By: Steven T. Wax
“Our government can make you disappear.” Those were the words Steven Wax, the Federal Public Defender for the District of Oregon, never imagined he would hear himself say. In his twenty-nine years as a public defender, Wax had never had to warn a client that he or she might be taken away to a military brig, or worse, a “black site,” one of our country’s dreaded secret prisons. How had our country come to this? The disappearance of people happens in places ruled by tyrants, military juntas, fascist strongmen --- governments with such contempt for the rule of law that they strip their citizens of all rights. But in America?
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Hardcover, 380 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59051-295-1 (1-59051-295-2)
According to Wax, the civil rights of U.S. citizens are being threatened alongside those of foreigners. In KAFKA COMES TO AMERICA: Fighting For Justice in the War on Terror (Other Press; June 2008; Hardcover), Wax interweaves the stories of two men that he and his team represented: Brandon Mayfield, an American-born small town lawyer and family man, arrested as a suspected terrorist in the Madrid train station bombings after a fingerprint was incorrectly traced back to him by the FBI; and Adel Hamad, a Sudanese hospital administrator taken from his apartment to a Pakistani prison and then flown in chains to the United States military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
With KAFKA COMES TO AMERICA, Wax is determined to bring the government’s abuses of power to light and encourage readers to open their eyes and keep themselves informed. But he also endeavors to call attention to the opportunities unique to this country that provide ways for us to stand up to these injustices and fight to protect our Constitutional rights. “In this great country,” Wax writes, “we all have the right and the obligation under the First Amendment to speak out. We all have the right to work for change, and if we all make the effort, we can change things for the better.”
-About the Book: http://www.otherpress.com/bookpage.php?bkID=540
-About Steven T. Wax: http://www.otherpress.com/author.php?pID=881&bkID=540
-Steven T. Wax on tour: http://www.otherpress.com/booktour.php?bkID=540
-Photos from KAFKA COMES TO AMERICA: http://www.otherpress.com/kafka
Praise for KAFKA COMES TO AMERICA:
"In an enthralling, enraging narrative, Wax captures the damage that Guantánamo has done to America’s reputation abroad, and shows how the legal fights on behalf of detainees might restore it." ---The New Yorker
“Federal public defender Wax masterfully delivers a harrowing story of the erosion of civil liberties after the September 11 terrorist attacks in a powerful testimony that reads like a thriller. . Wax offers personal insight and professional outrage; his is a powerful voice that deserves to reach all Americans.” ---Publishers Weekly, Starred review
“Steven Wax vividly portrays how chillingly close we have come to forsaking our foundational beliefs of justice and liberty. Precisely because he is devoted to deeply-held American values, this book has the power to promote effective activism against a government that has lost its way. Wax writes with authority, both moral and legal.” ---Kris Olson, U.S. Attorney for Oregon (1994-2001) and author of STANDING TALL
“Some day, the United States will leave its post-9/11 cave. But principles wither with prolonged disuse, and if we emerge with ours intact, it will be in some measure because of courageous lawyers like Steve Wax.” ---Joseph Margulies, author of GUANTANAMO AND THE ABUSE OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER
“Wax’s true story is heart-wrenching and as scary as any fictional thriller. This is a must read for anyone who cares about maintaining the freedoms that make this country great.” ---Phillip Margolin, author of EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE
"With his inside account of representing alleged terrorists, public defender Steven T. Wax demonstrates that a legal thriller—even nonfiction—doesn’t always require courtroom drama." ---Kirkus Reviews
