Edward Snowden – Permanent Record

Snowden ist ein Held

Sehr gutes und wichtiges Zeitdokument. Snowden schreibt entspannt, auf Fakten fokussiert, und mit großem und präzisem Wortschatz. Wenn man ihn in den Medien, auf Kongressen oder in Podcasts verfolgt hat, erfährt man wenig neues zur NSA-Enthüllung an sich, aber dafür das ganze persönliche Drumherum. Für mich ziemlich interessant, wie genau die Flucht über Hongkong lief, wie das Heraustragen der gesammelten Beweise aus der NSA möglich war, wie die Arbeit mit den Journalisten in so einer hochspannenden Situation ist.

It was a pleasure to read Snowden's own account of how he ended up being what he is now - the world's most well-known whistleblower (I suppose).

At times, in the chapters about his childhood, I caught myself thinking "huh, so you really have to describe how clever and smart you were as a kid, did you". But then, maybe he simply was, and also what does it matter. This is his version of his story. The actions he took stand for themselves.

All in all, I really really enjoyed this. I have always found his story fascinating before. And to find his own writing to be this clear and engaging was a pleasant experience.