The Snowden reader

Beginning in June 2013, Edward Snowden started releasing confidential National Security Agency files, and the disclosures set off intense public argument over government surveillance, state security, and personal privacy in an age of digital communication. This collection moves past the news coverage to examine what the leaks revealed and how the situation unfolded afterward.

Expert contributors offer critical essays that weigh the historical, political, legal, and ethical questions the disclosures raised. Alongside them, the editor has assembled more than forty central documents, each with an introductory note explaining why it matters.

The documents span several viewpoints. They include the files Snowden leaked, replies from the NSA, the Obama administration, and Congress, statements from foreign leaders, their governments, and international bodies, court decisions, reports from review committees, and Snowden's own statements.

The book suits readers who want a grounded overview of the affair and its consequences, beyond what the headlines provided.