No Place to Hide

Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State

By: Glenn Greenwald

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

In May 2013, Glenn Greenwald set out for Hong Kong to meet an anonymous source who claimed to have astonishing evidence of pervasive government spying and insisted on communicating only through heavily encrypted channels. That source turned out to be the 29-year-old NSA contractor Edward Snowden, and his revelations about the agency’s widespread, systemic overreach proved to be some of the most explosive and consequential news in recent history, triggering a fierce debate over national security and information privacy. As the arguments rage on and the government considers various proposals for reform, it is clear that we have yet to see the full impact of Snowden’s disclosures.

Now for the first time, Greenwald fits all the pieces together, recounting his high-intensity 10-day trip to Hong Kong, examining the broader implications of the surveillance detailed in his reporting for The Guardian, and revealing fresh information on the NSA’s unprecedented abuse of power with never-before-seen documents entrusted to him by Snowden himself. Going beyond NSA specifics, Greenwald also takes on the establishment media, excoriating their habitual avoidance of adversarial reporting on the government and their failure to serve the interests of the people. Finally, he asks what it means both for individuals and for a nation’s political health when a government pries so invasively into the private lives of its citizens - and considers what safeguards and forms of oversight are necessary to protect democracy in the digital age.

Coming at a landmark moment in American history, No Place to Hide is a fearless, incisive, and essential contribution to our understanding of the U.S. surveillance state.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2014 Glenn Greenwald (P)2014 Audible Inc.

A little self serving and one sided...

Great insights in to the Snowden leaks but a bit one sided and self serving to Greenwald.

Great reporting, ok narration

This is the complete story of breaking the Snowden leaks. Unlike the movie CitizenFour, this discusses the criminalization of journalism in the U.S. and issues around what Greenwald calls the Establishment Journalists. The narration could be better, but overall a good read.

Should be required reading

Both this book and 1984 should be required reading. Glenn Greenwald might be the greatest journalist to have ever lived.

What is the agenda?

Now, especially, I find it hard to trust motives. In the cultural, political vacuum of our crumbling human substrate, messages are increasingly sponsored by the global financial hegemon.
Snowden, to me is one upholding the beleaguered ideal of "by the people, for the people." He serves all of us in his, what I believe to be honest, effort to expose the appropriation of our privacy by an oligarchy that's hijacked our government.

Awesome book

I’ve never thought of the implications of what the NSA participated in and the overreaching effects of complete surveillance. It would be very similar to Russia and the KJB or east Germany post WW2. I would say what Snowden did was heroic and he’s got the courage and foresight to follow through with his belief of privacy for all.

Great insight into the world we live in now

I found this book thought provoking and insightful. Worth listening to if you wonder where the future is headed. Big Brother is always watching and it is not just those who are guilty of crimes that should be worried, those who demand accountability from our governments the world over should fear the loss of individual privacy as well.

When we lose our privacy we lose our identity. I think that is what makes this a powerful story in that we all have something to lose when we can no longer hold a private conversation without fear of being over heard.

Acronyms!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend the audio version of this book!

What did you like best about this story?

It was a gripping story that the documentary CitizenFour only barely is able to capture. I watched the documentary after the book and it was quite enhanced as I knew the back story that was shared in detail.

If you could give No Place to Hide a new subtitle, what would it be?

Oh the Acronyms! It's quite a challenge to stay focused as the reader runs through the many leaked documents. It's important for him to read them, but they are a challenge to listen to over and over again.

Any additional comments?

Good stuff. Get this book.

Really enjoyed this book...

While the loss of privacy is becoming more and more accepted in our society, No Place to Hide will change your mind about what is accessible, and just how far and wide the nets are cast. Very sobering story that will affect the way you think about email and surfing the net...

Probably a good read, but not a great listen

Would you try another book from Glenn Greenwald and/or L. J. Ganser?

Yes, I admire Greenwald's reporting and writing. Add to that his first-hand knowledge of Snowden, and Greenwald is the top expert on this particular story.

Has No Place to Hide turned you off from other books in this genre?

This did not make for a good audiobook, because the listener must endure the verbatim readings of the government documents. Those should have been edited out, or perhaps relegated to an optional addendum.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I'm not sure.

Great book, that loses something in the dictation

This book tells a vital story about the lack of privacy in the modern world.