First published 2008
The National Security Agency transformed itself after September 11th, redirecting its sophisticated monitoring capabilities toward American citizens. James Bamford, who first exposed the NSA's existence decades earlier, reveals how the agency failed to prevent the 9/11 attacks despite having opportunities to stop the hijackers. This intelligence failure became the justification for expanded domestic spying programs. Bamford documents the specific methods the NSA uses to collect and analyze data from ordinary Americans. He shows how telecommunications companies cooperate with government surveillance and how Congress fails to protect civil liberties. The book provides concrete examples of how personal information gets harvested, processed, and stored. Readers learn the scope of data mining operations and discover what happens to their private communications once collected. Bamford presents evidence that will surprise anyone who believes legislative oversight protects American freedoms from government intrusion.
Genres: american, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: government-conspiracy, whistleblower
Setting: America, United States
Period: 21st Century
410 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday Publishing/Random House (NY)