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Permanent Record cover art

Permanent Record

By: Edward Snowden
Narrated by: Holter Graham
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Summary

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER

Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down.

In 2013, twenty-nine-year-old Edward Snowden shocked the world when he broke with the American intelligence establishment and revealed that the United States government was secretly pursuing the means to collect every single phone call, text message, and email. The result would be an unprecedented system of mass surveillance with the ability to pry into the private lives of every person on earth. Six years later, Snowden reveals for the very first time how he helped to build this system and why he was moved to expose it.

Spanning the bucolic Beltway suburbs of his childhood and the clandestine CIA and NSA postings of his adulthood, Permanent Record is the extraordinary account of a bright young man who grew up online – a man who became a spy, a whistleblower, and, in exile, the Internet’s conscience. Written with wit, grace, passion, and an unflinching candor, Permanent Record is a crucial memoir of our digital age and destined to be a classic.

©2019 Edward Snowden (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

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Superbly written, totally gripping.

I can't recommend it highly enough.
I imagine just about everyone on the planet knows the general gist of Edward Snowden's story and his place in history. I followed his story carefully, watched interviews, watched Citizenfour, and the Stone movie. But the details revealed in this book still made my jaw drop. I had to replay several sections to make sure I wasn't hearing things.Truly scary stuff.
Snowden, I'm sure, was an extremely meticulous programmer/analyst/administrator. That fact doesn't necessarily guarantee he's going to be a good writer. But he most certainly is; the writing is superb, beautifully crafted, compelling stuff.
I've had a career in IT, so the technical stuff was of great interest to me. And it's detailed so clearly that someone without a technical background would still understand it.
The narration is excellent too, read by someone who seems to genuinely understand what he's reading, and to convey it 'from the heart'. An absolute must-read/must listen. And if, in writing this review, I've now appeared on some watch list somewhere: great! - I'm in excellent company!

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67 people found this helpful

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such a great insight into Edward Snowdens life

I loved the book and just couldn't put it down, it gave a real insight to him growing and getting to where he is today. He is a very clever man and one that will go down in the history books!
To Ed, thank you for sharing your stories and your adventures and I hope you and Lindsey live happily.
To NSA/CIA thanks for listening and looking up my nose! 👍🏼

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25 people found this helpful

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Beyond Belief

If this was a fiction work you would’ve said it’s a bit far fetched. The fact that the US Government is upset at this book’s release says it all. Technical details are explained in a clear & engaging manner. It’s very well written and was hard to put down. My favourite book of the year. It’s very important to be informed.

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22 people found this helpful

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Unbelievable

The fight for privacy as a basic human right continues!
I feel complete administration for Snowden, risking everything to stand for truth!
I hope to meet him one day!

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19 people found this helpful

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Listen to this!

A fascinating insight into the truth behind the headlines as well as into Snowden himself. With the daily flow of news we often lack the perspective to see how events lead one to another, and Snowden does a good job of trying to explain in straightforward language how 9/11 and the political changes - not just in the US, but globally - in the subsequent years, opened the way to intelligence gathering on a massive and indiscriminate scale. For those who think that privacy is something on which we can compromise or - worse still - a commodity, this is a cautionary account.

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16 people found this helpful

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Very enjoyable and informative

I highly recommend this book. It went into enough detail to document how/why/what next for Ed the famous whistleblower

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12 people found this helpful

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Thoughtful, eye opening, very personal biography

What a great listen. A great book with a tremendous true story. Hard to put down. Turkey world changing

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10 people found this helpful

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Turnkey Architecture of Oppression

Very easy to read, would recommend this book, very informative.
Having read this book, I'm on a list, forever.

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10 people found this helpful

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Everyone should read this book

Whatever you think of Ed Snowden's actions, you owe it to yourself to read this book. It gives the listener a fascinating insight into the world of modern spying.

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9 people found this helpful

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A good summary

Enough detail to provide context. Some interesting asides. Not so much to be gratuitous

A good cap on the episode. Hopefully not the end of the story.

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8 people found this helpful