However, an extraordinary degree of resilience and strength is revealed in the intelligent voices of the family members, edited by Malcolm Knox. During the 400 days of Peter’s imprisonment, each family member worked unceasingly to lobby the Australian government, navigate the Egyptian legal system, and rally the world to pay attention. The memoir conveys the strain; the varying times when for all of them fear, rage, and despair would take over.

Juris, a Latvian refugee whose father was forcibly conscripted into the German army during World War II and died in a prisoner-of-war camp, appears as a figure of profound influence in the memoir, imbuing his sons with stoicism, a sense of adventure, and a belief in justice. These traits are evident in Peter’s strength, self-discipline, and reluctance to be labelled heroic. Prison life (boring, not brutal), the importance of food and exercise for Peter’s sanity, and the tension between him and Fahmy, are described with economy and insight.

What stands out most is the incomprehension of an honourable man treated dishonourably. The alternating voices make for a sometimes repetitive style, but Freeing Peter powerfully conveys how differently individuals react to extreme circumstance, and how a strong family held together.