Snowden's Box. La fiducia nell'era del controllo

by Jessica Bruder, Dale Maharidge, Giada Diano (Translator)

Un giorno, nella primavera del 2013, un pacco appare fuori dalla porta al quarto piano di un appartamento di Brooklyn, New York. La destinataria, che non conosce il mittente, sa solo di dover portare questo pacco a un amico, che lo traghetterà a un altro amico. È il pacco di Edward Snowden - con materiale che prova che il governo degli Stati Uniti ha costruito un enorme apparato di sorveglianza e lo usa per spiare il suo stesso popolo - e l’amica alla fine di questa catena è la regista Laura Poitras, che racconterà questa storia nel film Premio Oscar Citizenfour. Questo è il racconto di come la più grande fuga di notizie sulla sicurezza nazionale nell’era digitale abbia viaggiato attraverso una rete straordinariamente analogica: il servizio postale statunitense. Ma è anche il racconto di un paradosso illuminante: nell’era del controllo in cui siamo sottoposti a una sorveglianza costante e sempre più tecnologicamente avanzata, le relazioni umane basate sulla fiducia, il sostegno e la solidarietà sono l’unica - e la più potente - tecnologia in grado di proteggerci e permetterci di sfuggire alle reti di ogni sistema repressivo. Sono solo alcuni degli ironici dettagli che emergono dal racconto di come Jessica Bruder e Dale Maharidge (due giornalisti esperti, ma alle prime armi con le misure di sicurezza), e gli amici che hanno ricevuto e traghettato il pacco, siano stati coinvolti nell’epopea di Snowden come attori dietro le quinte. I loro sforzi, inizialmente incespicanti, sempre più paranoici e talvolta comici, per aiutare a portare alla luce i leak di Snowden e, infine, per comprenderne il significato, si dipanano in una narrazione avvincente che include e-mail ed estratti dalla corrispondenza tra Poitras e Snowden. Un racconto d’inchiesta rivelatore sullo stato della trasparenza, della privacy e della fiducia nell’era della sorveglianza, con un’appendice che informa su cosa possono fare i cittadini e gli attivisti per proteggere la privacy e la democrazia.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Politics, Journalism, The United States Of America

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2020

About the author

Jessica Bruder is a journalist who writes about subcultures and resilience.

For her most recent book, "Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century" (W.W. Norton & Co.), she spent months living in a camper van, documenting itinerant Americans who gave up traditional housing and hit the road full time, enabling them to travel from job to job and carve out a place for themselves in our precarious economy. The project spanned three years and more than 15,000 miles of driving—from coast to coast and from Mexico to the Canadian border.

Jessica has been teaching at Columbia Journalism School since 2008. She has written for publications including Harper's Magazine, The Nation, WIRED, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, The International Herald Tribune, The New York Times Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, O: The Oprah Magazine, Inc. Magazine, Reuters and CNNMoney.com, along with The Oregonian and The New York Observer — where she worked as a staff writer — and Fortune Small Business magazine, where she was a senior editor. Her long-form stories have won a James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism and a Deadline Club Award.

Reviews

[MyPlantsLoveAudiobooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big fan of the Intercept and was excited when I received the advanced audio book copy from Libro.fm. I was also intrigued by the premise of combatting declining social trust.

The sections based on personal narrative are excellent. They are compelling, interesting, and reveal how isolating being involved in whistleblowing can be. I respect the authors' vulnerability and believe these passages struck the right tone: enough information to tell a story, but not so much as to be melodramatic.

I did not enjoy the sections later in the book. Anyone interested enough to read a work like Snowden's Box is likely already aware of the various ways in which private companies and governments track, store, and share data citizens often give voluntarily. This meandering intro to Alexa and other devices and companies read like a "Privacy 101" primer that had little to do with the narrative at hand. To be honest, it seemed like the authors realized how short their book would be and so they added some sections about privacy more generally. I would be less critical had they not repeatedly mentioned being long-form journalists. Surely, they are aware of story arcs and so I was surprised they didn't choose another medium.

This would have made a fabulous podcast. The best parts of the book are those that seem to have been conceived during chats between a few people who experienced something extraordinary together.

[Andrea Bettoncelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will I put my phone in the refrigerator after reading this book? Probably not, but I do appreciate all the little steps the authors recommend in order to protect one's privacy.

Snowden's Box is a great reminder of how even seemingly innocent technologies (like the internet of things) should not be treated lightly.

At the heart of the book lies the idea that it doesn't matter how scary it is to know that companies and governments can access your data and private information (it is indeed a maddening thought). We should still trust and rely on each other, as big changes can come even from the smallest acts of kindness.

[Luc · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-written account of what is essentially a human story behind the leak of intelligence documents exposing a mass electronic surveillance program in the name of national security.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was bland.

Honestly, just read Permanent Record, it's a gem.

1.9/5

[Aleph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Davvero una piacevole scoperta. Non mi aspettavo fosse cosí avvincente, scritto bene, e al tempo stesso agghiacciante ansiogeno. Racconta la storia di una delle piú grandi imprese giornalistiche del XXI secolo, e lo fa con un stile molto limpido e divertente. A leggerlo vi sentirete come se foste stati protagonisti della vicenda.
Leggerlo, e comprarlo, è anche un gesto di protesta contro il capitalismo della sorveglianza e del massiccio spionaggio ingiustificato e illegale delle agenzie governative. È quindi fondamentale che lo si conosca e lo si faccia leggete a piú persone possibili. Una rivoluzione è possibile, come Snowden ci ha mostrato. E questa rivoluzione deve partire da noi «semplici» cittadini, checché la propaganda governativa ci faccia pensare: «le decisioni individuali contano. Ci viene spesso detto il contrario. Che non vale la pena agire —votare, dire la propria, persino scrivere— perché i singoli individui sono insignificanti e il mondo troppo grande. Eppure noi perseveriamo. Lo facciamo per lo stesso motivo per cui scegliamo la fiducia al posto della paura. Scrivendo contro il silenzio».

Questo è il punto fondamentale: leggete questo libro, e se siete esseri umani civili vi si raggelerà il sangue nelle vene. E usate quel forte sentimento, quella paura, quello smarrimento, quel senso di oppressione e di essere continuamente osservati, per lottare, per cambiare. Per sostituire gli strumenti informatici inutili e pericolosi che usate ogni giorni; per cambiare i vostri comportamenti e le vostre applicazioni. E diffondere il verbo con il vostro esempio da persone che amano la libertà e uno dei diritti umani piú fondamentali, sancito dalla Dichiarazione universale dei diritti umani: il diritto alla riservatezza.

[Rickie Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does have a couple of instances of swearing.

It feels so wrong, yet so right to read this book.

If you think you've read and watched everything else related to Ed Snowden, then you're missing an important piece. The box. Which this book tells all about.

“the focus of our book was the human relationships that shepherded Snowden’s box — rather than the material inside”

How much of this story is actually true? That I don't know, but as the book mentions,

“systems are only as reliable as the people who operate them.
“When it all boils down to it,” he concluded, “it is all about personal trust.””

Stories are a great way to hook someone in, and it's interesting the approach that this book took.

““Thanks for making me laugh so hard,” Laura wrote to both of us the next day. It was the last time I’d laugh for a while.”

It's fascinating how the book is structured, telling the main story first, then adding details, then talking about US history and the future.

If you aren't interested in US history, or the US in general, then I feel you can finish the book once the author's dive into that. I felt they expanded too far away from “the box”, and they had to fill the book to be a certain number of pages.

“Society evolves when people can test boundaries and experiment with ways of living outside the mainstream. In a climate of total surveillance, such innovations would halt. The culture would stagnate and conformity would reign.”

“It also reflected what I consider to be one of the great lessons of adulthood: that most of the institutions and endeavors we regard as ironclad — from parenting to politics — are actually held together with chewing gum and duct tape. Nothing truly works, at least not for long, or not in the way it’s supposed to.”

[Silvio111 · Rating 4 out of 5]

More a reflection on issues of privacy and government surveillance than an actual story, my takeaway from it was the irony that to truly guard against invasion of privacy, one should send things through the snail mail rather than email them.

The actual story of Edward Snowden mailing government secrets in a small USPS Priority Mail box and the subsequent lengths the two authors went to guard their involvement was the smallest part of this book. It could have (and actually was) all been treated in magazine article. The rest of the book examines a bit of history of government spying on its own citizens and later offers suggestions on how to guard one's communications from spying eyes.

What I found most interesting was the fact that one of the authors, Jessica Bruder, was the author of Nomadland (which because a film last year). One of those six degrees of separation.

I wish there had been more about Edward Snowden himself in this story, but that is covered in many other books. I think the authors, having risked so much to be part of this caper, just really wanted to write a book about it.

Interesting and compelling, but not a major work. But it does alert the public to these issues, which is important.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little afraid that I would find this book somewhat repetitive after reading Snowden's memoir "Permanent Record" less than six months ago, but that wasn't the case. Of course the central points are much the same, but the change of perspective (from whistleblower to journalists) was very interesting and brought many new points to light.

A strong recommend for anyone interested in modern surveillance (including IoT and "smart"devices) and/or the media shabang surrounding Snowden.

[Hunter McAvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about opening one’s eyes…I’m pretty young (24 at time of writing this) so when the leaks happened I was still in school and wasn’t really old enough to care for tracking it. Growing up in this age of data has created clear complacency to both personal security & privacy. I’m guilty of the “so what if they’re watching me, I’m boring” mentality.
This was very well written and will lead to many more books on the topic for my future reading.

[Andrew Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine. It takes the lesser known parts of the Snowden case and fills the gaps with general observations about surveillance. Apparently it started as an article, and much like most of Verso's catalogue, it probably should have stayed an article. As Jeremy Scahill said, Laura Poitras is the most badass director alive today, and he's right. This is a kind of third party telling of Laura's story, which is a great story, I'd just rather hear it from her.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of the importance of human connection and trust. After reading, I plan to advocate for my own privacy and pay more attention to laws and policies about information gathering on us all. Thank you Edward Snowden, Laura Poitras, the authors and others who put their own lives and way of life at risk for the greater good.

[Henry Hakamaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was an interesting book on the humans behind the scenes of the Snowden leaks. Highlights the importance of trust and relationships, but this book really would have benefitted by talking about what was in the box at least a little. A fun, fast read though, and recommended for people who already know the main story of the Snowden leaks.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
The central narrative of Snowden's Box didn't really grab me, but I REALLY enjoyed all the context the authors included. I learned a lot about the history of US surveillance and privacy legislation, and the conclusion makes some excellent points about IoT forensics and other evolving privacy/trust/surveillance issues.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten years on from the Snowden revelations seemed like a good time to once again pick up something related to the topic.
Here's an interesting look at what it took to bring Snowden's information onto the frontpages of assorted newspapers from a different angle, through the eyes of two journalists who were only involved at the periphery, playing a small yet vitally important role.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about the importance of encryption and security, and how a few select journalists protected themselves and Edward Snowden during his release of NSA surveillance memos. It should be required reading for all Americans.

[Audiobook Accomplice (Gillian) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good enough that I might tackle other Snowden accounts…?
Very short but an engaging 4-stars
My Full Review →

[Florence🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not American and I’m quite young and also stupid so I’d never heard of the snowden nsa leaks before but wow… what a brave lad and what a story of human trust and surety of doing the right thing in the face of totalitarian-esque governments.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so gripping that I read it in one day! It reads like a novel and is anything but. Thank you Dale & Jesica for writing this.

[Cafonso · Rating 3 out of 5]

A side story ...

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Turnkey tyranny" - Edward Snowden

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember: Big bro works for & with big business.

[Chandra Shekhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary side of information age brought out vividly. Courage of people to stand up to big state is inspiring.

[pianogothent · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute

[Kelly McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Bruder’s writing. Quick, interesting read.

[Anastaseya Kulikova · Rating 3 out of 5]

i wish it was longer and detailed more into Snowden’s experience. however i appreciate the story-telling.

[gnarlyhiker · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh

[Lina Ydrefelt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kanske bara lite trist för att man hört berättelsen, eller iaf stora delar av den, förut.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Bruder’s writing. Quick, interesting read.

[RR]

Best read for completeness (at least for people who followed the news of 2013 deeply), rather than real additional insight.

[V · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like the scope of this book was a little limited and I'd have appreciated... just more, in one direction or other.

But what was there was fascinating.