In September 2004, Canadian journalist Scott Taylor was taken hostage in northern Iraq. While awaiting execution by beheading, he reflected on the events that had brought him to a torture chamber in a remote Iraqi village, from his early years as a Canadian Forces infantryman to his later career as a frontline reporter in Africa, the former Yugoslavia, and in 21 trips to Saddam Hussein's Iraq before, during, and after the U.S.-led invasion. After his kidnapping ordeal, Taylor resumed his unembedded war reporting in Afghanistan. He recounts his adventures in this action-packed and brutally honest memoir. With searing criticism, Taylor exposes the deceit of the politicians and media cheerleaders who, at little cost to themselves, are ultimately responsible for waging the senseless wars that cause so much needless suffering for so many innocent people.