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4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
Spennende innsyn i Edward Snowdens vei mot å bli en av historiens mest kjente varslere.
I denne selvbiografiske boken forteller Snowden om hvordan han først ble kjent med internett og dets muligheter som unggutt hjemme når WIFI var over telefonlinjen. Historien starter ved at han som ung gutt varsler myndighetene om sikkerhetsbrudd på deres nettsider, til han setter seg på flyet til Hong Kong i voksen alder.
Dette er en spennende framstilling av internettets utbredelse fra en som virkelig har peiling. Samtidig er det litt ekkelt som en prikking under huden fordi han peker på baksidene ved vår bruk av internett i dag som gjør at vi serverer oss selv ut på et sølvfat. Og det er ikke mye vi kan gjøre for å unngå det. Hvordan kom vi hit? Og kan vi noen gang komme oss ut av det? Vil lover og regler som EUs GDPR regulere våre private rettigheter og data? Eller må vi alle flykte til Hong Kong på et tidspunkt.
I denne selvbiografiske boken forteller Snowden om hvordan han først ble kjent med internett og dets muligheter som unggutt hjemme når WIFI var over telefonlinjen. Historien starter ved at han som ung gutt varsler myndighetene om sikkerhetsbrudd på deres nettsider, til han setter seg på flyet til Hong Kong i voksen alder.
Dette er en spennende framstilling av internettets utbredelse fra en som virkelig har peiling. Samtidig er det litt ekkelt som en prikking under huden fordi han peker på baksidene ved vår bruk av internett i dag som gjør at vi serverer oss selv ut på et sølvfat. Og det er ikke mye vi kan gjøre for å unngå det. Hvordan kom vi hit? Og kan vi noen gang komme oss ut av det? Vil lover og regler som EUs GDPR regulere våre private rettigheter og data? Eller må vi alle flykte til Hong Kong på et tidspunkt.
I wasn’t at all sure if I should read this book, — certainly not at a time of a contested election — but I’m quite glad I did. I found it surprisingly interesting, and not just a self-defense statement from a politically charged individual. In fact, it was refreshingly free of political position. It was informative, rich with personal history, and quite accurate and generous with technical details. It gave me a new appreciation for Snowden without forcing me to take a position on the legal violations that brought him notoriety.
But I’ll just say, if he wrote another book, I’d but it and read it.
But I’ll just say, if he wrote another book, I’d but it and read it.
I was interested in this book because I wanted to hear his story not from a the perspective of a film director or the media, but from Edward Snowden himself. Like him or not, agree with his actions or not, this is a well-written, insightful account of who Edward Snowden is; his childhood, his background and experience, who and what he holds dear, why he felt so strongly about blowing the whistle, and the deep research he conducted before he went through with it.
Along the way he describes the technology of the internet, encryption, and many other processes that help you understand what's going on after you push the enter button. He also explains the difference between Whistle Blowing and Leaking, of which there are some very important distinctions. He discusses several government programs and the fundamental problems he had/has with them.
I was especially impressed with his girlfriend, and now wife. The personal touch to his story is what really sold it for me, while the rest gave me answers to many of the questions I've had about him - big ones being "Was it worth it to him?" and "Did it accomplish what he hoped it would?".
Highly Recommended
Along the way he describes the technology of the internet, encryption, and many other processes that help you understand what's going on after you push the enter button. He also explains the difference between Whistle Blowing and Leaking, of which there are some very important distinctions. He discusses several government programs and the fundamental problems he had/has with them.
I was especially impressed with his girlfriend, and now wife. The personal touch to his story is what really sold it for me, while the rest gave me answers to many of the questions I've had about him - big ones being "Was it worth it to him?" and "Did it accomplish what he hoped it would?".
Highly Recommended
Really enjoyed the second half of this book. Snowden makes a compelling case for government overreach. I found the early chapters about his childhood and school years to be pretty dull and honestly beside the point. It seemed like they were added to give the book length rather than to enrich the actual story.
Everyone who has any interest in privacy should read this book
This book was actually a three in one. Part autobiography, part expose of governmental abuse, part made for Hollywood thriller and part love story (no I can't add). Just so no-one wastes their time by reading an opinion they don't agree with, I am firmly in the Snowden is a hero camp and always have been.
Snowden is/was just like so many of us, fascinated and talented at computers at an early age, just at the point where talent and intelligence alone could be a ticket to a career. His disparate experiences can be tough to reconcile, both the uber smart geek and the almost military are hard to hold in my head at the same time. The autobiography part is impressive because it clearly shows his genius without being self aggrandizing (IMO). I see so much of myself (without the genius) in his formative years and is hard for me not to relate.
The book goes into some serious technical detail about encryption and networking that many will find dull both because it is dull and a subset of you will already know most of it. These are the slowest parts of the book that need to be written to explain the larger point. My tin foil hat has been firmly on for many years, this just made me go out and add a few layers. I am not sure if this book will convince any of the unconvinced that big brother is always watching, but it should, this is absolutely non-fiction, the U.S. government is collecting unprecedented and completely unconstitutional amounts of information about all of us. I "knew" this before but having it laid out by someone who actually did it pulls away any shred of uncertainty I might have had.
The parts where Ed has made his decision to leak the information and the steps he takes to give himself the time to get it done are straight out of a Hollywood movie. Hollywood would add some chase scenes and guns, which did not actually happen, but the rest sounds like a script.
Finally this was a love letter and honestly some of the best and most chilling parts of the book were Lindsey's writing. Having Lindsey threaded throughout the book gave me a real sense of what Snowden was giving up to get the truth he knew out to the rest of us. It is amazing the difference in mood Lindsey creates. Edward Snowden, a pariah to many, stuck in exile in frozen Moscow unable to see any family and friends is utterly depressing. Edward Snowden living in exile with the love of his life sounds more like an adventure. Just by sacrificing part of her life to support Snowden's, Lindsey Mills has also reached hero status in my mind. Whistleblowers face dark futures, they are romanticized by movies, novels and journalists but overwhelmingly end up in financial and societal ruin, I am hoping beyond hope that this case is an exception.
I was lucky to have read this at the right time. The pedantic parts did not bother me as much as they should have, the love letter running throughout was sweet rather than forced and after it seemed certain that Trump was leaving I was emotionally able to handle reading about yet another governmental failing. If you go into this expecting a slightly thrilling autobiography with consequences I think you will enjoy it. If you are in the Snowden is a traitor camp, you haven't read this far anyway.
Snowden is/was just like so many of us, fascinated and talented at computers at an early age, just at the point where talent and intelligence alone could be a ticket to a career. His disparate experiences can be tough to reconcile, both the uber smart geek and the almost military are hard to hold in my head at the same time. The autobiography part is impressive because it clearly shows his genius without being self aggrandizing (IMO). I see so much of myself (without the genius) in his formative years and is hard for me not to relate.
The book goes into some serious technical detail about encryption and networking that many will find dull both because it is dull and a subset of you will already know most of it. These are the slowest parts of the book that need to be written to explain the larger point. My tin foil hat has been firmly on for many years, this just made me go out and add a few layers. I am not sure if this book will convince any of the unconvinced that big brother is always watching, but it should, this is absolutely non-fiction, the U.S. government is collecting unprecedented and completely unconstitutional amounts of information about all of us. I "knew" this before but having it laid out by someone who actually did it pulls away any shred of uncertainty I might have had.
The parts where Ed has made his decision to leak the information and the steps he takes to give himself the time to get it done are straight out of a Hollywood movie. Hollywood would add some chase scenes and guns, which did not actually happen, but the rest sounds like a script.
Finally this was a love letter and honestly some of the best and most chilling parts of the book were Lindsey's writing. Having Lindsey threaded throughout the book gave me a real sense of what Snowden was giving up to get the truth he knew out to the rest of us. It is amazing the difference in mood Lindsey creates. Edward Snowden, a pariah to many, stuck in exile in frozen Moscow unable to see any family and friends is utterly depressing. Edward Snowden living in exile with the love of his life sounds more like an adventure. Just by sacrificing part of her life to support Snowden's, Lindsey Mills has also reached hero status in my mind. Whistleblowers face dark futures, they are romanticized by movies, novels and journalists but overwhelmingly end up in financial and societal ruin, I am hoping beyond hope that this case is an exception.
I was lucky to have read this at the right time. The pedantic parts did not bother me as much as they should have, the love letter running throughout was sweet rather than forced and after it seemed certain that Trump was leaving I was emotionally able to handle reading about yet another governmental failing. If you go into this expecting a slightly thrilling autobiography with consequences I think you will enjoy it. If you are in the Snowden is a traitor camp, you haven't read this far anyway.
If you've followed all the news about Snowden, there isn't much new here, but his revelations about how government agencies work was truly eye-opening.
Interesting
It was an interesting read. There were quite a few chapters that took me forever to get through because I felt they were very slow moving and dull.
This man’s story is incredible and unique. His experiences are crazy and it’s bizarre to me that some people lead such secretive and extraordinary and ordinary lives.
Worth the read but definitely could be condensed into fewer chapters.
It was an interesting read. There were quite a few chapters that took me forever to get through because I felt they were very slow moving and dull.
This man’s story is incredible and unique. His experiences are crazy and it’s bizarre to me that some people lead such secretive and extraordinary and ordinary lives.
Worth the read but definitely could be condensed into fewer chapters.