It's an excellent prison memoir from a man who has been imprisoned without charge at the U.S. torture facility at Guantánamo since 2001. It will probably be enshrined as one of the best prison memoirs.

[a:Mohamedou Ould Slahi|8241241|Mohamedou Ould Slahi|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] taught himself English, largely while in captivity, and what his (at times heavily-redacted) writing lacks in vocabulary, it makes up for in wit. The author has an excellent memory, which helps him describe the various aspects of his imprisonment, interrogation, and torture vividly.

The redactions are often bizarre and contribute to the book something like a second author or character whose destructive and sometimes ridiculous censorship is, from a literary point of view, a valuable foil to Slahi's open-heartedness.

Slahi is still imprisoned at Guantánamo, as are many others. His torturers are still collecting government paychecks or pensions, as are those who ordered the torture, and those who continue to cover it up.