More praise for

TO BE A FRIEND IS FATAL

“Kirk W. Johnson’s rage-inducing account of government indifference is a tale of lost innocence that, in our American twilight, feels devastatingly allegorical.”

—Megan O’Grady, Vogue

“From the ruins of the war in Iraq and his own broken body, Kirk Johnson made it his cause to redeem the one American promise to Iraqis that honor required us to keep. He tirelessly fought the political resistance and bureaucratic indifference of two administrations. His account is riveting, darkly funny, heroic, and shaming.”

—George Packer, National Book Award–winning
author of The Assassins’ Gate and The Unwinding

“I have long been an admirer of Kirk Johnson—for his humanitarian advocacy on behalf of forgotten Iraqis and for his honest and poetic writing. . . . His is a story that arcs from charity to futility to pain to charity again, and how much he needs to tell it equals how much it deserves to be read.”

—David Finkel, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist
and author of Thank You for Your Service

“What is so intriguing about this beautifully written book is that while it is a scathing critique of America’s policy toward Iraq, it is not one of your usual policy books. To Be a Friend Is Fatal is a deeply personal and poignant story about how one young American’s passion and curiosity led him to a distant and troubled land, where his empathy and sense of justice prevent him from giving up on the people abandoned by the US government.”

—Azar Nafisi, New York Times bestselling
author of Reading Lolita in Tehran

“Johnson makes sharp criticisms. . . . A well-written account of one man’s righteous quest to overcome government bureaucracy.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“[This] well-written book—the author is an honest, engaging, and indomitable guide—warrants a special place in nonfiction shelves.”

—John Kael Weston, The Daily Beast

“This authentic patriot has written a must-read memoir.”

—Trudy Rubin, The Philadelphia Inquirer

“A poignant story . . . a fascinating and intimate look at the inner workings of military occupation and its effects.”

—Los Angeles Review of Books

“Harrowing.”

—Men’s Journal