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WikiLeaks  By  cover art

WikiLeaks

By: David Leigh,Luke Harding,Ed Pilkington,Robert Booth,Charles Arthur
Narrated by: Richard Powers
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Publisher's summary

A team of journalists with unparalleled inside access provides the first full, in-depth account of WikiLeaks, its founder Julian Assange, and the ethical, legal, and political controversies it has both uncovered and provoked.

The extraordinary twists and turns of WikiLeaks have been closely followed by the Guardian newspaper ever since the website launched in 2006, and Guardian journalists have had unprecedented access to all the major players, from angry and embarrassed politicians and diplomats to the extraordinary figure of Julian Assange himself. At different times, Assange hid at David Leigh’s homes. Here they reveal the many strands - legal, ethical, security related - of a story that continues to dominate world headlines. They look at the internet culture and technology that made the mining of secret information possible and at the fanatical hackers who set up WikiLeaks. They explore the secret goings-on that WikiLeaks has uncovered, from the revelation of extrajudicial killings in Kenya in 2008 to the avalanche of US diplomatic cables in 2010. They study the implications of the latest revelations and reveal the strange and contradictory nature of Assange himself: a man praised by Amnesty International in 2009 but also, barely a year later, accused by Swedish police of sex crimes.

The WikiLeaks story has received worldwide attention and reaction. WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy presents the whole history of the organization and the ethical debate that surrounded the use of its material, plus the inside story of the personalities that created, then threatened to destroy, the website that has changed our view of secrecy forever.

©2011 The Guardian (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about WikiLeaks

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You have to listen to this book

I am appalled at the treatment of Bradley Manning described in this book. And this from a state that complained about solitary confinement in Apartheid South Africa and other repressive regimes. The hypocrisy of the State department and incompetence of the US military is clear for all to see.

Julian Assange does not come out of this book as a saint, but as an activist with human flaws and idiosyncrasies.

The insights into the newsrooms and negotiations leading up to the release of the Afghan and later Iraqi war logs, and then the (un)diplomatic cables, are fascinating. The authors' British bias is obvious, but not annoying.

Unfortunately the narrator blunders through some poor name pronunciation and pauses in funny places. Perhaps the narration was a rush job; I think a British voice would have done better. The book was put together in record time, so it tends to repeat some items. Nonetheless I found it impossible to put down, and it clarified the history and background of the WikiLeaks saga for me.

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8 people found this helpful

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Not Rockstar Status

There are some secrets that are better being untold. Unless you really want to know about WikiLeaks, I would pass on this one because Julian Assange is not a good guy and got his fame because of the leaks. The hipster community consider him to be a rock star of the year, according to the Italian's Rolling Stone, but he is a criminal that was charge for rape.

I just don't understand how we can overlook one's pass transgression just because he leaked the truth. Yes, I understand that Julian is some kind of rockstar in the internet community, but he is not a pioneer in our history and is just a blur. There are far better people that we can look up to.

I like these kinds of books, where information is the plot, but they put the founder of WikiLeaks on a pedestal. I could not get over Julian being the voice of the truth.

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3 people found this helpful

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informative for Wikileaks fans

Fans of Wikileaks will benefit from hearing this comprehensive history of the controversial website, including biographical information on key actors including Julian Assange and Bradley Manning.

The smooth-flowing prose and interesting story kept my attention for the full duration. And, the narration was excellent.

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free assange

good book, just know THEY are trying to control certain aspects of the narrative through here. IYKYK

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Fascinating

Briefly to be expanded, but for now this Audible Audio book detailed the background development of WikiLeaks, its founder and with the other important participants.

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Pretentious Narration

One of the most insufferable narrators I've listened to on Audible. Over-pronounced every non-English word, especially French and Russian words. Some of his pronunciations were just insane and seemed almost jokingly bad. The story was ok I suppose, but nothing to write home about. Boring at best.

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The Ever Leaky Julian Assange

If you want to know more about Wikileaks from a considerably Pro-Wikileaks source, this Guardian produced work will suit your fancy. The story of how Wikileaks started was honest and did not turn Assange into a cult-hero.

However, the end of the book was a daunting reproduction of the Wikileak dump of U.S. embassy cables.

I know there are other works that tell the undercover story of Assange and this work should be included, but this book should never be considered the tell-all narrative.

I highly recommend this book to those Johnny come lately alt-right fans of Wikileaks. Assange is a state-less enemy of the US despite leaking HRC’s emails to the pleasure of Trump supporters.

Most conservatives have little idea of the extent of Wikileaks and the amoral perspective of its founder. He is everything conservatives rejected until the 2016 election.

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Interesting

First half interestingly gives bio material on Bradley Manning and Julian Assange (MPs?). A good read. Just wish it would have gone up to the 2016 presidential election, which it doesn’t.

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