Permanent Record
Edward Snowden
13 people recommended it in 6 threads, 2019–2021.
What people on Hacker News said
So much of the first part about his youth had parallels to my own. The writing was clear and honest, and he really hits home how the US, or rather the "West", has changed.
It's great. I was surprised by how well written it was, it was very easy to read and had some good insights.
I started during a long train trip recently and found that I really enjoyed the tone of the first few chapters.
I enjoyed reading about his childhood/early adulthood and how that shaped him and prompted him to act, but I thought more time would have been spent during/after "the main event"
The one take-away I'm still thinking about is how the Tor Onion Router system works, and if the primary purpose behind Tor was to allow spies in various locations around the planet to communicate with known headquarter locations without leaving any traces.
I listened to him read it on Audible. It's really interesting. Though it started off a little slow but picks up as it keeps going. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Where it comes up
- Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020? 2019 · 6 recommendations
- Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021? 2021 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2019? 2019 · 2 recommendations
- My Favorite Books 2020 2020 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade? 2019 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Do you know any good audio books for developers? 2019 · 1 recommendation