"IT BEGAN WITH A TANTALIZING, ANONYMOUS EMAIL: "I AM A SENIOR MEMBER OF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY." What followed was the most spectacular intelligence breach ever, brought about by one extraordinary man. Edward Snowden was a 29-year-old computer genius working for the National Security Agency when he shocked the world by exposing the near-universal mass surveillance programs of the United States government. His whistleblowing has shaken the leaders of nations worldwide, and generated a passionate public debate on the dangers of global monitoring and the threat to individual privacy. In a tour de force of investigative journalism that reads like a spy novel, award-winning Guardian reporter Luke Harding tells Snowden's astonishing story--from the day he left his glamorous girlfriend in Honolulu carrying a hard drive full of secrets, to the weeks of his secret-spilling in Hong Kong, to his battle for asylum and his exile in Moscow. For the first time, Harding brings together the many sources and strands of the story--touching on everything from concerns about domestic spying to the complicity of the tech sector--while also placing us in the room with Edward Snowden himself. The result is a gripping insider narrative--and a necessary and timely account of what is at stake for all of us in the new digital age"-- "The story of Edward Snowden and his shocking surveillance revelations"-- Provided by publisher. Provided by publisher.

"Vintage original"--Page 4 of cover. "Originally published in Great Britain by Guardian Books, London, and Faber and Faber Ltd., London, in 2014." Includes index.

Prologue:The rendezvous -- TheTrueHOOHA -- Civil disobedience -- The source -- Puzzle palace -- The man in the room -- Scoop! -- The planet's most wanted man -- All the signals of all time -- You've had your fun -- Don't be evil -- Flight -- Der Shitstorm! -- The broom cupboard -- Shoot the messenger -- Epilogue: Exile.