To Be a Friend Is Fatal: The Fight to Save the Iraqis America Left Behind
"Kirk Johnson is one of the few genuine heroes of America's war in Iraq.... Johnson's story is about America's shame, and also its honor. This is an essential book." (Dexter Filkins, Pulitzer Prize-nominee, New Yorker staff writer, and author of The Forever War)“I have long been an admirer of Kirk Johnson--for his humanitarian advocacy on behalf of forgotten Iraqis and for his honest and poetic writing…. His is a story that arcs from charity to futility to pain to charity again, and how much he needs to tell it equals how much it deserves to be read.” (David Finkel, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Good Soldiers)"What is so intriguing about this beautifully written book is that while it is a scathing critique of America's policy toward Iraq, it is not one of your usual policy books.To Be a Friend is Fatalis a deeply personal and poignant story about how one young American's passion and curiosity lead him to a distant and troubled land, where his empathy and sense justice prevent him from giving up on the people abandoned by the U.S. government." (Azar Nafisi, New York Times-bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran)"[A] truly incredible story." (Ira Glass, "This American Life")“From the ruins of the war in Iraq and his own broken body, Kirk Johnson made it his cause to redeem the one American promise to Iraqis that honor required us to keep. He tirelessly fought the political resistance and bureaucratic indifference of two administrations. His account is riveting, darkly funny, heroic, and shaming.” (George Packer, author of The Assassins' Gate and The Unwinding)"Johnson makes sharp criticisms.... A well-written account of one man’s righteous quest to overcome government bureaucracy." (Kirkus)"It is difficult to imagine a book more urgent than this." (Rayyan Al-ShawafThe Boston Globe)"The well-written book - the author is an honest, engaging and indomitable guide - warrants a special place in nonfiction shelves." (John Kael WestonThe Daily Beast)"A searing account." (The New Yorker)"This authentic patriot has written a must-read memoir." (Trudy RubinPhiladelphia Inquirer)"Kirk W. Johnson’s rage-inducing account of government indifference is a tale of lost innocence that, in our American twilight, feels devastatingly allegorical." (Megan O'GradyVogue)“A poignant story…a fascinating and intimate look at the inner workings of military occupation and its effects.” (Los Angeles Review of Books)Harrowing. (Men's Journal)