James Bamford has been the preeminent expert on the National Security Agency since his reporting revealed the agency's existence in the 1980s. Now ...
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Oct 08, 2011
Erik
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This book covers the history of the NSA from the months prior to 9/11, during which time they tracked some of the known terrorists who participated in the hijackings on that day but didn't relay the information, to 2008, when they had pretty much obtained full access to all telecommunications in the USA, if not the world. It is also, given the period covered, a history of the Bush administration's circumvention of the law in the pursuit of social control and its agenda of controlling the Middle
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Sep 01, 2011
Owen
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First I'd like to thank Tom for turning me on to this book via goodreads (and you're welcome for getting you put on a watch list there, old buddy). This book is singularly unsettling. Whether you're upset about warrant wiretapping, or upset about outsourcing our electronic (warrantless) surveillance to foreign companies run by Israeli Unit 8200 alumni, or upset that the people in charge seem to be either asleep at the wheel or cravenly political, there is plenty to be unsettled about in this b
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Jan 30, 2011
Jonny99
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Dear NSA, hope you enjoy this review. Your government (whichever on it is) monitors you when you think it not, it always has and always will – to one degree or another. This used to be a cumbersome proposition involving the infiltration of groups and verbally reporting what was overheard to government handlers. However, modern communication technology makes eavesdropping relatively simple given enough of the right resources. In his extensive review of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Bi
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Nov 17, 2010
Christopher
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The things Bamford uncovers are pretty amazing. He has terrific access to current and former employees of the NSA and that, coupled with a massive amount of archival research, makes his books the authoratative account of the history of spycraft in the modern age. It's too bad so much of that history simply highlights the moral bankruptcy of our country and its leaders. The account of the attempt to bypass the FISA court by getting AG John Ashcroft, on death's door in a hospital at the time, t
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Aug 04, 2010
Darrenglass
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Bamford literally wrote the book on the National Security Agency with Body of Secrets, a thorough and compelling look inside the NSA's past and present, where "present" is defined as pre-9/11. Since that book, much of Bamford's writings have tended towards political polemics, and despite the fact that I generally agree with Bamford's politics, I still found those books and articles to be less compelling. So I was happy to see The Shadow Factory return to inside scuttlebutt about the
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Sep 26, 2009
Bob
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Very thorough look at the subject of electronic eavesdropping inside & outside u.s. borders. Basically, if you've ever had suspicions that this sort of gunk goes on in the u.s., this book gives you the facts -- good or bad.
A fascinating part of the book chronicles the policy & procedures leading up to the attacks of Sept 11, 2001. It's an exceptional detail of the hindrances to u.s. spy agencies' being able to detect all the terrorists that were moving around free & easy inside our More...
A fascinating part of the book chronicles the policy & procedures leading up to the attacks of Sept 11, 2001. It's an exceptional detail of the hindrances to u.s. spy agencies' being able to detect all the terrorists that were moving around free & easy inside our More...
Nov 24, 2008
Drake
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Detailed, informative, well researched, James Bramford’s ‘The Shadow Factory’ provides a rich history of the variety of actions, which lead directly to illegal wiretapping and data mining programs of the NSA. It is a great piece of investigative journalism, a must for anybody who wants to know more about the NSA abuses than the glossy surface stories provided in newspapers and on tv. Other than at the end, it mostly avoids the punditry that passes for journalism today, instead focusing on the
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Oct 10, 2011
Elmwoodblues
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From a riveting, detail-oriented account of the events leading up to 9/11, ('...Mohammed Atta's phone number was ...', 'they were in Room xxx at the hotel...', the satellite phone in Kandahar was xxx-xxx', I found this to get very tedious, very fast. Not much about the NSA history, but the title does not claim to offer that; but, then, not much about the trajectory of the agency big-picture, either. Lots of inside info, sure; but the balance of the book, while at times fascinating, reads lik
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Feb 21, 2011
Paul
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I'd never read anything regarding the NSA and, as a result, knew next to nothing about the agency. This book is like a fire hose of information on the subject.
I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information, and by the gross inefficiency of the associated buraucracy. At the same time, I'm offended by the breadth, depth, and scope of the intrusion on American privacy, and the near impossibility of doing anything about it.
The book was a slow read for me, as a lot of technic More...
I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information, and by the gross inefficiency of the associated buraucracy. At the same time, I'm offended by the breadth, depth, and scope of the intrusion on American privacy, and the near impossibility of doing anything about it.
The book was a slow read for me, as a lot of technic More...
Oct 15, 2010
Khalid
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In this third book Bamford continues to probe and expose the National Security Agency (NSA) secrets. The author shows how the NSA’s failure to detect the presence of two of the 9/11 hijackers inside the US led the NSA to abandon its long-held policy of spying only on enemies outside the country. Instead, after 9/11 it turned its almost limitless ability to listen in on friend and foe alike over to the Bush Administration to use as a weapon in the war on terror. Bamford details how the agency has
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Feb 11, 2009
Natalieb
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I would have given it a 5, but about half way through I lost interest to more catching novels I was reading and didn't finish. What I did read was very intriguing. If you've ever been interested in what goes on behind the scenes of the intelligence community, or even more about the lead up of 9/11, read the first 100 pages or so of this book. Keep in mind when this book was written "eavesdropping on America" was illegal, but the program they're using has now been okayed through the co
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Jan 03, 2010
Cory
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After watching the PBS show "The Spy Factory", I read this book. Lots of good details (perhaps too many) but the premise strays a bit. The second title 'from 9/11 to the eavesdropping' part was not quite accurate. Bamford begins with the details of the 2 highjackers in San Diego, then goes on to explain much more about the NSA, its history, the political finagling around the illegal issues. Although I didn't want to learn the details of the highjackers, I sort of wish he would have
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May 23, 2009
Steven
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I read this one as an audio book, and I'm happy I did. I would not have gotten through the heavy subject material if I was reading it, but it is much easier when listening to it. It was eye-opening, and the author struggled to remain neutral on it. I found myself trying to remain neutral as well. In the end I decided that eavesdropping is probably a necessary thing and that FISA laws should probably be updated, but I think that warrantless eavesdropping should probably be restricted to the m
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Apr 11, 2010
Christopher Rex
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This book sucks. For a topic that could be very interesting, Bamford turns it into a real snore-a-thon. He opens with a complete rendition of the gov't theory on 9-11, complete w/ all its holes, contradictions and problems. He never once entertains the idea that the scumbags in the NSA could've assisted in carrying out the attacks. He then proceeds to bore you to death for the rest of the book. Don't bother. Go read about 9-11 instead. Regardless of any of that, Big Brother is watching -
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May 05, 2010
Conor
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James Bamford has written a fascinating account of the National Security Agency and the technology and techniques employed by the NSA pre- and post-9/11. At times the book reads like a novel and is incredibly engaging. At other points, the book becomes tedious as the reader becomes lost in discussion of terabytes, gigabytes, and all the various bytes. The biggest flaw in Bamford's book though isn't the writing, it is his personal biases that shine through from page 1 through the end. Bamford
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Oct 29, 2008
Will
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“There is now the capacity to make tyranny total in America. Only law ensures that we never fall into that abyss—the abyss from which there is no return.” (p 344)
Bamford’s turf is the NSA and he mines that lode again. This time with an eye towards how the gathering of intelligence changed from a focused peering into the doings of potential enemies abroad to spying on the doings of everyone, American or not, in the USA or outside. It is a chilling account of how fear-mongering and a More...
Bamford’s turf is the NSA and he mines that lode again. This time with an eye towards how the gathering of intelligence changed from a focused peering into the doings of potential enemies abroad to spying on the doings of everyone, American or not, in the USA or outside. It is a chilling account of how fear-mongering and a More...
Nov 25, 2008
Jason
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Simply an amazing read. It will make you very, very angry when you read about the abuse of government by Hayden when he was at the NSA and the Bush administration. They were and are data mining everything you do online and through any device that emits a signal. Privacy be damned. This is not the way to gather intelligence. They ignored FISA which would work for their purposes. Yet they chose to bring the telcoms into their game. This is really just as bad as Watergate.
May 11, 2010
Seth
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A fascinating, if somewhat terrifying look at the NSA and all it entails - going in at first to the problems leading up to 9/11 (including the names, places, dates, and phone numbers some of the hijackers used and other specific information) and from there goes into the massive expansion the agency went through in the last ten years - both legal and extralegal.
Bamford goes into specific methods used (often with telecom and internet company help) to examine and sort through practical More...
Bamford goes into specific methods used (often with telecom and internet company help) to examine and sort through practical More...
Nov 21, 2008
Ray
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Everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about the National Security Agency (NSA). Book discusses the intelligence failure leading up to 9/11, and continues with the changes in data acquition, eavesdropping, and foreign as well as domestic surveillance from 9/11 to 2008. Discusses diminishing civil liberties in our efforts to improve national security. Occasionally overly detailed, describing the circuits, street addresses, and technology being used.
Jan 01, 2012
Frederick
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A discussion of the NSA and its role in US spying since 9/11. It talks about the president's warrantless wiretapping program and the attempts by the NSA to track al-Quida. Most interesting is the description of the struggle to get the telecom companies to comply with Bush's illegal attempts to subvert the Constitution.
Feb 13, 2010
Ryan
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Mildly interesting and predictably highly biased. The problem with books like this one and "Legacy of Ashes" is that little or no mention is given of the successes of our nation's intelligence community, most likely because none of us will likely know when an attack could have happened. Regardless, the author drops all pretense of neutrality early in the book. He frequently sympathizes with the "frustration" of the 9/11 hijackers while simultaneously condemning Jewish/Isra
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Dec 11, 2011
Nicholas Kotecki Kotecki
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really interesting and kinda scary how much control over so much personal information. the NSA is huge and all knowing it seems and the vastness in their store of information makes google look small in comparison. te book is pretty dry a lot of dates and stats. i had it a auiobook made it a lot easier to get through.
Mar 27, 2009
Diane C.
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A frightening story (if only it were fiction!) of how deeply secretive and confusing and probably incompentent the actions of the NSA are. A recent "NOVA" on PBS basically re-tread this book and is a great way to get the basic content in an easy format.
But still, read the book.
But still, read the book.
Jun 30, 2009
Enoch
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I thought Bamford did a good job in addressing the Unwarranted
Eavesdropping Program however he tended to into tangential when he started sharing his personal opinions. Overall it's pretty good and after reading this book, I appreciate the accountability factor between different branches of our US government.
Eavesdropping Program however he tended to into tangential when he started sharing his personal opinions. Overall it's pretty good and after reading this book, I appreciate the accountability factor between different branches of our US government.
Jun 23, 2010
Paul
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If you like how the U.S. and the NSA is spying on all of us and if you like computer talk, you will like this book. The NSA has the capability to read our emails and listen in on our phone calls. The bad thing about it is they have years of information to look at. Getting the info is easy, disseminating it is a bit tougher. They have certain words that are red flags in all these sent messages. So NSA this is for you.
The White House is the bomb. Obama is like a rifle shot from More...
The White House is the bomb. Obama is like a rifle shot from More...
Aug 28, 2009
Michele
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The NSA and the internet. You ought to know that your e-mails are being saved, though not read. Too much information prevents the NSA from finding the real criminals and terrorists
Jan 26, 2011
Mike
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Save yourself the hassle of reading this book by watching PBS Frontline episode with the same name. The book started out good and then wandered all over creation losing any hint of cohesiveness.
Oct 04, 2010
Tom
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Ai, yi, yi. Must read about US Intelligence both foreign and domestic; the NSA; the telecoms; the foreign hardware/software companies involved. Whew.
Oct 18, 2011
Daniel
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For those who acquainted with recent headlines about the NSA, this book is mostly review. But it's worth reading nonetheless.
Sep 10, 2011
Mark
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Paints bleak picture of Bush era NSA sucking up tons of data and skirting the 4th amendment while trying to catch terrorists.
