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Private: Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks, and the Biggest Exposure of Official Secrets in American History
Bradley Manning perpetrated the biggest breach of military security in American history. This intelligence analyst leaked an astounding amount of classified information to WikiLeaks: classified combat videos and hundreds of thousands of documents from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and from embassies around the globe. Almost all of WikiLeaks's headline-making releases of information have come from one source only: Bradley Manning. The leaks affected governments the world over--the Arab uprisings were spurred, in part, by Manning's revelations. They propelled WikiLeaks to a level of international prominence it never had before. The world would never be the same. Bradley Manning’s story is one of global significance, and yet he remains an enigma. Now, for the first time, the full truth will be told about a man who, at the age of only twenty-two, changed the world. Nicks's book paints a nuanced portrait of a man haunted by demons and driven by hope, impulsive and cocky yet idealistic enough to follow his conscience. Relying on numerous conversations with those who know Manning best, Nicks gives the full story of a bright, gay kid from middle America who signs on to serve his country and finds himself serving a cause he finds far more sinister, and why he betrayed his oath and fellow troops--and his own future--in order to fulfill what he saw as a higher purpose.
- GenresNonfictionPolitics
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
7 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 5, 2012
In a world where multiplicity of events, opinions, hot air, cold air, drift, waft, go bazoom, bizarre, I found Private Bradley Manning, Wikileaks by Denver Nicks an extremely intelligent, broad view of a complicated young man, and a complicated society. Both man and society have dark edges, and I think, whistle blower, patriot, traitor, confused, internecine, could apply to both.
Astonishingly this is Denver Nicks' first book. Way to go guy.
Here's one of the back cover blurbs:
In telling the story of how the intelligence analyst Bradley Manning came into contact with the self-promoting anti-secrecy radical Julian Assange under the pressure cooker of the Iraq war, Denver Nicks has written a page-turner that reads like a cyberthriller. It's simultaneously a coming-of-age story, a coming-out story, an X-ray of American culture in the Homeland Security era, a well-researched history of espionage, an expose of the routinized cruelties of the 21st century US miliary; and a medication on the human costs of the cult of secrecy." Ned Sublette, author of The World that Made New Orleans.
A plug for the author: Denver Nicks is a writer based in New York City. Originally from Oklahoma, he has developed a reputation for intrepid reporting in challenging contexts. Nicks has written about street art in Poland, a failed coup in the Philippines, post-coup Honduras, and the hidden working-class underbelly of Wall Street in the midst of the financial meltdown. A Fulbright Scholar, he holds a Master of Science from the Columbia university Graduate School of Journalism. His work has appeared in the Daily Beast, AlterNet, The Naton, and other publications.
Astonishingly this is Denver Nicks' first book. Way to go guy.
Here's one of the back cover blurbs:
In telling the story of how the intelligence analyst Bradley Manning came into contact with the self-promoting anti-secrecy radical Julian Assange under the pressure cooker of the Iraq war, Denver Nicks has written a page-turner that reads like a cyberthriller. It's simultaneously a coming-of-age story, a coming-out story, an X-ray of American culture in the Homeland Security era, a well-researched history of espionage, an expose of the routinized cruelties of the 21st century US miliary; and a medication on the human costs of the cult of secrecy." Ned Sublette, author of The World that Made New Orleans.
A plug for the author: Denver Nicks is a writer based in New York City. Originally from Oklahoma, he has developed a reputation for intrepid reporting in challenging contexts. Nicks has written about street art in Poland, a failed coup in the Philippines, post-coup Honduras, and the hidden working-class underbelly of Wall Street in the midst of the financial meltdown. A Fulbright Scholar, he holds a Master of Science from the Columbia university Graduate School of Journalism. His work has appeared in the Daily Beast, AlterNet, The Naton, and other publications.
July 5, 2013
Clearly, my review of an audiobook I narrated is very biased. This was a pleasure to read as it's very informative and well-researched. It's also a sympathetic and frank look at Bradley Manning. Denver Nicks is able to write with a position without it obstructing or coloring the information he's conveying. I did my best to produce this in a way to give each person involved their own voice without getting cartoon-ish (very challenging when reading quotes from Julian Assange to Dick Cheney (almost impossible to do without sounding like Jon Stewart)). To give a listen to a sample of this audiobook, check out the Brick Shop Audio website:
January 16, 2017
I have to admit that I don't know much about Chelsea Manning. I mean, I know some of the basics - she leaked a shit ton of information to WikiLeaks and was prosecuted once found out - but I don't know hardly anything about Chelsea as a person or what motivated her to become a whistleblower. That's the reason I chose to read this book, but I have to say - I honestly didn't learn as much as I thought I would.
The book comes across as fairly dated, even though it was only published about four years ago. The author continually refers to Chelsea as "Brad," which is expected since this was before Chelsea revealed publicly that she was trans. (There are some mentions of Chelsea's gender identity struggles, however.) The book also went to print before Chelsea plead guilty to some of the charges she was facing and sentenced to 35 years in prison (I am crossing all fingers and toes that Obama will pardon her before leaving office this month). And, of course, Edward Snowden and his whistleblowing had not yet entered stage right just yet (which makes Nicks' extremely limited evaluation of Manning's leaks seem even less substantial, in retrospect).
There is a bit about Manning's childhood, which appears to have been difficult at best. There is also some information about Manning's struggles as a trans woman (although, throughout the book, referred to as a gay man - as previously mentioned above, this book was put to print before Chelsea fully came out about her gender identity) in a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Army (which is seriously one of the most stupid policies ever to exist in the military, in my humble opinion). There's a lot of focus on Chelsea's "problems" - she was prone to emotional outbursts, which Nicks details in multiple different chapters, but there's virtually no attempt to investigate WHY.
And that's my main problem with this book - there's very, very little about Chelsea here. It's obvious that the author has been in touch with Chelsea's family members and friends. It's also obvious that Chelsea has, by choice or by circumstances, become quite secluded while waiting for her trial. But she is what is missing in this book. Her friends and family can only speculate, but considering how she told few what she was doing, much less her motivations behind those actions, there's just some mild speculation. The only insights we got into Chelsea at all came from chat logs and emails that, I am sure, she did not expect to come to light. And that makes the narrative feel quite thin in spots. There is only so much information that friends and family can provide about a person - biographical details, perhaps, but who truly knows someone 100%? And it was quite clear, at least, that Chelsea attempted to keep her multiple layers separate and quiet.
The book is only about two hundred and fifty pages, and a good portion of that is not devoted to Chelsea at all, but to Assange and the drama of WikiLeaks, as well as the former hacker (Lamo) who turned Chelsea in to the authorities. It felt as if the author didn't have enough information to write a biography of Chelsea (which is what, to me, the book initially felt like), so additional "angles" had to be sliced into the book to pad the page count. I know little about the charges Assange is facing in Sweden, only that I find it suspicious that the case was initially considered closed, only to be reopened a few months later. The author does his best to paint Assange as a self-important meglomaniac who just wants to see his name in print; perhaps that is true, but I wouldn't trust Nicks' assessment to make up my mind, and I am looking forward to reading more about Assange and WikiLeaks in the future.
It is fairly obvious that, though the author has little insight to add that hasn't already been addressed by various news articles, that he does support Chelsea's actions.
There, of course, has to be the inevitable comparison between Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, which I feel is a bit unfair, since Chelsea has been sequestered in a military prison, while Snowden is still (precariously, at times) free (I would also love to see Obama pardon him, but I think it's less likely than Chelsea being pardoned). Snowden carefully orchestrated his leak and has remained in the public eye; he's also been able to present his motivations in a clear and concise manner, thanks to Gleen Greenwald and Laura Poitras. Chelsea, of course, did not plan her own capture; that came across as rather by accident, when she chose to reveal her actions to the wrong person at the wrong time (Adrian Lamo). Snowden also redacted some of the information and chose not to release other portions; Manning, on the other hand, just downloaded anything and everything she could find.
I'm not sure that I would recommend this book, but there's very little about Chelsea Manning and the WikiLeaks release available to read, so I can't really recommend another book in its place.
The book comes across as fairly dated, even though it was only published about four years ago. The author continually refers to Chelsea as "Brad," which is expected since this was before Chelsea revealed publicly that she was trans. (There are some mentions of Chelsea's gender identity struggles, however.) The book also went to print before Chelsea plead guilty to some of the charges she was facing and sentenced to 35 years in prison (I am crossing all fingers and toes that Obama will pardon her before leaving office this month). And, of course, Edward Snowden and his whistleblowing had not yet entered stage right just yet (which makes Nicks' extremely limited evaluation of Manning's leaks seem even less substantial, in retrospect).
There is a bit about Manning's childhood, which appears to have been difficult at best. There is also some information about Manning's struggles as a trans woman (although, throughout the book, referred to as a gay man - as previously mentioned above, this book was put to print before Chelsea fully came out about her gender identity) in a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Army (which is seriously one of the most stupid policies ever to exist in the military, in my humble opinion). There's a lot of focus on Chelsea's "problems" - she was prone to emotional outbursts, which Nicks details in multiple different chapters, but there's virtually no attempt to investigate WHY.
And that's my main problem with this book - there's very, very little about Chelsea here. It's obvious that the author has been in touch with Chelsea's family members and friends. It's also obvious that Chelsea has, by choice or by circumstances, become quite secluded while waiting for her trial. But she is what is missing in this book. Her friends and family can only speculate, but considering how she told few what she was doing, much less her motivations behind those actions, there's just some mild speculation. The only insights we got into Chelsea at all came from chat logs and emails that, I am sure, she did not expect to come to light. And that makes the narrative feel quite thin in spots. There is only so much information that friends and family can provide about a person - biographical details, perhaps, but who truly knows someone 100%? And it was quite clear, at least, that Chelsea attempted to keep her multiple layers separate and quiet.
The book is only about two hundred and fifty pages, and a good portion of that is not devoted to Chelsea at all, but to Assange and the drama of WikiLeaks, as well as the former hacker (Lamo) who turned Chelsea in to the authorities. It felt as if the author didn't have enough information to write a biography of Chelsea (which is what, to me, the book initially felt like), so additional "angles" had to be sliced into the book to pad the page count. I know little about the charges Assange is facing in Sweden, only that I find it suspicious that the case was initially considered closed, only to be reopened a few months later. The author does his best to paint Assange as a self-important meglomaniac who just wants to see his name in print; perhaps that is true, but I wouldn't trust Nicks' assessment to make up my mind, and I am looking forward to reading more about Assange and WikiLeaks in the future.
It is fairly obvious that, though the author has little insight to add that hasn't already been addressed by various news articles, that he does support Chelsea's actions.
There, of course, has to be the inevitable comparison between Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, which I feel is a bit unfair, since Chelsea has been sequestered in a military prison, while Snowden is still (precariously, at times) free (I would also love to see Obama pardon him, but I think it's less likely than Chelsea being pardoned). Snowden carefully orchestrated his leak and has remained in the public eye; he's also been able to present his motivations in a clear and concise manner, thanks to Gleen Greenwald and Laura Poitras. Chelsea, of course, did not plan her own capture; that came across as rather by accident, when she chose to reveal her actions to the wrong person at the wrong time (Adrian Lamo). Snowden also redacted some of the information and chose not to release other portions; Manning, on the other hand, just downloaded anything and everything she could find.
I'm not sure that I would recommend this book, but there's very little about Chelsea Manning and the WikiLeaks release available to read, so I can't really recommend another book in its place.
Want to read
November 23, 2016Luke Passaro
Mrs. Zucker
English 9
23 November 2016
Private: Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks, and the Biggest Exposure of Official Secrets in American History
Bradley Manning, a 25-year-old Army private, downloaded 700,000 or more classified documents from military servers and gave them to Wiki Leaks. Bradley Manning committed the largest breach of military Intel in the history of the US. When he was serving in the Army’s Intel unit, He leaked an unbelievable amount of classified info to Wiki Leaks ( Wiki Leaks is an international organisation that publishes secret information and classified media from anonymous sources.) He leaked things like combat videos and thousands of documents from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also leaked info on embassies around the world, which were all classified. Wikileaks headline-making releases said they were all classified info and came from a single source, Private Bradley Manning. The leaks affected many governments around the world. The Arab Spring was sparked, in part, by Manning's public announcement They propelled Wiki Leaks to a level of international prominence it never had before and forever changed the delicate dance between secrecy and transparency. Bradley Manning's story is one of global significance, and yet he remains an enigma. Now, for the first time, the full truth will be told about a man who, at the age of only twenty-two, changed the world. Nick's' book paints a nuanced portrait of a man haunted by demons and driven by hope, impulsive and cocky yet idealistic enough to follow his conscience. Relying on numerous conversations with those who know Manning best and extensive chat logs published here for the first time, Nicks gives the full story of a bright, gay young man from middle America who signs on to serve his country but finds himself serving a cause he finds far more sinister. Manning's is the morally complex tale of a soldier who took matters into his own hands in order to fulfill what he saw as a higher purpose.
I really enjoyed this book because when I began reading Denver Nicks' account of the Bradley Manning and the Wikileaks story, I will admit, I knew a little more about story than somebody that had just read leaked volumes of classified material on a website. At the time the events in the book were initially being reported on, people had conflicting feelings on what was considered national betrayal or a step towards the power of the truth. I found the debate amazing. So, as most of Americans during the time, The intro/prologue is lost. the intro is simply a poorly named Chapter 1. Sometimes though, it's a clever thing that gives away the book's ending. However was totally hooked by the intro to Private. I think It really hook the reader with "Who is Bradley Manning?"(Denver Nicks)and this cause for the reader to want to stay involved throughout the story. This style of writing keep the reader along for the journey. All and all i’d suggest this book to anyone that like reading about conspiracies, war, military stuff or just generally debatable topics.
Mrs. Zucker
English 9
23 November 2016
Private: Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks, and the Biggest Exposure of Official Secrets in American History
Bradley Manning, a 25-year-old Army private, downloaded 700,000 or more classified documents from military servers and gave them to Wiki Leaks. Bradley Manning committed the largest breach of military Intel in the history of the US. When he was serving in the Army’s Intel unit, He leaked an unbelievable amount of classified info to Wiki Leaks ( Wiki Leaks is an international organisation that publishes secret information and classified media from anonymous sources.) He leaked things like combat videos and thousands of documents from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also leaked info on embassies around the world, which were all classified. Wikileaks headline-making releases said they were all classified info and came from a single source, Private Bradley Manning. The leaks affected many governments around the world. The Arab Spring was sparked, in part, by Manning's public announcement They propelled Wiki Leaks to a level of international prominence it never had before and forever changed the delicate dance between secrecy and transparency. Bradley Manning's story is one of global significance, and yet he remains an enigma. Now, for the first time, the full truth will be told about a man who, at the age of only twenty-two, changed the world. Nick's' book paints a nuanced portrait of a man haunted by demons and driven by hope, impulsive and cocky yet idealistic enough to follow his conscience. Relying on numerous conversations with those who know Manning best and extensive chat logs published here for the first time, Nicks gives the full story of a bright, gay young man from middle America who signs on to serve his country but finds himself serving a cause he finds far more sinister. Manning's is the morally complex tale of a soldier who took matters into his own hands in order to fulfill what he saw as a higher purpose.
I really enjoyed this book because when I began reading Denver Nicks' account of the Bradley Manning and the Wikileaks story, I will admit, I knew a little more about story than somebody that had just read leaked volumes of classified material on a website. At the time the events in the book were initially being reported on, people had conflicting feelings on what was considered national betrayal or a step towards the power of the truth. I found the debate amazing. So, as most of Americans during the time, The intro/prologue is lost. the intro is simply a poorly named Chapter 1. Sometimes though, it's a clever thing that gives away the book's ending. However was totally hooked by the intro to Private. I think It really hook the reader with "Who is Bradley Manning?"(Denver Nicks)and this cause for the reader to want to stay involved throughout the story. This style of writing keep the reader along for the journey. All and all i’d suggest this book to anyone that like reading about conspiracies, war, military stuff or just generally debatable topics.
August 1, 2013
A really excellent introduction to the whole Wikileaks-Bradley Manning issue. Very thoughtful, balanced and reasonable throughout and the final chapters placing the leaks in the context of secrecy policies pertaining to the vast vast national security apparatuses thrown together post 9/11 are really terrific - there is too much unnecessary secrecy in the authors view which has actually brought these problems about. This book concisely explains who Bradley Manning is and where he came from. He weaves the complex interrelation of Mannings upbringing and sexuality, Dont Ask Dont Tell, Hacker culture, Assange, The Guardian, Wired etc from every angle and composes it into an elegant multi-faceted narrative. I thoroughly recommend this book.
January 11, 2018
Social Sciences Private: Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks, and the Biggest Exposure of Official Secrets in
American History
The book Private: Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks, and the Biggest Exposure of Official Secrets in American History by Denver Nicks is about a young boy who grew up to be the man who created the “Biggest Exposure of Official Secrets in American History”. It began on acres of countryside in Crescent, Oklahoma where he was born and had a very troubled life. The book goes on about how he grew up as a not so popular kid and felt very out of place. As he grew up in a home with alcoholic parents his sister was the one who ended up taking care of him. At the age of 11 his mother attempted suicide and had to be rushed to the hospital by his older sister as he took care of her in the back of the car. Later on they moved to Wales. Manning was very opinionated and was also gay which led to a lot of bullying from other kids. Manning returned to the US at age 17 when his mother was becoming ill. He had a troubled career path and kept switching jobs and was left broke and had to rely on family members that he didn’t even know at some points in his life. When he was 19 he joined the Navy for five year as a intelligence analyst which gave him access to a lot of classified information. And so his journey to leaking this information began. He leaked information on documents and combat videos from Afghanistan and Iraq. When he was caught he was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but had it shortened to 7 years of confinement. When he got out of prison some people praised him for what he had done while others shunned him. The author shows us both sides of the story leaving us to pick our side of the case and side with or against Bradley Manning.
Overall this book wasn’t very interesting, it was a little confusing at times as well. The chronology didn’t seem to make too much sense especially when going from the events of the actual leaks of data to the background of Bradley Manning as a child. The book did not seem to have real rhythm and it couldn’t keep me interested for longer than about twenty minutes at a time. Though the book was boring at some points it did have a few bright spots. The descriptions of the way Bradley Manning was able to hack computers made it easy for readers to understand what was going on and not get confused in the endless world of technology. The description of technology was one of the major strengths to this book. Even the background of Bradley’s life was a strength because it gave the readers an idea to see what his reasoning for leaking the information was all about. The background may not have been placed in the right place in the book which was a key weakness, but the description of his life before the leaking of the data was helpful. Another weakness to this book is the amount of useless facts about Bradley’s life before the leaks such as “In mid-April 2005, Brad and Jordan got jobs at Incredible Pizza, a massive family-friendly pizza parlor and arcade, with a facade like a neon castle, looming over a South Tulsa strip mall.” (Nicks 52). This sentence really doesn’t mean much in the overall scheme of the book. It does tell us that he did skip around jobs a lot which is mildly important and shows his character, but all of the excess details about the store seem like they are just filling up blank space.
The author does give us and idea about why Bradley would have done something that would almost inevitable gotten him caught by describing his life without true parents. After his father told his mother that he was leaving her, his mother tried to end things for good, “That night Sue swallowed a handful of pills. Minutes later she woke up her daughter and told her she’d tried to kill herself… So Casey woke her dad, but he was too drunk to drive. They woke Bradley and piled in the car. Brian went for the front seat, but Casey stopped him - sit in the back to make sure Mom is all right, she told him. Bradley could keep and eye on her, Brian said. They drove to the hospital with the eleven year-old in the back making sure his mom didn’t stop breathing” (Nicks 17). This quote shows the authors intuitiveness to be able to show scenes from the past to demonstrate why things occurred in the future.
This book was not one of the best reads, but it did give me a lot of different viewpoints on how our government works and how easily someone can turn against them and ruin almost everything if they send out the right information. I would recommend this book to people who like learning about how our government and military work. People who like social sciences should also read this book. For people like me who are more into sports and action books it might not be the best route to take. It does not have any action and there are no astonishing moments that really keep the reader interested. So there are upsides and downsides to reading this book, and it mainly comes from what types of books you like to read. The author does do a really nice job of painting a picture of why Bradley decided to leak all of the classified information, but on the other hand it does not fit the flow of the story. So people who need a story that flows would not really enjoy reading this book for the most part, while people who can read scattered information would have a better time.
Works Cited
Nicks, Denver. Private: Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks, and the Biggest Exposure of Official Secrets in American History. Chicago Review Press, 2012.
American History
The book Private: Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks, and the Biggest Exposure of Official Secrets in American History by Denver Nicks is about a young boy who grew up to be the man who created the “Biggest Exposure of Official Secrets in American History”. It began on acres of countryside in Crescent, Oklahoma where he was born and had a very troubled life. The book goes on about how he grew up as a not so popular kid and felt very out of place. As he grew up in a home with alcoholic parents his sister was the one who ended up taking care of him. At the age of 11 his mother attempted suicide and had to be rushed to the hospital by his older sister as he took care of her in the back of the car. Later on they moved to Wales. Manning was very opinionated and was also gay which led to a lot of bullying from other kids. Manning returned to the US at age 17 when his mother was becoming ill. He had a troubled career path and kept switching jobs and was left broke and had to rely on family members that he didn’t even know at some points in his life. When he was 19 he joined the Navy for five year as a intelligence analyst which gave him access to a lot of classified information. And so his journey to leaking this information began. He leaked information on documents and combat videos from Afghanistan and Iraq. When he was caught he was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but had it shortened to 7 years of confinement. When he got out of prison some people praised him for what he had done while others shunned him. The author shows us both sides of the story leaving us to pick our side of the case and side with or against Bradley Manning.
Overall this book wasn’t very interesting, it was a little confusing at times as well. The chronology didn’t seem to make too much sense especially when going from the events of the actual leaks of data to the background of Bradley Manning as a child. The book did not seem to have real rhythm and it couldn’t keep me interested for longer than about twenty minutes at a time. Though the book was boring at some points it did have a few bright spots. The descriptions of the way Bradley Manning was able to hack computers made it easy for readers to understand what was going on and not get confused in the endless world of technology. The description of technology was one of the major strengths to this book. Even the background of Bradley’s life was a strength because it gave the readers an idea to see what his reasoning for leaking the information was all about. The background may not have been placed in the right place in the book which was a key weakness, but the description of his life before the leaking of the data was helpful. Another weakness to this book is the amount of useless facts about Bradley’s life before the leaks such as “In mid-April 2005, Brad and Jordan got jobs at Incredible Pizza, a massive family-friendly pizza parlor and arcade, with a facade like a neon castle, looming over a South Tulsa strip mall.” (Nicks 52). This sentence really doesn’t mean much in the overall scheme of the book. It does tell us that he did skip around jobs a lot which is mildly important and shows his character, but all of the excess details about the store seem like they are just filling up blank space.
The author does give us and idea about why Bradley would have done something that would almost inevitable gotten him caught by describing his life without true parents. After his father told his mother that he was leaving her, his mother tried to end things for good, “That night Sue swallowed a handful of pills. Minutes later she woke up her daughter and told her she’d tried to kill herself… So Casey woke her dad, but he was too drunk to drive. They woke Bradley and piled in the car. Brian went for the front seat, but Casey stopped him - sit in the back to make sure Mom is all right, she told him. Bradley could keep and eye on her, Brian said. They drove to the hospital with the eleven year-old in the back making sure his mom didn’t stop breathing” (Nicks 17). This quote shows the authors intuitiveness to be able to show scenes from the past to demonstrate why things occurred in the future.
This book was not one of the best reads, but it did give me a lot of different viewpoints on how our government works and how easily someone can turn against them and ruin almost everything if they send out the right information. I would recommend this book to people who like learning about how our government and military work. People who like social sciences should also read this book. For people like me who are more into sports and action books it might not be the best route to take. It does not have any action and there are no astonishing moments that really keep the reader interested. So there are upsides and downsides to reading this book, and it mainly comes from what types of books you like to read. The author does do a really nice job of painting a picture of why Bradley decided to leak all of the classified information, but on the other hand it does not fit the flow of the story. So people who need a story that flows would not really enjoy reading this book for the most part, while people who can read scattered information would have a better time.
Works Cited
Nicks, Denver. Private: Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks, and the Biggest Exposure of Official Secrets in American History. Chicago Review Press, 2012.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2013
I got to narrate the audiobook version of this, and am very glad I did. I've been following the Wikileaks and Bradley Manning story as an avid news reader as well as working at NPR, and the amount of information I hadn't been exposed to before reading this surprised me. There is a lot of nuance to this story that typically gets lost in the media coverage, whether it's Bradley Manning's ambitions, or the over-classification of so much government information as secret.
January 9, 2015
Nicks beautifully portrays Brad Manning's life. From his troubled home life as a kid, to his arrest and pre-trial confinement, Private is an all-encompassing, all-telling story of the reality that is the whistle-blower known as Brad Manning. Expertly written, Nicks' book is the story that anyone who is concerned with government intrusion needs to read.
August 16, 2013
The author is biased towards Manning & attempts to evoke sympathy. Manning clearly broke the law, & I feel no sympathy for that. Same for Assange. Nonetheless the book was interesting. I did feel uncomfortable with reading Manning's email's/ IM's. It seemed awkward & overly intrusive.
December 31, 2013
very interesting and well written. presents a fascinating parallel between the development of the philosophy of "open source" and access to information, and Manning's personal struggles with military culture and mission.
December 28, 2012
Interesting. The overriding message is: there is too much secrecy in our government.
March 19, 2013
Decent analysis of Brad Manning's backstory, which humanizes and creates sympathy for his actions.
March 25, 2013
Denver Nicks was WAY ahead on this story. It's an important one to understand in an era of declining civil rights, drones, and the government spying on Americans.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews