convinced that the prisoners she met there were innocent, good men, and she clearly felt full sympathy with them and their stories. She may well be right, and other sources will also confirm that many of the inmates held there were far from being the "worst of the worst" hardcore terrorists that the Bush administration would have had us believe. But there is also not much here to disprove those who would say the inmates were trained to lie and successfully fooled a naive young student.
An interesting book for its personal perspective and passion, not one that would probably change a lot of minds, and not one very heavy on details of the cases - which is the main drawback to it my view.
An interesting book for its personal perspective and passion, not one that would probably change a lot of minds, and not one very heavy on details of the cases - which is the main drawback to it my view.
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