Robin de Crespigny's The People Smuggler is the gripping, inspring story of one man's escape from Saddam's Iraq to become 'the Oskar Schindler of Asia'.

When Ali Al Jenabi flees Saddam Hussein's torture chambers, he is forced to leave his family behind in Iraq. What follows is an incredible international odyssey through the shadowy world of fake passports, crowded camps and illegal border crossings, living every day with excruciating uncertainty about what the next will bring. Through betrayal, triumph, misfortune - even romance and heartbreak - Ali is sustained by his fierce love of freedom and family.

Continually pushed to the limits of his endurance, eventually he must confront what he has been forced to become. With enormous power and insight, The People Smuggler tells a story of daily heroism, bringing to life the forces that drive so many people to put their lives in unscrupulous hands. At once a non-fiction thriller and a moral maze, this is one man's epic story of trying to find a safe place in the world.

'The most extraordinary book. It has opened my eyes in a life-changing way . . .Never before have I read such a personable, heart-wrenching account of an asylum seeker and the horrors of what they've had to endure.' Missy Higgins

'This is a story every Australian should read . . . A complex mixture of love of family and a hard-edged determination to survive in a brutal, unforgiving world.' Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald

'An astonishing story.' Sebastian Faulks, Favourite Book of the Year 2013, New York Times 'Tight, powerful and extraordinarily well written . . . A book which glories in the strength, courage and compassion of the human spirit. It is a book which says as much about Australia as it does about Iraq.' Bruce Haigh, The Canberra Times

'An engrossing account of a man seen by some as a saviour and others as a criminal. A significant book.' Thomas Keneally

'An epic story full of dramatic reversals and cinematic cliffhangers . . . This is a story that had to be told.' Jose Borghino, The Australian

'Just mind-blowing. This moving saga of endurance and bravery could well compel a stone to cry.' Qantas magazine 'Nothing more clearly demonstrates the sad state of our current political debate and the media coverage of it than Jenabi's case . . . Ali's story is absolutely riveting and deserves a wide readership. Read it and be angry.' Grant Hansen, Good Reading

'Sometimes, when you are so lucky, it seems the unlucky ones just fell to earth, without a story, nothing to define them as fellow human beings. They simply become illegal aliens. The People Smuggler changed that for me.' Gail Forrer, Noosa News

'A totally riveting story about a brave and honourable man. Passionate, vivid and true, it bounces off the page.' Rosie Scott