Bradley Manning perpetrated the biggest breach of military security in American history. While serving as an Army intelligence analyst, he leaked an astounding amount of classified information to WikiLeaks: classified combat videos, plus hundreds of thousands of documents from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and from embassies around the globe. Nearly all of WikiLeaks' headline-making releases of information have come from a single source: Bradley Manning.
The leaks affected governments the world over--the Arab Spring may have been sparked, in part, by Manning's revelations. They propelled WikiLeaks to a level of international prominence it never had before and forever changed the delicate dance between secrecy and transparency.
Bradley Manning's story is one of global significance, and yet he remains an enigma. Now, for the first time, the full truth will be told about a man who, at the age of only twenty-two, changed the world. Nicks' book paints a nuanced portrait of a man haunted by demons and driven by hope, impulsive and cocky yet idealistic enough to follow his conscience.
Relying on numerous conversations with those who know Manning best and extensive chat logs published here for the first time, Nicks gives the full story of a bright, gay young man from middle America who signs on to serve his country but finds himself serving a cause he finds far more sinister. Manning's is the morally complex tale of a soldier who took matters into his own hands in order to fulfill what he saw as a higher purpose.
"Denver Nicks's telling of the Bradley Manning story manages to be riveting while remaining honest. His book ultimately serves as a fitting tribute to the most defining controversies of the digital age." -Nadim Kobeissi, Cryptocat founder.
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About the Author
Denver Nicks is a writer based in New York City. Originally from Oklahoma, he has developed a reputation for intrepid reporting in challenging contexts. Nicks has written about street art in Poland, a failed coup in the Philippines, post-coup Honduras, and the hidden working-class underbelly of Wall Street in the midst of the financial meltdown. A Fulbright Scholar, he holds a Master of Science from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His work has appeared in The Daily Beast, AlterNet, The Nation, and other publications.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Ned Trace
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Brilliant book; well researched and well written. The story Nicks tells goes far beyond Bradley Manning and Julian Assange. He's tackling the whole question of secrecy in the information age and coming up with no easy answers. I guess I take two thoughts away with me: since 9/11 the US has devolved into a cult of government secrecy that best serves the power elite; and the crusaders who challenge this condition will never be the faultless heroes we would like. History is messy and confusing while it is being lived, and the best clarity we can hope for is knowing as much of the truth as we can.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I began reading Denver Nicks' account of the Bradley Manning/Wikileaks story, Private, I must admit, I knew little more of the actual story than somebody had leaked volumes of classified material to a website. I remember, at the time the events in the book were initially being reported on, having conflicting feelings on what could be considered either a national betrayal or a naďve step towards the revealing power of the truth. I found the debate fascinating. So, as most of us did, I forgot all about it sometime between the season finale of Modern Family and learning that the World Cup was in fact infested with vuvuzelas and not a massive swarm of bees.
The intro/prologue is a lost art. In most cases I've experienced, the intro is simply a poorly named Chapter 1. Sometimes though, it's a clever non-sequitur that gives away the book's ending. I was, however, totally hooked by the intro to Private. I mean, a courtroom trial setting that seemed to put my favourite parts of A Few Good Men and A Time To Kill onto the same page and then demands the question, "Who is Bradley Manning?"
Nicks pulls a nice Steinbeck via segmentation, balancing the personal minutiae of Bradley Manning with the greater and longer historied cultural landscape that made way for this chain of events. If you honestly interview most people, I'd wager you'll find a decent enough biography somewhere in the details. With Manning, the pieces are all there in dramatic fashion so it struck me as odd that the more I read, the more I found myself wanting to skip to the chapters about the hacker code of ethics and this digital Andy Warhol fellow, Julian Assange.... Read more ›
The intro/prologue is a lost art. In most cases I've experienced, the intro is simply a poorly named Chapter 1. Sometimes though, it's a clever non-sequitur that gives away the book's ending. I was, however, totally hooked by the intro to Private. I mean, a courtroom trial setting that seemed to put my favourite parts of A Few Good Men and A Time To Kill onto the same page and then demands the question, "Who is Bradley Manning?"
Nicks pulls a nice Steinbeck via segmentation, balancing the personal minutiae of Bradley Manning with the greater and longer historied cultural landscape that made way for this chain of events. If you honestly interview most people, I'd wager you'll find a decent enough biography somewhere in the details. With Manning, the pieces are all there in dramatic fashion so it struck me as odd that the more I read, the more I found myself wanting to skip to the chapters about the hacker code of ethics and this digital Andy Warhol fellow, Julian Assange.... Read more ›
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By MaxMaker
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This incredibly well researched body of work, detailing Manning, Assange, Wikileaks and the state of secrecy in America today reads more like a Tom Clancy novel than a piece of non-fiction!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A very good author addressing a timely story. A good place to start to understand this complex case. Highly recommend this book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Denver Nicks takes us as much as possible into the mind of Private Manning to tell the human side of a story that is in the headlines. Left, right, center, we should be scared of what the U.S. Government is doing these days in the name of national security. If you like TomDispatch, the late Alexander Cockburn, or the work of documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, you will love this book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Barry Whyte
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
In "Private," Denver Nicks gives us a necessary reminder of precisely what has happened to Bradley Manning since his leaking of the largest cache of military documents in U.S. history. In reading it, apart from being shocked at the full extent of Manning's treatment, you constantly ask yourself why this isn't a bigger story - why Julian Assange dominates the headlines rather than Bradley Manning.
But the most important part of this book is not the how -- it's the why. Nicks sketches out Manning's world, his development as a person, and the entirely understandable impulses that convinced him that the only option was to release these documents to the public.
It's a deft portrait of a human being -- but an even more important document of what has happened to that human being in this period of American history in which secrecy and paranoia are the dominant official impulses.
But the most important part of this book is not the how -- it's the why. Nicks sketches out Manning's world, his development as a person, and the entirely understandable impulses that convinced him that the only option was to release these documents to the public.
It's a deft portrait of a human being -- but an even more important document of what has happened to that human being in this period of American history in which secrecy and paranoia are the dominant official impulses.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
With a computer and a network, one can do anything. Whistle blowing for a good cause is ok, but it is very hard to draw the line. This book has come out while the case is still on. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, 24, is charged with 22 offenses ranging from improper use of a computer to aiding the enemy. How do you define freedom of speech. Since the country and troops were put at risk, his case is one of the first kind. Really is he at fault, or is wikileaks at fault or is the ISP service provider at fault.
The book goes into details of how Bradley was a bright kid learning programming language C++ at age 8, story of Julian Assange, Richard Stallman and power of free software. I am indifferent on the case and more fascinating on what and how we use technology. Imagine if he did not have access to network or even to documents (how come he have access to all the documents, should the sysadmin be tried)? The book is very interesting as it answers these and several more questions.
The book goes into details of how Bradley was a bright kid learning programming language C++ at age 8, story of Julian Assange, Richard Stallman and power of free software. I am indifferent on the case and more fascinating on what and how we use technology. Imagine if he did not have access to network or even to documents (how come he have access to all the documents, should the sysadmin be tried)? The book is very interesting as it answers these and several more questions.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By T. Bing
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
We live in a time when revealing government wrongdoing and having evidence to back it up can put one in a lockup. I rated it this way because it takes courage to do what this young private did. He didn't reveal troops or positions, just the actions that would be considered violations of human rights. At the same time it revealed a prison treatment that was clearly a violation of basic rights.
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