Not Crime Fiction, but the release of David Hicks over the Christmas break prompted me to move this book up the unread pile. We purchased it after seeing a session at MWF in which Leigh Sales participated - her discussion of the book intrigued us considerably. If you're interested at all in the background of the treatment and case against David Hicks this is an excellently written book. It provides a narrative form of non-fiction which makes it extremely readable whilst providing great insight into the events leading up to his arrest as well as, what can possibly ever hope to be gleaned, about events post his arrest through to his "trial" and transfer to South Australia.
Details of the book for anybody interested:
Title: Detainee 002, The Case of David Hicks
Author: Leigh Sales (ABC's National Security Correspondent).
Publisher: Melbourne University Press
Copyright: 2007
ISBN: 978-0-522-85400-8
In a remote American military base at Guantanamo Bay, 385 enemy combatants sit waiting for their day in court. Among them is David Hicks, who was detained for five years until the March 2007 hearing where he pleaded guilty to the charge of providing material support for terrorism."Detainee 002" reveals in unprecedented detail how an Australian citizen wound up in the War on Terror. Based on more than five years of reporting and dozens of interviews with insiders, Leigh Sales explains the intricacies of Hicks' case, from his capture in Afghanistan, to life in Guantanamo Bay, to the behind-the-scene establishment and workings of the military commissions.Sales' impeccable research takes us from top-secret negotiations at the White House and Pentagon to the domestic fallout Hicks' incarceration has had on his family, to the campaign that Major Michael Mori, the marine who becomes his greatest advocate, waged on his behalf.David Hicks' case is emblematic of some of the greatest challenges facing the world today: the rise of Islamic extremism, terrorism and the accountability of governments towards their citizens. It is a chilling reminder that, in a war with ever-changing rules and no end in sight, there are no limits.