Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State

by Barton Gellman

“Engrossing. . . . Gellman [is] a thorough, exacting reporter . . . a marvelous narrator for this particular story, as he nimbly guides us through complex technical arcana and some stubborn ethical questions. . . . Dark Mirror would be simply pleasurable to read if the story it told didn’t also happen to be frighteningly real.” —Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times

From the three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the New York Times bestseller Angler, the definitive master narrative of Edward Snowden and the modern surveillance state, based on unique access to Snowden and groundbreaking reportage around the world.

Edward Snowden touched off a global debate in 2013 when he gave Barton Gellman, Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald each a vast and explosive archive of highly classified files revealing the extent of the American government’s access to our every communication. They shared the Pulitzer Prize that year for public service. For Gellman, who never stopped reporting, that was only the beginning.  He jumped off from what Snowden gave him to track the reach and methodology of the U.S. surveillance state and bring it to light with astonishing new clarity.  Along the way, he interrogated Snowden’s own history and found important ways in which myth and reality do not line up.  Gellman treats Snowden with respect, but this is no hagiographic account, and Dark Mirror sets the record straight in ways that are both fascinating and important.
 
Dark Mirror is the story that Gellman could not tell before, a gripping inside narrative of investigative reporting as it happened and a deep dive into the machinery of the surveillance state. Gellman recounts the puzzles, dilemmas and tumultuous events behind the scenes of his work – in top secret intelligence facilities, in Moscow hotel rooms, in huddles with Post lawyers and editors, in Silicon Valley executive suites, and in encrypted messages from anonymous accounts. Within the book is a compelling portrait of national security journalism under pressure from legal threats, government investigations, and foreign intelligence agencies intent on stealing Gellman’s files. Throughout Dark Mirror, Gellman wages an escalating battle against unknown adversaries who force him to mimic their tradecraft in self-defense. 

With the vivid and insightful style that is the author’s trademark, Dark Mirror is a true-life spy tale about the surveillance-industrial revolution and its discontents. Along the way, with the benefit of fresh reporting, it tells the full story of a government leak unrivaled in drama since All the President’s Men.

• ISBN10: 1594206015
• ISBN13: 9781594206016
• Publish Date: 19 May 2020 (first published 6 June 2017)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: The Penguin Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 448
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781594206016

Reviews

[Kevin Costain]

Gellman’s book is very interesting. It doesn't seem like he was particularly interested in supporting Snowden's quest (more than say, the need for the public to know). The book is purely the perspective of a journalist conflicted by unexpected events (Gellman suggests that his tech-savvyness lead to his involvement in the story).

Snowden himself seem to have been more of a comrade to Greenwald and the photographer Poitras, but Goldman's involvement was less well known to me, and perhaps more interesting.

Gellman seems to do his best in terms of doing what's right for the country doing what's right for the public and doing what's right for himself. I'm not sure I agree with it all, but I respect his stance. Documentation of programs like PRISM spanned thousands of documents, and it must have been a massive challenge understanding all.

If you're looking for more information on what what led up to the disclosures and more on Snowden's life, you should check out Snowden's book, Permanent Record. Perhaps the best part of that book was how Snowden managed to get the data out of NSA by way of a Rubik's Cube.

With Dark Mirror Gilman paints it all from his perspective which can only add depth to the story.