“Very few of the heroes and villains made famous in the wars of the past decade are women. Of the scant exceptions, two of the most fascinating are the subjects of Deborah Scroggins’s thoughtful double biography, “Wanted Women.” One is Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born thinker and neoconservative darling; the other is Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist who, in 2010, was sentenced to 86 years in prison for her assault on American personnel in Afghanistan. . . Because of her willingness to introduce readers to over a century of Islamic theology and politics, a book that might have been a facile juxtaposition of two very different individuals is actually much more than the sum of its parts. . . Scroggins, with her journalistic doggedness, does a remarkable job of reporting and reconstruction, and “Wanted Women” serves as a valuable contribution to contemporary history, recounting two ways in which a modern woman’s identity can be hers for the making — even if the outcome is tragic.”
―Eliza Griswold for The New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice review, 1/29/12
”As “Wanted Women” progresses, following these women is like watching two deciduous trees in an arboretum: while one soars and bends toward the light, the other shrivels and grows stunted…Ms. Scroggins’s portrait of Ms. Hirsi Ali is eye-opening, and important. Her punches mostly land. She is especially good on how Ms. Hirsi Ali made it “possible to appeal to the Dutch xenophobic vote in a socially acceptable way.” She is persuasive on how East and West will need voices of reconciliation, not merely stern condemnation…[A] sober and provocative new book…“Wanted Women” is sturdy, well-reported, boots-on-the-ground biography.”
—Dwight Garner for The New York Times, 1/16/12
“ . . . .[A] gripping and finely textured double biography . . . . By flipping between the two lives, the book cleverly shows how both women were influenced by successive episodes in history, from the Bosnian war to the New York attacks and the overthrow of the Taliban, gradually becoming protagonists in subsequent events. . . . [This book] adds greatly to the understanding of several interlocking conflicts, some grand and geopolitical and others intimate and personal.”
–The Economist, lead review, 1/7/12
“While the parallels are fascinating, the book’s strength is in its clear-eyed yet sympathetic storytelling. Somehow Scroggins manages to convert a mountain of research into a fast-paced, truly gripping pair of stories.”
–The Boston Globe, 1/15/12
“Scroggins’ research is wide-ranging and impeccable, and she keeps readers on the edge of their seats with her compelling prose. If we can understand Siddiqui and Ali, then we will have a better chance of understanding the war on terror.”
―Booklist, *Starred Review*
“Scroggins illuminates not only the disconnect between the West’s often one-dimensional perception of Islam and its multifaceted reality but the schisms within Islam itself. This meticulously researched, skillfully narrated account offers a nuanced look at political Islam and the “war on terror” through the eyes of two women on the front lines.”
―Publishers Weekly, *Starred Review*
“[A] comprehensive chronicle of the private and public lives of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Aafia Siddiqui… A capable narrative of two women with similar backgrounds who moved in radically different directions because of their religious upbringing.”
―Kirkus Reviews
