Shadow lives

The forgotten women of the War on Terror

Victoria Brittain, Pluto Press, 192 pages, paperback, £14.99

When a book has a foreword by art critic and writer John Berger and is endorsed publicly on Twitter by actor Danny Devito, it’s probably worth a read.

Victoria Brittain has worked at The Guardian for 20 years and is co-author of Moazzam Begg’s Guantanamo memoir, Enemy combatant, published in 2006.

This new book, published to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq and the War on Terror, tells of new horrors.

It reveals an unseen side of the 9/11 wars: their impact on the wives and families of men incarcerated in Guantanamo, or in prison or under house arrest in Britain and the US.

Brittain shows how these families have been made socially invisible and a convenient scapegoat for the state in order to exercise arbitrary powers under the cover of the phony War on Terror.

A disturbing exposé of the perilous state of freedom and democracy in our society, the book reveals how a culture of intolerance and cruelty has left individuals at the mercy of the security services’ unverifiable accusations and punishments.

It is both a powerful j’accuse and a testament to the strength and humanity of the families, giving voice to families whose lives have been turned upside down.

Reviews contributed by the Bookmarks socialist bookshop. Order online at www.bookmarksbookshop.co.uk