A stunning & shocking book that should be required reading for Americans. Quite a few of Slahi's accounts have since been corroborated by declassified reports & documents, as well as various legal actions to bring some of these activities to light (which lends weight to him being a fairly reliable narrator). Slahi's diary shines a bright & damning light on the fundamental shift in American thinking that took place after 9/11 when America walked away from many of its previously-held, basic principles including due process, humane treatment, and justice.

The account becomes more powerful when you realize that Slahi wrote this diary while living under torturous conditions in an isolated & very small bubble (no contact or knowledge of what was going on in the world outside of his cell). Picking up English as his fourth language while imprisoned & using it for his diary, he recounts his background, arrests, tortures, & 'world travels' (being taken to Jordan, Afghanistan, & then Guantanamo) with intelligent observations & an unerring faith in God, while maintaining his humanity in spite of decidedly inhumane treatment.

The diary mainly covers the years 2001-05. Ten years later, his diary has finally been published after years of legal wrangling. (It is almost certain that Slahi has no idea his diary has actually been published.) Although a federal judge ordered Slahi's release in 2010, the US government balked. Slahi remains in Guantanamo &, these many years later, still has not been charged with any crime.

We Americans, especially, need to read this & ask questions of ourselves, our government, our humanity, & our future.

Is this the America we once were? Is this the America we are now? Is this really the America we want to be?

Powerful & required reading.