“[A] poignant, thoughtful plea for accountability and a change of course . . . [a] chilling cautionary tale of Orwellian repercussions.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Lucid . . . a solid account of how the U.S. seems to be mired in a losing and intractable battle against global terrorism. . . . a clear-eyed and shrewd examination.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Mark Danner’s Spiral lays bare the way a jihadist strategy of provocation, playing on America’s infinite capacity for oversimplification and overreaction, sucked the United States into endless wars. This is a book that must be read, debated, and deeply understood if we are ever to extricate ourselves from the world of quagmires created by the ‘global War on Terror.’” (Christopher Dickey, Foreign Editor of The Daily Beast)

“In Mark Danner’s eloquent and unsparing analysis, America’s War on Terror has degenerated into a downward spiral that has tarnished its laws, its reputation and its soul. There is no better account of what ‘the forever war’ has done to this country and what we need to do to get the battle against terrorism onto the right track.” (Michael Ignatieff Edward R. Murrow Professor, Harvard Kennedy School)

“In the growing mountain of books coming out about the War on Terror, Mark Danner’s Spiral is the one you have to read. In a small book, Danner offers clarity to the complicated with a combination of tough-minded reporting and an elegant sense of classical tragedy. Spiral will make you angry, make you sad, and make you understand.” (Mark Kurlansky, author of Paper: Paging Through History)

“In this important book, Mark Danner shows how the War on Terror has become not just perpetual but self-perpetuating—a series of misconceived policies that, designed to prevent attacks, have only bred more. Spiral is an excellent metaphor, and with force and passion, he suggests a way out.” (Michael Massing, author of Now They Tell Us: The American Press and Iraq)

“Mark Danner has long been both an eyewitness to the wars of our time and an erudite analyst of the illusions behind them. But above all, in this wise and eloquent new book, he is a humanist and patriot appalled at how far his own country has gone off the rails.” (Adam Hochschild, author of Spain in Our Hearts)

“An excellent resource for those who want to understand Middle East unrest and the ISIS terrorism threat without being Middle East scholars.” (Library Journal)

“A timely, valuable book . . . Danner provides a vital service in this election season, reminding us that the job of president of the United States grows more complex with each passing year.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

“Eloquent  . . . [Danner] writes powerfully from the perspective of an American who feels both angry and betrayed . . . a bold, unsparing assessment of who Americans are when they can be so complacent in the face of so many ongoing iniquities.” (The National)

The San Francisco Chronicle included Spiral on its top 100 books of 2016 and The Progressive included it in its list of favorite books of 2016.