title: The Edward Snowden Affair: Exposing the Politics and Media Behind the NSA Scandal
author:  Michael Gurnow 
description: <i>The Edward Snowden Affair: Exposing the Politics and Media Behind the NSA Scandal</i> is a fascinating narrative. An ideal movie, the book reads like a political thriller with all type of James Bond plots, yet allows the reader to make a judgment on the current state of the evolving technological revolution. --Wilson Trivino, <i>Pure Politics</i><br /><br />[A]n excellent chronology of the Snowden affair [ . . . ], Gurnow provides a thorough background of the NSA programs exposed in the Snowden files. --Frederic Poag, The Mackenzie Institute<br /><br />Sharply written and meticulously researched, <em>The Edward Snowden Affair</em> provides a fascinating look at the breaking of the NSA scandal and its implications. A must read. --Robert Gleason, Author of <em>End of Days</em> (Forge 2011) and <em>The Nuclear Terrorist</em> (Forge 2014)<br /><br /><br />Gurnow's <em>The Edward Snowden Affair</em> is a well-documented, fresh and insightful analysis of the Snowden case.&nbsp; He deals in-depth with issues not found in Greenwald and Harding.&nbsp; --Richard Rashke, Author of <em>Escape from Sobibor</em><br /><br />[<i>The Edward Snowden Affair</i> is] chock full of crucial information pertaining to civil liberties. There are important lessons in Gurnow's book every American should be aware of. --Howie Klein, <i>Down with Tyranny</i>; former president of Reprise/Warner Bros. Records
zlib_text: ![](Images/image00229.jpeg)
  
  ‘The biggest leak in the history of data journalism’ Edward Snowden
  
  The inside story from the journalists
  
  who set the investigation in motion.
  
  Late one evening, investigative journalist Bastian Obermayer receives an
  anonymous message offering him access to secret data. Through encrypted
  channels, he then receives documents showing a mysterious bank transfer for
  $500 million in gold. This is just the beginning.
  
  Obermayer and fellow _Süddeutsche Zeitung_ journalist Frederik Obermaier find
  themselves immersed in a secret world where complex networks of shell
  companies help to hide those who don’t want to be found. Faced with the
  largest data leak in history, they activate an international network of
  journalists to follow every possible line of enquiry. Operating for over a
  year in the strictest secrecy, they uncover a global elite living by a
  different set of rules: prime ministers, dictators, oligarchs, princelings,
  sports officials, big banks, arms smugg