The Snowden Reader

May 26, 2014
The government's secret spying on just about everyone is laid bare in this exciting if overwrought exposé. Journalist Greenwald (With Liberty and Justice for Some) broke the story of the National Security Agency's vast warrantless surveillance operations last year after receiving top-secret documents from NSA contractor Snowden, who is briefly profiled here. Greenwald's breathless narrative is itself a spy story, complete with encrypted messages, cloak-and-dagger in Hong Kong, a possible CIA break-in at his house, the detainment of his partner on trumped-up terrorism suspicions, and furious wrangles with the mainstream press, which he denounces for its chumminess with officialdom. His involved, though sometimes confusing, rundown of NSA surveillance programs, illustrated with the agency's own incriminating graphics, details extraordinary abilities to record billions of emails and phone calls daily, follow who is communicating with whom, track individuals' web searches and page visits, plant devices in servers and routers, and even use private cell phones to eavesdrop on their owners. He also demonstrates through Foucauldian history, the FBI's COINTELPRO program, and current crackdowns on activist groups how mass surveillance attempts to stifle dissent. Greenwald's great reporting highlights the collusion of government, corporations, and media to undermine notions of privacy and democratic participation. Photos. Agent: Dan Conoway, Writer's House.

March 30, 2015
When National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden pulled back the curtain on an array of secret U.S. domestic and international spying programs in June 2013, he âunleashed, as he hoped, a worldwide debate about state surveillance in the context of technological advances.â His disclosures to journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras have triggered his own exile to Russia, while his revelations continue to reverberate from the highest levels of government to the most vigilant privacy activists and legal scholars. Indiana University law professor Fidler has taken a vital early step with this collection of essays, analyses, and annotated primary documents, which sheds light on the full implications of Snowden's disclosures, though Fidler is quick to point out that âmore than a year into the journey into this secret world... we do not have clarity about what it all means.â Essays by Fidler and others variously touch on the âimaginaryâ balance of security and liberty, American foreign policy, and civil disobedience, scratching the surface of numerous complex issues in an accessible manner. The primary documents, some written in stultifying legalese and the grim obfuscation of government bureaucracy, are easier to evaluate and critique after the introductory essays, without being any less troubling in what they suggest about the Orwellian proportions of the modern-day U.S. surveillance apparatus and the status of privacy in the digital age.

June 15, 2014
Personalized account by Greenwald (With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful, 2011, etc.) regarding his encounters with Edward Snowden and their exposure of the National Security Agency's program of "indiscriminate mass surveillance."The author's crisp, comprehensible outrage reflects the profound issues raised by Snowden's whistle-blowing: "Thanks to Snowden's bravery...we have an unparalleled firsthand look at the details of how the surveillance system actually operates." Greenwald first examines how the secretive Snowden reached out to him due to his experience in writing about the NSA. After contentious negotiations with his Guardian editors, Greenwald traveled to Hong Kong to interview Snowden prior to the first articles revealing the NSA's telephone and Internet monitoring endeavors: "He exuded an extraordinary equanimity when talking about what the US government might do to him," writes the author. Next, Greenwald delves into a healthy selection of the NSA documents, providing excerpts and interpretations of PowerPoint presentations, training manuals and internal memos that demonstrate the chilling literality of the NSA's unofficial motto, "Collect It All." The author portrays the NSA as the epitome of Orwellian overreach, "the definitive rogue agency: empowered to do whatever it wants with very little control, transparency, or accountability." Greenwald then narrates the response to these revelations, which included Snowden and himself being slandered as rabble-rousers. The author's partner was even detained at Heathrow Airport, while journalists like David Gregory suggested that Greenwald should face criminal charges. He depicts these responses to the legitimacy of his reporting for the Guardian as both menacing and absurd, while the "attacks on Snowden were of course far more virulent." Greenwald's caustic assessment of this response, and his close analysis of NSA documents and tactics, go a long way to support his assessment that "[g]iven the actual surveillance the NSA does, stopping terror is clearly a pretext."Greenwald's polemical tone does not lessen the disturbing quality of these revelations.

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October 15, 2013
The author of three "New York Times" best sellers, winner of the 2009 I.F. Stone Award for Independent Journalism, and among 25 journalists cited as the most influential by the "Atlantic, Guardian" columnist Greenwald expands on his coverage of the NSA surveillance scandal, a story he broke. More documentation here from whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2015
In June 2013, concerned about electronic surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA), Edward Snowden, a private contractor with the NSA, began leaking agency documents. His actions sparked worldwide debate about the same issues that concerned Snowden, namely, balancing the need for national security and the right to privacy in the digital age. Legal scholar Fidler offers a look at more than 40 key documents related to the Snowden case, including leaked documents and responses by U.S. government agencies, foreign leaders, and international organizations. The collection also includes Snowden's statements defending his actions and analysis of the broader issue of protecting whistle-blowers. The collection includes historical context for concerns about government surveillance from the Cold War era to the complexities of geopolitics in the digital age as well as the legal and political implications of Snowden's actions and global reaction to the leak. Although a bit academic in parts, this collection is a valuable resource for citizens concerned about data collection by government and commercial entities and its impact on privacy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)