The Great American Family: A Story of Political Disenchantment

Winner of Eric Hoffer Book Award

“We came here for America’s freedoms,” Weam Namou writes. “As an immigrant, I saw through the Dawn Hanna case how we are losing the very things we came here for.”

One day, a family approached Namou to write a story about their daughter, Dawn Hanna, who was accused of conspiring to broker telecommunication equipment to Iraq during the sanctions. Unbeknownst to Dawn and the jury which tried her, her co-conspirator was actually a CIA operative. The project was sponsored by the United States to listen in on Saddam and his men.

Namou was drawn to this story and decided to write about it as a cautionary tale. Through the lens of a single case, she touches on a number of important issues that are robbing American families from living the American dream: a criminal justice system that is based on greed and profit; big lies that lead to wars, sanctions, terrorism and other costly consequences; a democracy that is based on double standards.

The US Review of Books for The Great American Family: A Story of Political Disenchantment
"The author makes good use of firsthand accounts, skillfully weaving them together to show how the “War on Terror” has blurred or perhaps frayed our criminal justice system. As an Iraqi-American journalist the author has the prefect background to tell this story. Settings are well-depicted and characters come to life so that it’s tempting to skip ahead to learn the resolution. This book takes a hard look at how terrorism, oppression, and sanctions invite hypocrisy, abuse of power and double-dealing. One hopes this isn’t an example of the new normal for America but fears that it is."