Infidel (book)

Infidel (first published 2007), a New York Times bestseller, is the English translation of the autobiography of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, originally ghostwritten in Dutch as Mijn Vrijheid ("My Freedom") and released on September 29, 2006. It was released in English by Free Press on February 1, 2007. The English edition does not identify the translator.

Synopsis

Hirsi Ali writes about her youth in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, about her flight to the Netherlands where she applied for political asylum, her university experience in Leiden, her work for the Labour Party, her transfer to the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, her election to Parliament, and the murder of Theo van Gogh, with whom she made the film Submission. The book ends with the controversy regarding her citizenship, which helped bring down the Dutch government.

Reception

Praise

The launch of the book in the Netherlands was a great success, with the initial print run selling out in two days. A review in de Volkskrant concluded that "anyone who discovers Hirsi Ali's tumultuous history can only sympathise with her". The German edition of the book, Mein Leben, meine Freiheit ("My...
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