NPR

In 'Dark Mirror,' Reporter Concludes: 'Snowden Did Substantially More Good Than Harm'

Edward Snowden handpicked Barton Gellman as one of three journalists he would work with to reveal government secrets. Gellman's book is an in-depth look at where he agreed and disagreed with Snowden.

Edward Snowden's story on disclosing some of the National Security Agency's most sensitive surveillance programs has by now been oft told, by Snowden himself, among others.

Yet Barton Gellman's new book, Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden And The American Surveillance State, makes a major contribution largely absent in the earlier efforts. Gellman offers the most detailed, comprehensive and balanced take on the impact of Snowden's 2013 revelations and what they mean today, as the debate on national security versus individual privacy keeps evolving.

Snowden handpicked Gellman as one of three journalists to tell his story originally. Seven years after they first made contact, Gellman remains sympathetic to Snowden's crusade

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