Advance Praise for Joel Simon’s We Want To Negotiate

“A wise and thorough investigation of the painful conundrum posed by terrorist kidnappings. Simon makes a cogent argument about how to change our current, failed approach to negotiation.”

—Lawrence Wright,
author of The Looming Tower and The Terror Years

“In We Want to Negotiate, Joel Simon combines the breadth of his knowledge alongside stunning narratives to try to understand how the gruesome and murky trade of kidnapping really works. Simon’s international policy expertise and his compassion for his subjects—many of whom he knew and worked alongside—shine through to create a spellbinding, chilling, and important read.”

—Janine di Giovanni,
Senior Fellow, the Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, Yale University, and author of The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria

“A persuasive argument that deserves to be heard in Foggy Bottom, the Pentagon, and other corridors of power.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“This is an excellently researched and reasoned book on a terrible and complicated problem: what to do when someone is taken hostage. I hope all those who have had to face this awful dilemma will read it, and especially those who make and carry out government policy.”

—Terry Anderson,
author of Den of Lions, hostage in Lebanon for seven years

“Joel Simon has written an invaluable insider’s account of the how and the why of the shadowy business of ransom negotiation at the highest level. For anyone who has ever wondered why some governments negotiate for the release of their captured citizens, while others—including our own—do not, Simon’s book is essential reading. As head of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Simon has seen the hostage crisis up close and this book reflects his intelligence, courage, and clear-eyed approach to this murky but, sadly, thriving business.”

—Kati Marton,
author of Wallenberg, Hidden Power, and The Great Escape

“Joel Simon’s book about the dark world of kidnappers and their hostages is deeply reported, well written, and well calibrated in its judgments. For anyone who wants to understand the many difficult questions raised by the kidnapping trade, Simon’s book will be the standard.”

—Peter Bergen,
author of United States of Jihad: Who are America’s Homegrown Terrorists and How Do We Stop Them