[A] brisk, hard-hitting narrative… Gill's informed, on-the-ground reporting from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria demonstrates how Western aid agencies have, through their increasing reliance on government funding, surrendered their independence… Tales of corruption and compromise, of interest to anyone who's ever contributed to a humanitarian aid organization.

Kirkus Reviews

An indispensible inquiry into our moral health and humanity.

LSE Review of Books

[Gill's] analysis of what ensues when charities align themselves too closely with the aims of their governments, as in Afghanistan, is nuanced and piercing…His clear eye is a sure guide through some pretty fuzzy terrain.

New Internationalist

This is a reasoned and authoritative account.

Peace Researcher

[An] urgent and incisive book of reportage ... Gill's deft analysis and reporting provide an enlightening account of a new world disorder, where the “civilized principles supposedly governing a war” have been forfeited.

Publishers Weekly

Gill weaves his way from Syria to Afghanistan to Pakistan and Somalia, stopping in Geneva to recount the beginnings of the International Committee of the Red Cross and in Paris to learn about the origins of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), building up a complex and sometimes disturbing mosaic of experiences good and bad.

The Tablet