The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World's Most Wanted Man

The biggest takeaway with this book is that the virtual world is not governed by the Constitution, so Obama and Bush don't care about your privacy. The major software companies, Apple being one of the last, gave back door access to the NSA. It is all legal in their minds. In today's news we see China complaining about this back door access. You can bet that the entire G-20 wants to protect their little fraternity. Whatever we think we have these guys have something that can probably read minds by now. Maybe we will all become some sort of cyber zombies? I pound into this iPad 5 hours a day with endless drivel. It is reshaping my thinking. The machines really are too much. You are not anonymous, so don't ever feel that way. Big Brother is watching. Down with Big Brother. Power to the people!

Very good book. I also listened to Glenn Greenwald's book on the same topic. Both are definitely worth a listen.

Everyone that uses or has any information online needs to know about these numerous revelations!

This account match my understanding of the sequence of events, but I enjoyed learning more about reactions outside of the US and UK!

Top 10

Edward Snowden is an enigmatic figure as described in this account. Should freedom-loving people empathize with the moral dilemma he faced whether to "out" the US and UK's extensive surveillance capabilities which clearly crossed the line beyond constitutional boundaries with respect to private citizens? At the same time, should we be asking how can he do this and align himself with manipulative nations and parties whose own history of human rights abuses are far worse than those of this nation he supposedly loves? Was there a better, possibly more courageous way to make his case- and one that would not result in such terrible damage to the US? Ultimately, time and history will tell whether Edward Snowden acted as a patriot, or as a traitor. Some things that seem black and white are not always so simple.

The description of how one single young man without a high school degree or extensive experience could be entrusted with such wide-ranging classified and top secret information. Stranger than fiction.

The Truth about Living in the Digital Age. Just as you always suspected: Everything you say and everything you write is being Recorded.

In an open society, there will always be crucial debates about the trade-offs between personal privacy and security. There will always be debates about whether the "ends" justify the "means" when it comes to security. These are among the most compelling and important topics of our day and age.

Great story, it is very informative. I will be looking for other versions of this story to find more information.

Solid journalistic telling of Edward Snowden's exposure of extralegal surveillance by the NSA. The book reads well and offers some perspective that was not possible to get in real time as one headline after another assaulted the world. While the author sometimes seems a bit dramatic (which can color the objectivity of certain passages), overall the facts and events are recounted with a fair amount of balance. Because the book was written after most of the repercussions had time to play out, the author has the chance to highlight where government explanations and excuses did not completely line up with the data provided. A bonus in the book, at least for readers not entirely familiar with law, journalism and freedom of press in the UK (which I, admittedly, was not), is a comparison of the relationship of government to the press compared and contrasted in the US and the UK. All in all, a readable accounting of the Snowden affair, with the end (i.e., Snowden's ultimate fate) yet to be written.

To read along with the paperback copy of the book, first time I did it, and I really enjoyed it.The updated version of the paperback has an extra chapter.

How the Germany is a more like a safe haven, especially for those who like to reveal top secrets like Laura Poitras. Oliver Stone film most of the UN scenes in Germany.

In January 2016, I knew Oliver Stone was making a movie, base on this book. I let it rest till I finish another book.But when Tim Cook of Apple announced his concerns for the security of the iOS software, I dump the other book, and started reading this one.

will be listening to this multiple times. took me a few weeks to complete, but had my attention every time I listened to it.

Sorry to say the spying infrastructure is huge, troubling, and subject to abuse. Would love to see US apply 4th Amendment worldwide, regardless of nationality. Thankfully there are provisions for specific warrants from public courts. USG should use those provisions.