I read this book back in '10 and pretty much forgot about it until the other day when something about Edward Snoden caught my eye. The author of this book laid out in remarkable detail how (thanks to the Patriot Act) our government is collecting and mining every bit of web based and cel phone data generated here in the US and some places over seas. That being said, I don't understand how Snowdens revelation is news ... This info has been out there in the public forum for years. Anyway, its a good and interesting read. Particularly timely given the recent revelations from Edward Snowden. The fact is that the NSA has been monitoring and hoovering up as much data as it can get for years. This book traces the history from just before 9/11 (when we had the chance to stop the hijackers but bungled it) through about 2007. Snowden merely confirms what Bamford was telling us in 2008. If you think that Orwellian domestic spying on U.S. citizens somehow makes us safer, then I suggest you read this book. The fact is that the NSA is drowning in data. It no longer looks for needles in haystacks. It now looks for a needle in a haystack of needles.
I reviewed this book for the NYT in 2009 but it is especially relevant today.
—angelrocks567
This book is very informative and insightful.
—bez
More about the secret working of the NSA.
—mgbachicka52
Interesting...scary,
—jgbooks
