I went into this expecting a slightly different work. I was hoping to have a deeper, more complex understanding of the surveillance state Snowden revealed to the public. What I got helped clear up a few things and illuminate some areas I hadn’t considered, but it was more memoir than declassified content. My political beliefs also diverge from Mr. Snowden’s, who writes in hopes to “right the ship” of American policy and bring it back to its original admirable goals. I, for one, see little evidence that America has ever made consistent efforts to align itself with its espoused ideals of equality and liberty. How much of this is truly what Snowden believes, or what his publishers think will help ingratiate him to the public and galvanize their support is unknown.

Regardless, I think this remains a book I would want everyone to read. As WhatsApp’s encryption is slowly torn apart by greedy Facebook executives and algorithmic tracking creeps further and further into our lives, it is important for people to remember that things were not always this way and they should not be. As Snowden iterates, just because you don’t think you have anything to hide doesn’t mean you should allow the government to invade your privacy with impunity.