Those interviews, many of which he presents here, are breathtaking in their depth and staggering in their significance. Framed by his personal insights, Honigsberg’s chronicle sensitively portrays those sharing their stories and illuminates what must be considered one of the darkest episodes of American history ... The horrors of Guantánamo have been exposed before, as has its legal legitimacy, but Honigsberg’s steadfast dedication to speaking with those intimately involved in the base’s inner workings takes a step far above other works. Eviscerating, powerful, and monumentally important, A Place Outside the Law must not be ignored.
What sets Honigsberg’s portrait apart is his focus on the lasting effects of isolation and controversial legal process on all involved. The author concludes that the United States broke the rule of law, and is the worse for it ... A sobering book for audiences interested in law and current affairs.
Honigsberg combines his impressive research with his persistent advocacy for detainees who clearly played no role in the 9/11 attacks and who almost certainly never posed any threat to American citizens. In easily understood lay terms, the author explains how the George W. Bush administration ignored federal court rulings regarding humane treatment, how Congress furthered the lawlessness, how federal lawyers invented the status of 'enemy combatant,' and how the Obama administration never observed promises to shut down Guantánamo ... As presented convincingly by the author, the misconduct by the U.S. government is so egregious that readers with a moral compass could fairly conclude that many individuals have been wrongly incarcerated ... A well-documented, hard-hitting, necessary exposé.
