Synopses & Reviews
James Bamford exposed the existence of the top-secret National Security Agency in the bestselling
The Puzzle Palace and continued to probe into its workings in his follow-up bestseller,
Body of Secrets. Now Bamford discloses inside, often shocking information about the transformation of the NSA in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 2001.
In THE SHADOW FACTORY, Bamford shows how the NSA’s failure to detect the presence of two of the 9/11 hijackers inside the United States led the NSA to abandon its long-held policy of spying only on enemies outside the country. Instead, after 9/11 it turned its almost limitless ability to listen in on friend and foe alike over to the Bush Administration to use as a weapon in the war on terror. With unrivaled access to sources and documents, Bamford details how the agency has conducted domestic surveillance without court approval, and he frames it in the context of the NSA’s ongoing hunt for information about today’s elusive enemies.
THE SHADOW FACTORY is a riveting read for anyone concerned about civil liberties and America’s security in the post-9/11 world.
Synopsis
NATIONAL BESTSELLERA Washington Post Best Book of the Year
James Bamford has been the preeminent expert on the National Security Agency since his reporting revealed the agency's existence in the 1980s. Now, Bamford describes the transformation of the NSA since 9/11, as the agency increasingly turns its high-tech gaze within America's borders.
The Shadow Factory reconstructs how the NSA missed a chance to thwart two of the 9/11 hijackers and details how this mistake has led to a heightening of surveillance to insure that it never happens again. In disturbing detail, Bamford describes exactly how every American's data is being mined and by whom, and what is being done with it. Any reader who thinks America's liberties are being protected by Congress will be shocked and appalled at what is revealed here.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Synopsis
A follow-up to The Puzzle Palace and Body of Secrets looks at the National Security Agency in the wake of September 11th, its role in the Bush administration's controversial domestic wiretapping program, and its ongoing search for information about America's elusive enemies. 125,000 first printing.
About the Author
JAMES BAMFORD is the author of Body of Secrets, The Puzzle Palace, and A Pretext for War, and has written on national security for The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. His 2005 Rolling Stone article “The Man Who Sold the War” won a National Magazine Award for reporting. Formerly the Washington investigative producer for ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings and a distinguished visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Bamford lives in Washington, D.C.
Table of Contents
ATTACK: Sanaa -- Intercept -- San Diego -- Deaf -- Mesa -- Thinthread -- Totowa -- Chatter -- Cambrils -- Warning -- Fort Lee -- Discovery -- Laurel -- Surprise -- Pentagon -- TARGETS: Opportunity -- Hunters -- FISA -- Mission -- Highlander -- Assassination -- War -- COOPERATION: Shamrock -- Qwest -- Cables -- Splitter -- Industry -- Transit -- Partners -- Wiretappers -- Technotyranny -- Miners -- DISCOVERY: Fractures -- Emergency -- Exposure -- Extremis -- Immunity -- FUTURE: Exabytes -- Trailblazer -- Turbulence -- Abyss.