Review

Mickey Bergman directs Global Reach and the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, non-governmental, nonprofit organizations that negotiate the release of political prisoners and hostages around the world. His book, In the Shadows, exposes the secret world of hostage negotiations along with the fragile and complex nature of the process by those working to bring captives home. Bergman got his first shot at this business in January 2007 when New Mexico governor Bill Richardson was asked by the Save Darfur Coalition to come to Khartown to try to negotiate a cease fire between President Omar al-Bashir and rebel factions in Darfur. When he learned that someone named Mickey Bergman was an expert on Sudan, he called and said "This is Governor Richards of New Mexico. I need you to pack your stuff and get your ass to Santa Fe. We're leaving for Khartown." When he got back to Washington after this mission, he noted that everything he had learned at Georgetown and his brief time at the Clinton Global Initiative and the Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, had suddenly come alive. He later became involved in the case of Gilad Shalit, a 19-year-old corporal in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who was grabbed in a firefight initiated by Palestinian militants and dragged back to Gaza. Bergman ran this mission from the outset and Richardson joined in later. Bergman smartly brought in the Egyptians, a necessary move given the lay of the land in the Middle East. This team went on to navigate high stages negotiations for the release of Brittney Griner, Otto Warmbier, Trevor Reed, Paul Whelan, Kenneth Bae, and Danny Fenster, all of which are covered here. Bergman refers to himself as a "fringe diplomat," noting that fringe diplomacy is about individual and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) interacting with foreign leaders outside of established diplomatic channels. By doing this as individuals and representing the families of captives, they were able to side-step existing prejudices and stay clear of built-in national issues and government mandates. In the Shadows is a rare peek into the nature of these sensitive life-saving negotiations and a highly interesting read.

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