“My Guantanamo Diary joins such indispensable documents as Murat Kurnaz’s Five Years of My Life in chronicling events behind the thick secrecy surrounding the prison…. Her contribution here is to show us the humanity of those who have been waiting for years—often in conditions that drive humans beings mad—to learn what they are accused of and when, if ever, they might be released. These stories will sink permanently into the reader’s consciousness.” ­—Washington Post

"[G]ripping. . . By giving us the perspective of the detainees, "My Guantanamo Diary," provides a valuable account of what we can now recognize as one of the most shameful episodes in the war on terror. It is hard to read this book without a growing sense of embarrassment and indignation." - The New York Times Book Review (Jeffrey Rosen, Aug 10, 2008)

"My Guantanamo Diary is a rare look behind the barbed wire. And a scathing one. It includes stories about bringing Starbucks chai, pizza and ice cream to the detainees, and about traveling to Afghanistan to collect evidence: witness affidavits, employment records, photographs. She took strands of hair the men plucked from their beards to their families, and brought back photos and videos to detainees who had not seen their children in five years. " - San Diego Union Tribune (John Wilkens, Sept. 7, 2008)

"[W]renching" - New York Times (Nicholas D. Kristof, May 2008)

"By focusing on the personal accounts of her clients and giving them names, faces and stories, Khan’s book is a powerful reminder that these men have all been away from their families for more than five years – and that they have all been denied a fair hearing. My Guantánamo Diary argues persuasively for this aberration to US law to be resolved." - The Financial Times (Aug 18, 2008)

"My Guantanamo Diary offers a glimpse into a part of the war on terror intentionally kept in darkness. Reading it will change you. With any luck, it will change the world." --St. Petersburg Times

"A surprisingly easy and accessible book, My Guantanamo Diary is a fantastic introduction to the criminal and morally reprehensible nature of the 'war on terror.' "- The Morning Star (UK Daily)

"In 2005, Khan was a US citizen of Afghan parentage, studying law in Miami. Fired up by a sense of injustice and an awareness of her heritage, she volunteered to help those held at Guantanamo and was soon working as a translator for the prisoners. These are their stories – from the entirely innocent paediatrician to the wise-cracking goatherd who had taught himself English. The injustices Khan describes are startling, but what really makes these stories is the human touch. No longer anonymous boiler-suited figures, they reveal their sense of humour, family histories and human spirit. This is an important book.” - The London Paper

"As a young, Pashto-speaking lawyer, Mahvish Rukhsana Khan went to Guantánamo as an interpreter for the American civilian lawyers who have tried for six years, without success, to get legal hearings for detainees. To the Afghans she met, she brought much more than her translation skills and her knowledge of the culture and country her parents had told her about. With her bunches of flowers and scented rice and lamb dishes, and her easy chat about anything at all, she restored them from numbers to human beings again." -The Guardian

"Khan's account is plenty powerful—and that's before she travels alone to war-torn Afghanistan in order to prove her clients' innocence. Khan also divulges her poignant reunions with several prisoners following their release, a bittersweet breath of fresh air amid a nightmarish, eye-opening and important account."- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“[Khan]Holds back little in her searing debut, realizing that few other observers are in a position to reveal the truth as she found it. A gutsy and disturbing exposé.” - Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"[H]ighly disturbing...impassioned... this work is highly recommended for all public libraries." - Library Journal (Starred Review)

“My Guantanamo Diary is the first thing I have read that brings to life the place and its inmates. By turns saddening and enraging, and also amusing, it is splendidly written. This is an outstanding book.” - ARYEH NEIER, Open Society Institute President and former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch.

"[Mahvish] strips away the mask of assigned numbers to reveal the faces of real human beings who also are innocent: a pediatrician, an 80-year old cripple in a wheelchair, a goatherd, a businessman, and many others." - Toledo Blade

"Stunning details all but hidden from the daily news reports may bring American readers to conclude, as has Khan, that 'my government has duped me.' " - Book List.

"Outraged by the treatment of Guantanamo detainees, Afghan-American lawyer volunteers to translate for them. Understanding their customs, she made friends with many of the prisoners, and here tells their compelling and disquieting stories.” - Bookseller

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