"Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Pocket Books, 2008

The author of "The Caged Virgin," Ayaan Hirsi Ali, was born in Somalia and, as the daughter of a political leader in the opposition, she spent her childhood and early adulthood in several neighbouring countries. She had no other than to experience the "rituals" of female genital mutilation and the horrors around them. Escaping a forced marriage to a distant cousin she had never met, the author reached the Netherlands where she sought asylum. She brilliantly describes her live as an asylum seeker, as a refugee, and as a person cooperating to help refugees together with the Dutch authorities. Her clear minded descriptions of her surprise when the Dutch authorities were helping her are not to be missed. She was constantly wondering why they were so kind and generous to her and the response she always got was that they were implementing their legal obligations. In accordance with the law, exactly five years later, she obtained citizenship and soon after became a Dutch Parliamentarian. An absolute must to know about asylum standards in an entertaining and thrilling manner.