Permanent Record

by Edward Snowden

Permanent Record is the story of Edward Snowden’s life in his own words. It describes his parents, idyllic childhood, and the increasing importance computers would have over his life. Leaving Snowden’s childhood and upbringing, the book recounts his early adulthood and the impact 9/11 had on his trajectory. And finally, it details his high-minded loyalty to the U.S. Constitution and the methods he used to steal and distribute details of America’s spying apparatus to the world-at-large.

I found the book to be humorous and understandable; after all, Snowden is just a few years older than me. And with only a few hundred miles separating us in our younger years I get a lot of the cultural references and experiences with the early internet that he describes. Honestly, I was very much surprised at the writing level of the book, and I had to check online to prove to myself that it was ghost-written, or at least organised by Joshua Cohen. It would be truly stunning if Snowden’s first book were to come out so good.

For anyone interested in learning more about the background of one of America’s most stand-out heroes/traitors, depending on your ideology, this book is for you. Additionally, knowing the details of America’s domestic spying network may change your online habits – so maybe Permanent Record will be a transformative memoir for you.

Have you read Permanent Record? What did you think?