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Julian Assange in His Own Words
The WikiLeaks publisher and free speech campaigner Julian Assange has, since April 2019, been remanded at a maximum security prison in London facing extradition to the United States over WikiLeaks’ groundbreaking 2010 publications. Now, in this crisp anthology, Assange’s voice emerges – erudite, analytic and prophetic.
Julian Assange In His Own Words provides a highly accessible survey of Assange’s philosophy and politics, conveying his views on how governments, corporations, intelligence agencies and the media function. As well as addressing the significance of the vast trove of leaked documents published by WikiLeaks, Assange draws on a polymathic intelligence to range freely over quantum physics, Greek mythology, macroeconomics, modern literature, and empires old and new.
Drawing on his insights as the world most famous free speech activist Assange invites us to ask further questions about how power operates in a world increasingly dominated by a ubiquitous internet.
Assange maybe gagged, but in these pages his words run free, providing both an exhortation to fight for a better world and an inspiration when doing so.
Julian Assange In His Own Words provides a highly accessible survey of Assange’s philosophy and politics, conveying his views on how governments, corporations, intelligence agencies and the media function. As well as addressing the significance of the vast trove of leaked documents published by WikiLeaks, Assange draws on a polymathic intelligence to range freely over quantum physics, Greek mythology, macroeconomics, modern literature, and empires old and new.
Drawing on his insights as the world most famous free speech activist Assange invites us to ask further questions about how power operates in a world increasingly dominated by a ubiquitous internet.
Assange maybe gagged, but in these pages his words run free, providing both an exhortation to fight for a better world and an inspiration when doing so.
- GenresNonfiction
133 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2021
4 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Julian Assange
15 books402 followersJulian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, software developer and Internet activist. He is the founder, spokesperson, and editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks, with the stated purpose of creating open governments. Assange has worked as a computer programmer and was a hacker during his youth. He has lived in several countries, and has made public appearances in many parts of the world to speak about freedom of the press, censorship, and investigative journalism.
Assange founded the WikiLeaks website in 2006 and serves on its advisory board. He has published material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya, toxic waste dumping in Côte d'Ivoire, Church of Scientology manuals, Guantanamo Bay procedures, and banks such as Kaupthing and Julius Baer. In 2010, he published classified details about American involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. On 28 November 2010, WikiLeaks and its five international print media partners (Der Spiegel, The New York Times, Le Monde, The Guardian and El País) began publishing secret US diplomatic cables.
Assange has been praised and condemned for his work with WikiLeaks. In the USA, there have been calls for him to be arrested or treated as a terrorist. He received a number of awards and nominations, including the 2009 Amnesty International Media Award for publishing material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya and Readers' Choice for Time magazine's 2010 Person of the Year.
Assange is currently wanted for questioning in Sweden regarding alleged sexual offences, and was arrested in London, England on 7 December 2010. He is currently on bail and under house arrest in England pending the outcome of an extradition hearing. The ruling is scheduled for 24 February. Assange has denied the allegations and claimed that they are politically motivated.
Assange founded the WikiLeaks website in 2006 and serves on its advisory board. He has published material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya, toxic waste dumping in Côte d'Ivoire, Church of Scientology manuals, Guantanamo Bay procedures, and banks such as Kaupthing and Julius Baer. In 2010, he published classified details about American involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. On 28 November 2010, WikiLeaks and its five international print media partners (Der Spiegel, The New York Times, Le Monde, The Guardian and El País) began publishing secret US diplomatic cables.
Assange has been praised and condemned for his work with WikiLeaks. In the USA, there have been calls for him to be arrested or treated as a terrorist. He received a number of awards and nominations, including the 2009 Amnesty International Media Award for publishing material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya and Readers' Choice for Time magazine's 2010 Person of the Year.
Assange is currently wanted for questioning in Sweden regarding alleged sexual offences, and was arrested in London, England on 7 December 2010. He is currently on bail and under house arrest in England pending the outcome of an extradition hearing. The ruling is scheduled for 24 February. Assange has denied the allegations and claimed that they are politically motivated.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 13, 2022
This was an easy read, formatted almost like a daily devotional. There are quotes by Assange arranged by topic, each no more than a small page.
This book reinforces in my mind that Julian Assange is a hero who should be freed, and that every powerful organization--to include governments and corporations--must be transparent so that they can be held accountable.
This book reinforces in my mind that Julian Assange is a hero who should be freed, and that every powerful organization--to include governments and corporations--must be transparent so that they can be held accountable.
January 9, 2022
I think I might have to reread this book in the near future. There is so much to ponder about in this book and I didn't provide enough time for it.
Why is Julian Assange's ordeal not front page news in Europe? Aren't we supposed to be a beacon of human rights? (sarcasm)
Why is Julian Assange's ordeal not front page news in Europe? Aren't we supposed to be a beacon of human rights? (sarcasm)
January 23, 2023
Always good to hear from the hero himself. This is an assortment of quotes from his speeches, blogs, books, and interviews.
The editor clearly wanted to balance the quotes out for people who are already supporters of Wikileaks, and those who are curious about what Assange has to say, about his own situation as well as anything else.
The result is a mix of quotes, some talking about his arbitrary imprisonment, and plenty talking about Wikileaks, as well as more high-level stuff talking about what the world, and the internet, should look like.
He's Australia's greatest export and one of our greatest thinkers, so a book that purely quotes him is useful, sidestepping the hefty dose of editorialising that usually goes with news on this subject.
The editor clearly wanted to balance the quotes out for people who are already supporters of Wikileaks, and those who are curious about what Assange has to say, about his own situation as well as anything else.
The result is a mix of quotes, some talking about his arbitrary imprisonment, and plenty talking about Wikileaks, as well as more high-level stuff talking about what the world, and the internet, should look like.
He's Australia's greatest export and one of our greatest thinkers, so a book that purely quotes him is useful, sidestepping the hefty dose of editorialising that usually goes with news on this subject.
December 17, 2025
“documentary evidence of the expansion of surveillance and control of ordinary citizens' lives mirroring the Israeli security establishment's domination of Palestinians under military occupation.
Not only Palestine, but much of the world, is a gigantic laboratory to test equipment, techniques, psychological manipulation, and violence to prevent people from protesting their powerlessness and impoverishment.”
“RUNNING AWAY TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY
"I believe the most effective activists are those that fight and run away to fight another day, not those who fight and martyr themselves. That's about judgment - when to engage in the fight and when to withdraw so as to preserve your resources for the next fight.”
“people here in the West are now the enemy of governments, an enemy to be watched, an enemy to be controlled and to be impoverished."
PROCESS PART OF THE END GAME
"I think we can make some significant advances and perhaps it is the making of these advances and being involved in that struggle that is good for people. The process is part of the end game, It's not just to get somewhere in the end; rather this process of people feeling that it is worthwhile to be involved in that sort of struggle, is in fact worthwhile for people."
THE WORLD WAS WATCHING
"Inside the embassy, after dark, I could hear teams of police swarming up into the building through the internal fire escape. But I knew there would be witnesses. And that is because of you. If the U.K. did not throw away the Vienna Conventions the other night, it is because the world was watching. And the world was watching because you were watching. The next time somebody tells you that it is pointless to defend the rights we hold dear, remind them of your vigil in the dark outside the Embassy of Ecuador, and how, in the morning, the sun came up on a different world, and a courageous Latin American nation took a stand for justice "
POWER OF THE PUBLIC SQUARE
"Most revolutions kick off in a crowd situation... all the time the regime is saying, 'This voice is an outcast voice. This is a minority. This is not popular opinion.' And what the media does is censor those voices and prevent people from understanding that actually what the state is saying is in the minority. And once people realize that their view is in the majority, then they understand that they physically have the numbers. And there's no better way to do that than in some kind of public square, which is why Tahrir Square in Egypt was so important, because everyone could see that they had the numbers. "
“For someone who was constantly on the move, from Cairo to Califoria, Tanzania to SL. Petersburg, Iceland to Ireland, researching, organizing, speaking, to suddenly have 330 square feet as his personal space inside the small Ecuadorian embassy in London* and then a cell in Belmarsh under even more confined conditions— yet to remain stalwart-reflects extraordinary resilience.
Such resilience enabled Julian to remain productive even while confined in the Ecuadorian embassy from June 2012 to April 2019, under very difficult circumstances, latterly without, Internet or telephone connections, Julian helped to publish 5 million documents, produced 3 books,* Launched more than 30 publications, and gave 100 talks. A substantial output even from someone living in complete liberty. When he was asked during an interview to write a mathematical formula for WikiLeaks, he wrote on a piece of paper, "Publish or Perish.”
But there is also a lighter side of Julian evidenced by his ready sense of humor. When asked by Srecko Horvat how ho felt about being a character in an Asterix comic," he replied, "It's better than receiving the Nobel. Many more people received the Nobel Prize than became characters in Asterix,"' Julian has been nominated eight times for the Nobel Peace Prize, and likely prefers to be seen alongside Asterix and his tiny band combatting the Romans than beside such warmongers”
Not only Palestine, but much of the world, is a gigantic laboratory to test equipment, techniques, psychological manipulation, and violence to prevent people from protesting their powerlessness and impoverishment.”
“RUNNING AWAY TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY
"I believe the most effective activists are those that fight and run away to fight another day, not those who fight and martyr themselves. That's about judgment - when to engage in the fight and when to withdraw so as to preserve your resources for the next fight.”
“people here in the West are now the enemy of governments, an enemy to be watched, an enemy to be controlled and to be impoverished."
PROCESS PART OF THE END GAME
"I think we can make some significant advances and perhaps it is the making of these advances and being involved in that struggle that is good for people. The process is part of the end game, It's not just to get somewhere in the end; rather this process of people feeling that it is worthwhile to be involved in that sort of struggle, is in fact worthwhile for people."
THE WORLD WAS WATCHING
"Inside the embassy, after dark, I could hear teams of police swarming up into the building through the internal fire escape. But I knew there would be witnesses. And that is because of you. If the U.K. did not throw away the Vienna Conventions the other night, it is because the world was watching. And the world was watching because you were watching. The next time somebody tells you that it is pointless to defend the rights we hold dear, remind them of your vigil in the dark outside the Embassy of Ecuador, and how, in the morning, the sun came up on a different world, and a courageous Latin American nation took a stand for justice "
POWER OF THE PUBLIC SQUARE
"Most revolutions kick off in a crowd situation... all the time the regime is saying, 'This voice is an outcast voice. This is a minority. This is not popular opinion.' And what the media does is censor those voices and prevent people from understanding that actually what the state is saying is in the minority. And once people realize that their view is in the majority, then they understand that they physically have the numbers. And there's no better way to do that than in some kind of public square, which is why Tahrir Square in Egypt was so important, because everyone could see that they had the numbers. "
“For someone who was constantly on the move, from Cairo to Califoria, Tanzania to SL. Petersburg, Iceland to Ireland, researching, organizing, speaking, to suddenly have 330 square feet as his personal space inside the small Ecuadorian embassy in London* and then a cell in Belmarsh under even more confined conditions— yet to remain stalwart-reflects extraordinary resilience.
Such resilience enabled Julian to remain productive even while confined in the Ecuadorian embassy from June 2012 to April 2019, under very difficult circumstances, latterly without, Internet or telephone connections, Julian helped to publish 5 million documents, produced 3 books,* Launched more than 30 publications, and gave 100 talks. A substantial output even from someone living in complete liberty. When he was asked during an interview to write a mathematical formula for WikiLeaks, he wrote on a piece of paper, "Publish or Perish.”
But there is also a lighter side of Julian evidenced by his ready sense of humor. When asked by Srecko Horvat how ho felt about being a character in an Asterix comic," he replied, "It's better than receiving the Nobel. Many more people received the Nobel Prize than became characters in Asterix,"' Julian has been nominated eight times for the Nobel Peace Prize, and likely prefers to be seen alongside Asterix and his tiny band combatting the Romans than beside such warmongers”
July 4, 2022
This book does not answer the questions of why Assange is alternately vilified and ignored by the media but it does remind us that those who do ignore and vilify him are criminals
June 1, 2025
Julian Assange quotes capture his almost prophetic intellectualism and passion for truth.
Very inspiring.
Very inspiring.
October 24, 2023
A collage of sentences/topoc without a logic
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews