Permanent Record Book Summary

Book Summary

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Brief Summary

Edward Snowden currently resides in Russia after fleeing the US for revealing the NSA’s system of mass surveillance to US journalists. The public is divided on how Snowden should be treated. To most, the man is not entirely a hero nor villain. Snowden’s recent book, Permanent Record, is largely an autobiography and defense, with discussions of political ethics and a dash of the suspense novel.

About the Author

Edward Snowden is an American whistleblower. As a CIA employee and subcontractor, he leaked classified information about the NSA. He exposed several global surveillance programs run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance, who worked with telecommunication companies and European governments to infringe on the privacy of Americans. His actions prompted an international discussion about privacy and national security.

Snowden was hired by the NSA after working for Dell and the CIA. He raised his concerns internally but was ignored. He leaked classified documents to journalists Gless Greenwwalk, Lura Poitras, and Ewen Masskill. His story appeared on The Guardian, The Washington Post and the New York Times. On June 21, 2013, after Snowden flew to Hong Kong, the United States Department of Justice charged Snowden with two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property. He then arrived in Moscow two days later. Russia provided Snowden with the right of asylum with an initial visa for residence for one year. He has been able to stay in Russia for at least until 2020. In 2017, he married his girlfriend, Lindsay, and lives in Moscow. His memoir Permanent Record was published in September of 2019. The US Department of Justice sued him over the publication of his memoir, alleging breach of nondisclosure agreements.

Topics

Biography & Memoir

Permanent Record Book Summary Preview

Family Origins

Born in 1983 in North Carolina, he came from a patriotic family with a strong military background. His grandfather served in the F.B.I., his father was an engineer in the coast guard, and his mother was an administrator in the NSA. He showed early tendencies of both patriotism and questioning authority.

Early Interest in “Hacking”

At an early age, Snowden expressed a knack for hacking, which he describes as exploiting any system’s weaknesses to your own advantage, and not just skill in computers. For instance, on his sixth birthday, he didn’t want to go to bed at the time his parents said, so he got around his bedtime instructions by turning all the clocks in the house back a few hours. And in school, he figured out how to maintain a B average without doing homework, all so he could spend more time with computers. It became one of Snowden’s favorite hobbies to exploit weaknesses in the rules that adults placed on him, or use their own logic against them.

Early Talent with Computer Programming

Snowden was in love with the internet of the 1990s and developed a rare talent for computers. At one point, in high school, he discovered a security flaw on the Los Alamos National Laboratory website. He called the lab to notify them of this and later received a call from a man thanking him and offering a job when he turns 18.

Diagnosis of Mononucleosis and Dropout of High School

At the beginning of his sophomore year, he found himself unusually fatigued and was diagnosed with mononucleosis. He missed four months of classes and decided to drop out of high school, acquire his GED, and enroll in community college.

The decision to Serve His Country

After 9/11, he witnesses the frenzied evacuation of NSA headquarters in Fort Meade and decided he wanted to serve his country. At first, he tried to join the Army special forces, but during training he fractured his ankle, ending his military career just as it began. In the book, Snowden describes his greatest regret of this time as his unquestioning support for the War on Terror and helping to support corrupt government policies.

The decision to Pursue a Career in US Intelligence

While he was recovering from his training injury at home, he realized he could serve his country with his computer skills and decided to go back to school to get a secret clearance and seek tech positions with the NSA or CIA.

First Love and First Job at NSA

At the age of 22, while taking classes at the University of Maryland, he met the love of his life on the internet, on a website called HotorNot. Her name was Lindsay Mills and she was a photography student from another part of Maryland. The two started dating. Soon after, Snowden acquired his security clearance and started working as a security guard at the NSA.