RaveThe Times (UK)... exceptional ... One of the strengths of Verini is his eye for detail ... Although Verini is confident in handling war’s black comedy, his book is not funny, nor does it set out to be. It is a poignant and detailed profile, beautifully written, of people in war. The timeline of the battle for the city, which culminated in victory in July 2017 for the Iraqi army and US-led coalition, is seamlessly interwoven with sections on the ascent of Isis, and other chapters describing Mosul’s ancient history ... an exceptional study both of modern war and of the most significant battle in the war against Islamic State. I read each page with relish and gratitude, and on several occasions drummed my heels with delight at the sheer ludicrousness of the horror of it all.
Lindsey Hilsum
PositiveThe TimesHilsum is diligent—the earlier and less eventful stages of Colvin’s life are given too much space and described in a fairly pedestrian fashion ... As Colvin’s life becomes more exciting, so does Hilsum’s writing ... despite the odd misstep Hilsum avoids hagiography and the Colvin introduced to the wider world in these pages is a woman her friends will recognize ... Hilsum pulls no punches in her description of the final stage of Colvin’s life in Syria ... Reporters cannot do their job in war without the risk of dying; Colvin, who always made her own rules anyway, knew and accepted this. The more complex truth, which Hilsum suggests, is that the American who died in the rubble in Baba Amr felt more at one with the internal peace she found in wars than with the conflicts she found in peace.
