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Description

Author: Edith Blais

Reviewed by Commander Michael Margolius, US Navy, professor, US Army War College, and former J3 of the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency

In his review of The Weight of Sand: My 450 Days Held Hostage in the Sahara, Michael Margolius views the ordeal faced by author Edith Blais through the lens of a personnel recovery agent. Blais and her boyfriend were kidnapped and held for 15 months by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin gunmen. Margolius points out the many small and practical things that helped Blais survive and how her story can help agencies learn from her experience to help others.

Publication Date

9-15-2026

Keywords

Edith Blais, Luca Tacchetto, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, isolation, resistance, capture

Disciplines

Defense and Security Studies

Book Review: The Weight of Sand: My 450 Days Held Hostage in the Sahara

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