The book highlights some of the darkest sides of the Bush administation's "War On Terror". Murat Kurnaz tells a breathtaking and horrifying story about the unlawful detention that took away his youth.

He was exposed to some of the most humiliating, inhumane and painful treatments possible. He was hung up on a hook in the ceiling for five days, electified, nearly drowned, subjected to mock execution, put in solitary confinement for extreme stretches in unbearable heat or cold, put in a room with no air supply among many, many other things.

This book is a wake-up call to the cruel world we live in, and is a MUST READ for anyone interested in what REALLY happens outside their backyard.

A first hand testimony of how things can go so wrong when we forget to treat people as human beings

In this rather harrowing story, Murat Kurnaz's a Turkish immigrant living with his family in Germany, recounts the events that landed him in a series of U.S. sanctioned Post-911 prisons: establishments we have since learned are to be referred to as part of U.S. "renditions:" that is prisons operating with U.S. consent but outside normal U.S. legal jurisdiction. What we have since learned is that they are strung across the globe from Afghanistan to Cuba.

In graphic details, the author gives an almost blow-by-blow account of the almost uncivilized treatment he received in each prison. Although he never actually uses that term torture, the reader can draw his own conclusions about what to call it.

No matter what one calls it, if even a small part of his story is true, there is nothing revealed here that in any way could make the U.S. proud of its actions. Although in defense of those actions, it is not just a minor detail that Murat and his brother were arrested a few months after the 911 attack on America, when both were enroute to Afghanistan. And when detained they gave contradictory reasons for their travels.

According to Murat the purpose of the trip was to attend a Madrassa better to get in touch with their Muslim religions roots. However, this is not the story told by his brother, who was stopped at the German border by immigration authorities. According to his brother, they were headed to Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban. In fact, it is this his brother's version (told to the German authorities unbeknownst to Murat), that eventually got Murat into hot water once he arrived at the Pakistani-Afghan border. The brother's version took on added significance when it was also learned by German authorities (through subsequent interviews with his family) that both had left Germany in secrecy and without giving warning even to their families. On the surface, even Murat's telling of this story looks suspiciously like preparatory terrorists activity. It didn't help matters either that Pakistan authorities were being paid a bounty of $3,000 for turning in suspected terrorists.

If indeed the author and his brother were headed to Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban, as the latter claimed, then they surely could not have been expecting any sympathy from the U.S. government. And indeed, had he been properly charged and brought before a normal U.S. bar of justice, there would be no story to tell here. I frankly would have had no sympathy for their plight either, because under this more normal set of circumstances, evidence could have been brought forth, including the testimony of his brother, and the family. And as is customary in such cases, their respective fates would have been left to the mercy of the U.S. courts, either military or civilian. Based just on the facts told here, the chances would have been about 50-50 that they could have been convicted on charges of conspiring to give support to sworn U.S. enemies.

But that is not the story told here. Instead of being given at least the minimum of due process guaranteed under the Geneva Convention, of being formally charged under U.S. law, transported and held over for trial, and then given proper legal representation, instead Murat was unconscionably held incommunicado and against every percept of American law, tortured for more than five years.

Even if no lawsuits ensue, just as was the case with Abu Ghraib, irreparable damage has been done to the U.S. international reputation. Leaving all of the torture aside, which is difficult to do given how blatant it was, the sheer insanity of our leaders to engage in such unconscionable practices even in the aftermath of 911, simply staggers the imagination. Are we a Banana Republic or what?

Three stars.

Assuming everything Murat writes about in this book is true, and for now I'm assuming that it is because I have no reason to believe otherwise, it is the most revealing and disturbing account of how we, America, captured many of the prisoners at Guantanamo and treated them while they were under our control. As an American, and former marine, I am saddened, horrified, and ashamed that we would torture anyone. And make it a policy - then deny it!?!? It was clearly a decision and an order from our nation's leadership to manage the situation in a manner that I could only compare to the way in which Hitler ordered the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. I can't get out of my mind the terrible conditions that we forced these men to endure -- the ones who have survived. This book has ignited in me a desire to learn more about what is happening in Guantanamo and to do whatever I can to stop our government from torturing human beings.

How can we just sit back while our country's leadership illegally tortures and kills people in the name of our security?

On October 3, 2001 (Shortly after the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11) the author, 19-year-old Murat Kurnaz flew from Germany to Pakistan to fulfill his personal goal of becoming more educated in his Muslim religion. On December 1, 2001 on the way to the airport in Peshawar, "Kurnaz is stopped at a police checkpoint and is detained for several days in Pakistani jails before being handed over to the U.S. military", which starts an arduous, dehumanizing, bleak, chain of events that leads the author to jails, prisons and detainment locations in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and Cuba. Though the treatment dealt out upon the author is described in minute detail, and is obviously below any acceptable level of human decency, he never assigns any names to these evil henchmen. On a couple of occasions he says he knows their name but won't use it i.e."The man told me to call him Jack (not his real name). My question is: "Why won't he use the real names if their deeds were so hideous? The author is safely out of prison, and in fact he makes the statement on page 236: "I believe I've remained the same person I always was, WITH THE SAME NAME, LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSE." How can America and the world try to right these wrongs so that the atrocities described in this book don't happen again, if this author doesn't give us names?

Throughout the telling of this story the reader is aghast at the two main events that transpire. The first is why this seemingly innocent young man out of all the people in the world is plucked up by an unjust government to be dropped into the hellish prison environment this book describes. By the end of the book if you put the pieces together there is a plausible explanation, that in my opinion isn't acknowledged with as much fervor as the dehumanizing treatment is. First of all Kurnaz left Germany (where he was born, but was a Turkish citizen, which complicated things later on.) without telling his family. When his mother reported to the police that her son was missing. She also stated her son had changed recently, growing a beard and becoming more religious. Kurnaz's friend Selcuk who was accompanying Kurnaz on the trip to Pakistan, was stopped by security at the Frankfurt airport because he had an outstanding warrant. Kurnaz went ahead to Pakistan with the understanding that Selcuk would straighten things out and meet him in Pakistan the next day. Little did he know, nor does the reader know, until much later that Selcuk's brother told the border police that the two men intended to go to Afghanistan and fight with the Taliban.

The daily, weekly, monthly, YEARLY, physical and mental abuse meted out is barbaric, and if it's all true, should be abolished by the United States. But how can we know for sure, if the main witness, the author, now safe in his home won't give any names? The author, on one hand being capable of over 200 pages of intricate detail regarding the tortuous mistreatment, either won't name names, or as the following quote from the book states; that he "forgot" to ask perhaps the only American portrayed in this entire book as having any human compassion at all, for his name!

"He was working in my block on his last day. He came to me and said: "Murat, I've only got two hours to go." He was very excited. Then he came back and said: "Only one hour to go." When his time was almost up, he reappeared, parked himself in front of the door of my cage and looked at his watch. There were a few guards standing a bit off to the side. He called them over. "Hey come and watch what I'm doing!" the guards came closer. He looked at his watch and started to count. "Five, four, three, two..." When he counted to zero, he took off his armband. To the outrage of the other guards, he motioned as if he was about to wipe his butt with it. Then he threw the armband on the floor and stamped on it. "I'm not an MP anymore!" he trampled on it in the way the guards had trampled on the Koran." "You see that? That's it!" I don't know whether he was punished for his actions. That evening he came back to my cage. I was sitting on the floor and he squatted down in front of my door. "I'm sorry. I really hoped you would get out. I wanted to say goodbye." He had tears in his eyes. "I'll try to help you when I get back to the States." He pushed his fingers through the wire mesh. We said goodbye. I thanked him for his friendship and the many extra helpings that he gave me. UNFORTUNATELY, I NEVER ASKED HIM HIS NAME."

What would the Nuremberg Trial have accomplished without names? How would we have arrested Nazi war criminals even sixty years later without names? I agree with the author's lawyer who says: "We need to vindicate a principle: that there should be no prison beyond the law." Kurnaz, we need names.

The book will shock the hell out of you. This is not some second-hand account, but day-by-day details from an actual victim. No longer can we excuse those like Andrew Sullivan who were cheerleaders for the Iraq War and enamored of Rumsfeld. This book is a devastating blow to those writers like Sullivan who called the war detractors "elite, fifth-column" traitors. My God what a horrible precedent we've set by this authorized torture.

Night by Elie Wiesel. A Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexander Solzhenityn. These are the books that I was reminded of as I read Murat Kurnaz's account of the time he spent in Guantanamo Bay. The chief difference, or course, is that the despicable treatment of human beings that is detailed in this book was not perpetrated by the Nazi or Communist regimes of another generation - but by our own government - the United States of America. Murat Kurnaz should be applauded for not only surviving 5 years of unimaginable treatment, but for having the courage to tell his story. I don't know who in our govenment and military is responsible for what happenned, and no doubt continues to happen at Guantanamo Bay, but I hope that they are one day brought to justice and made to answer in a court of law for the crimes that have occurred there.

Murat Kurnaz, a Turkish citizen, was arrested shortly after 9/11 in Peshawar, Pakistan as he was preparing to return to Germany and his parents and new bride. Kurnaz had gone to Pakistan to learn how to be a good Muslim. Reportedly, the U.S. paid a $3,000 bounty for his capture.

Kurnaz alleges he was constantly beaten by American soldiers, both in Kandahar and Guantanamo, kept in sometimes very cold conditions without adequate clothing or cover, served very inadequate meals, tortured (eg. electroshock treatment, strung up from the ceiling for up to five days, cold showers outside in cold weather - witnessed by female guards, loud music, bright lights, etc. Kurnaz also claims that there were instances when guards desecrated prisoners' Korans, and fractures were not treated. Only a hunger strike helped, and only with one camp commander.

Ultimately Kurnaz was returned to Germany and freed after a federal judge ruled the evidence against him did not stand up, and two instances of talks between the German and American leaders.

If even half of Kurnaz's story is true, it is a terrible reflection on America and those involved. (I have no doubt that there were a few bad apples - given the situation, that is hard to prevent.) However, authenticity of Kurnaz's overall story is a big question. Initially he claims being held because of a general bounty on Al Qaeda suspects - no matter how thin the evidence, then because he had briefly associated with a group supportive of Al Qaeda, and finally because there was a fear that he had known Mohammad Atta. Perhaps all three reasons were true at various times, perhaps not.

Then there is his evolution from knowing very little English to being fluent enough to offer sarcastic and nuanced responses to interrogators. Kurnaz also claims that physicians examined him in between torture sessions, and had the label "Doctor" on their uniforms. (I never saw such a label on Army M.D.s)

Finally, for whatever reason, Kurnaz declines to name individuals at Guantanamo, hiding their real identity with pseudonyms (except for General Miller). Use of actual names would possibly have given his story considerably increased credibility by allowing specific focus to investigations of torture, etc. The book also fails to follow-up by interviewing those involved with his early military trials - what actually was concluded, and why.

Bottom Line: Read with caution; confirmatory evidence is required.

Murat Kurnaz, a Turkish citizen, was arrested shortly after 9/11 in Peshawar, Pakistan as he was preparing to return to Germany and his parents and new bride. Kurnaz had gone to Pakistan to learn how to be a good Muslim. Reportedly, the U.S. paid a $3,000 bounty for his capture.

Kurnaz alleges he was constantly beaten by American soldiers, both in Kandahar and Guantanamo, kept in sometimes very cold conditions without adequate clothing or cover, served very inadequate meals, tortured (eg. electroshock treatment, strung up from the ceiling for up to five days, cold showers outside in cold weather - witnessed by female guards, loud music, bright lights, etc. Kurnaz also claims that there were instances when guards desecrated prisoners' Korans, and fractures were not treated. Only a hunger strike helped, and only with one camp commander.

Ultimately Kurnaz was returned to Germany and freed after a federal judge ruled the evidence against him did not stand up, and two instances of talks between the German and American leaders.

Authenticity of Kurnaz's story is a big question. Initially he claims being held because of a general bounty on Al Qaeda suspects - no matter how thin the evidence, then because he had briefly associated with a group supportive of Al Qaeda, and finally because there was a fear that he had known Mohammad Atta. Perhaps all three reasons were true at various times, perhaps not.

Then there is his evolution from knowing very little English to being fluent enough to offer sarcastic and nuanced responses to interrogators. Kurnaz also claims that physicians examined him in between torture sessions, and had the label "Doctor" on their uniforms. (I never saw such a label on Army M.D.s)

Finally, for whatever reason, Kurnaz declines to name individuals at Guantanamo, hiding their real identity with pseudonyms (except for General Miller). Use of actual names would possibly have given his story considerably increased credibility by allowing specific focus to investigations of torture, etc. The book also fails to follow-up by interviewing those involved with his early military trials - what actually was concluded, and why.

Bottom Line: Read with caution; confirmatory evidence is required.

As an American, I can understand wanting something done after 9/11 - but after reading this, I feel ashamed. Not so much as our government needed information, but the way they went about obtaining that information.

As a relative of many Nazi camp survivors, I can say after reading this that Gitmo was worse. No human being should ever have to endure what Murat had to deal with. Not only the physical beating but the absolute mental torture as well. There is no possible way that 99% of us could ever survive. Its amazing that Murat did.

Many of us have snickered at the Guantanamo protests, but after reading this book, I apt to get involved. How would YOU feel if this happened to you or your relatives (it did in Vietnam and WW 2).

I'm glad he didn't fear writing this book. Its sad that its not getting more atention

This account of Murat Kurnaz's journey through the Bush's new World order is heart breaking and horrific. After reading this impressive and truthful memoir I am covinced that the majority of so called "Eney Combatants" are innocent people picked up by various allies like Pakistan and the Northern Alliance out of greed or tribal jealousy. The US and its army folks have turned into Nazis out of anger and zeal to catch the so called terrotists. They have become themselves worst than the perceived enemies. How a 90+ year old Afghan is danger to the US interest? It is must read for all human beings who care to save the human civilization. We need to try all these leaders who are responsible for the crimes against humanity in a Neuranberg type court and hang them-starting from the Generals who commanded the Gitmo and Abu Ghareb.

I shared the experience of another reviewer of this book. I was so insensed by what I was reading, I read late into the night until I couldn't remain awake (3 a.m.) and then got up the next morning and read thoughout the morning and afternoon again to finish this story.

There are lots of reasons to read this book: To learn the truth and be enraged at the audacity of powerful people out of control. To not quite believe what you've heard and want to hear for yourself what someone experienced firsthand. To be a non-believer and to see what falsehoods are being spread against our democracy. But beware -- once you read this, you will be insensed at what is happening in our name and to our name, and the only way it will keep happening is if we simply refuse to listen when someone tells us about it.

This tale is powerfully told. It will surely keep you reading to the end, too.

It's rare (at my age, anyway!) for a book to keep me up all night. But Murat Kurnaz's memoir of his five years in the Guantanamo prison camp did just that. I spent most of the night hours reading it, alternately grateful that we finally have an insider's view of Gitmo and horrified at Kurnaz's descriptions of what he and the other prisoners endured. The rest of the night I spent pacing, too agitated by what I'd read to sleep. If even a small part of what Kurnaz says is true--and we have independent evidence that suggests his tale is accurate--the treatment of prisoners at Gitmo is indecent and, by any reasonable person's standard, illegal.

Kurnaz, a German-born (in 1982) Turk, traveled to Pakistan in late 2001 to study at a madrassa. Shortly thereafter, through a combination of false evidence, police corruption, alleged guilt by association, and bureaucratic incompetence, he was arrested and handed over to American military authorities. After a three-month imprisonment in Afghanistan, he was transferred to Gitmo, where he would stay until his exoneration and release in August 2006. (This despite the fact that the U.S. authorities quickly realized, as Kurnaz's lawyer, Baher Azmy, compellingly argues in the book's epilogue, that Kurnaz was innocent.)

Kurnaz's first three months in Gitmo were spent in Camp X-Ray, so called because the prisoners where in open air cages where everything was "completely transparent" to the scrutiny of the guards. The cages were 15 square feet (smaller than German requirements for caging animals), open to the weather as well as spiders, snakes, and scorpions. prisoners were irregularly fed, denied medical treatment, and given bad water to drink. They were also forbidden to stand, lie down during the day, or touch the sides of the cages. Breaking any rule brought swift retribution from the IRF, Immediate Reaction Force, whose members would quickly pepper-spray the offending prisoner and then beat him senseless. But spraying and beating could also come out of the blue. The point, Kurnaz quickly concluded, was to break prisoners and humiliate them--but also, at least in some cases, to provide guards an opportunity to vent (p. 147).

Transferred from open cages to cages within buildings--a new prison called Camp Delta--Kurnaz underwent regular and harsh interrogation, endured often uneatable food, participated in a couple of hunger strikes when the Koran was trampled by American guards, and suffered under a new policy of "maximum discomfort" initiated by a change of camp commanders. The new CO, General Geoffrey Miller, began Operation Sandman, intended to deprive prisoners of sleep by subjecting them to continuous cell rotations and loud heavy metal music. Rebelling against the physical abuse and the psych-ops mistreatments, Kurnaz was repeatedly thrown into solitary confinement--basically a "ship container with a door" whose temperature could be manipulated to be either frigid or suffocatingly hot (p. 161).

A particularly poignant moment in Kurnaz's imprisonment was when one of his American guards, conscience-stricken, confessed to him that the treatment of Gitmo prisoners constituted torture. On the day of his discharge from the military, the guard removed his MP armband and threw it on the ground (pp. 193-94). Other guards, indoctrinated before their tour of duty with films and lectures that described Gitmo prisoners as murderous prisoners, were brutal.

Kurnaz's story is horrifying, both because of its details and because it affirms what most of us uncomfortably have already pieced together--that prisoners are being tortured at Gitmo. How ironic that the logo over the Guantanamo gates says "Honor Bound to Defend Freedom" (p. 147).