The Puzzle Palace
Book description
In this remarkable tour de force of investigative reporting, James Bamford exposes the inner workings of America's largest, most secretive, and arguably most intrusive intelligence agency. The NSA has long eluded public scrutiny, but The Puzzle Palace penetrates its vast network of power and unmasks the people who control it,…
Why read it?
3 authors picked The Puzzle Palace as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I read Bamford’s work because I wanted to understand the history of the NSA, and I was not disappointed. I loved learning, in excruciating detail, about the surveillance techniques and programs of the NSA before the internet.
This book shattered my impression that the NSA was a responsible agency that turned “bad” during the War on Terror. Bamford showed me that modern-day NSA mass surveillance, as revealed by Edward Snowden, actually represents the normal workings of the NSA rather than merely being an aberration. The most important lesson, though, was that the NSA has worked so hard to suppress the…
From Patrick's list on history surveillance techniques in the USA.
In fairness, I could not read this 600-page-plus intelligence agency classic in one day. But I sure tried.
This book is a blockbuster, pulling back the curtain on the super-secretive National Security Agency, NSA, in a way no one has before or since. I remember the sensation this book made when it came out, and have had the honor of getting to know Jim Bamford a bit over the years.
From Jim's list on nonfiction spy books to read in one day.
Truth kicks fiction’s ass, and the truth about the National Security Agency’s technological and espionage capabilities is more terrifying—or, depending on one’s perspective, cool—than any spy novel. Regardless of your perspective, it is astonishing. As a journalist, this book taught me to be daring, as Bamford is. As a novelist, it taught me the secret to writing about classified cutting-edge spy tech: you pretend you are writing sci-fi and imagine the technological possibilities a quarter of a century from now: you will not be far off from what the NSA has today.
From Keith's list on spy books that will make you paranoid.
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