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4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
Good... and that's about it. After having read some of the other users' reviews, I noticed most of them refer to Snowden himself or his actions rather than the book. This is a review of the book.
Permanent Record is a sort of autobiographic book combined with the explanation of mass surveillance programs carried out by NSA and other state agencies, as well as the motivations that made Snowden to reveal such programs.
The first part is pretty much the autobiographical one, which, to be honest is somewhat boring. I do understand that E. Snowden, just like many other people, tries to find some sense of his adulthood by retrospectively looking into his childhood, convince himself of that, and then project that idea into the reader, but he could certainly made it way shorter. Anyway, as Chuck Palahniuk once said, "...every person is obsessed with himself.".
The rest of the book is what is mostly interesting (with some other exceptions here and there). E. Snowden explains in greater detail the inner workings and hierarchical tree within CIA as well as how he ended up finding the surveillance programs in question, how he managed to exfiltrate them, divulge them, and finally the response of lawmakers and tech world.
At some point, however, E. Snowden views on other countries depend on what they meant for his situation at the moment. For example, he states that many of the mass surveillance programs ended up in a profound distrust of the government, which, in turn, explains some of the rise of populism in different parts of the world; he's kind of right on this one. But later on the book, he refers to Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina and Ecuador as countries that "fight the US imperialism" inasmuch as they were potential asylum provider countries, however, he conveniently omits that those countries are also run by populists, bringing the same aftermaths that any other populist, regardless of the wing they belong to.
As a side note, given the jobs descriptions that E. Snowden actually did, it doesn't seem that he was really in charge of complex designs (not to confuse with operation) or blue team activities on a day-to-day basis, which at some point contradicts some of the statements he's given in other forums. It also caught my attention that he incorrectly describes basic tech acronyms (no wonder why in Sec forums such as DEFCON his knowledge is undermined).
In short, Permanent Record is a good book but no more than that. Given the importance of the mass surveillance programs and everything it involved, I'd recommend you to read it although you may want to read really quick the first part.
Permanent Record is a sort of autobiographic book combined with the explanation of mass surveillance programs carried out by NSA and other state agencies, as well as the motivations that made Snowden to reveal such programs.
The first part is pretty much the autobiographical one, which, to be honest is somewhat boring. I do understand that E. Snowden, just like many other people, tries to find some sense of his adulthood by retrospectively looking into his childhood, convince himself of that, and then project that idea into the reader, but he could certainly made it way shorter. Anyway, as Chuck Palahniuk once said, "...every person is obsessed with himself.".
The rest of the book is what is mostly interesting (with some other exceptions here and there). E. Snowden explains in greater detail the inner workings and hierarchical tree within CIA as well as how he ended up finding the surveillance programs in question, how he managed to exfiltrate them, divulge them, and finally the response of lawmakers and tech world.
At some point, however, E. Snowden views on other countries depend on what they meant for his situation at the moment. For example, he states that many of the mass surveillance programs ended up in a profound distrust of the government, which, in turn, explains some of the rise of populism in different parts of the world; he's kind of right on this one. But later on the book, he refers to Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina and Ecuador as countries that "fight the US imperialism" inasmuch as they were potential asylum provider countries, however, he conveniently omits that those countries are also run by populists, bringing the same aftermaths that any other populist, regardless of the wing they belong to.
As a side note, given the jobs descriptions that E. Snowden actually did, it doesn't seem that he was really in charge of complex designs (not to confuse with operation) or blue team activities on a day-to-day basis, which at some point contradicts some of the statements he's given in other forums. It also caught my attention that he incorrectly describes basic tech acronyms (no wonder why in Sec forums such as DEFCON his knowledge is undermined).
In short, Permanent Record is a good book but no more than that. Given the importance of the mass surveillance programs and everything it involved, I'd recommend you to read it although you may want to read really quick the first part.
Creo que la palabra clave con la que nos tendríamos que quedar de este libro es ENCRIPTAR.
Caí en la finta de que este libro iba sobre revelaciones ultra secretas, pero al final ha sido más una autobiografía, con Snowden explicando las razones de sus acciones. Pero eso no le quita que haya sido una lectura muy interesante.
Caí en la finta de que este libro iba sobre revelaciones ultra secretas, pero al final ha sido más una autobiografía, con Snowden explicando las razones de sus acciones. Pero eso no le quita que haya sido una lectura muy interesante.
informative
medium-paced
My favorite non-fiction for the year. Smooth writing with even smoother words. Snowden out did himself. For my non-tech people, this is the perfect book to start when it comes to entering the rabbit hole re: dark internet, cybersecurity, and data surveillance. I got soooo much more than I was expecting to get from this book.
Dear Edward Snowden, thank you for your service.
Dear Edward Snowden, thank you for your service.
Great book, I am so impressed by Edward Snowden and his courage and principles, and his strong character to make such a difficult but important decision all by himself. I hope he gets pardoned very soon and will be protected and able to live a free life.
I loved how he wrote the book so that complicated technical stuff stayed as understandable and comprehensive as possible, loved the personal touch of Lindsey's journal entries and overall, how none of it ever got too boring or technical or too lost in details.
I was very surprised and shocked to read that so many of the agency's employees are Fox News and Breitbart fanboys but less surprised how the surveillance practices fired up the toxic masculinity.
I loved how he wrote the book so that complicated technical stuff stayed as understandable and comprehensive as possible, loved the personal touch of Lindsey's journal entries and overall, how none of it ever got too boring or technical or too lost in details.
I was very surprised and shocked to read that so many of the agency's employees are Fox News and Breitbart fanboys but less surprised how the surveillance practices fired up the toxic masculinity.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Un must-read pour tous car nous sommes tous concernés par la surveillance de masse terrible décrite par Edward Snowden. Un grand merci et bravo à lui pour tous les sacrifices qu’il a menés pour nous livrer ce récit aujourd’hui, qui en plus a le mérite d’être très clair malgré un jargon informatique. On ressent réellement les dilemmes qu’il a lui-même ressentis, ce même déchirement quand il décide de tout quitter pour révéler la vérité, et ce même sentiment de paix lors de ses retrouvailles avec Lindsay.
Being a bit harsh, but that’s only because it didn’t bring me much I didn’t know already.
Still worth the read.
3,5*
Still worth the read.
3,5*
Cuốn sách có mọi yếu tố của 1 cuốn tự truyện: quãng dài tuổi thơ, lớn lên, trưởng thành và bước ngoặt. Nhưng dường như những điều ấy mọi người đều đã biết từ khi scandal chấn động nổi lên, nên điều mình mong chờ là quãng thời gian sau này, khi anh cư trú ở Nga và trở thành người phát ngôn cho dân quyền, cho quyền tự do được bộc phát. Thế nhưng phần này ngắn, rất ngắn so với những đoạn trên, có lẽ do cuộc sống và sự an toàn của bản thân đang phụ thuộc khá lớn vào quãng thời gian này. Nhưng cũng không thể phủ nhận khả năng kể chuyện của 1 người về IT, khá cuốn và vừa phải.
tbf this book has made me realise how little I know about the world and my place in it. And ultimately how early I am in my journey as a human being. It feels like 2007. I feel I am in the place I will one day mark as the before times. I feel implored to read into human rights and civil liberties, to have a solid honest no ballshit relationship with myself with clarity on what is personal, what do I share and what is private, and what is true. To build an awareness of my personhood and never sacrifice it ever ever again. To not be a stranger to myself, to think for me, fight and act on what I know to be right and to have the balls to bring meaning to my personal principles by taking big risks and standing up for myself correctly. This guy took on one the biggest and most powerful enemys a human being can make and has made it the other side. I could not do what he did. I lack......moral courage ect i hope to read this book a few years down the line, understand it better and have filled in the gaps in my character and knowledge