The WikiLeaks Files
The World According to US Empire
Published on 25. August 2015
Book
Hardback
624 pages
978-1-78168-874-8 (ISBN)
Description
WikiLeaks came to prominence in 2010 with the release of 251,287 top-secret State Department cables, which revealed to the world what the US government really thinks about national leaders, friendly dictators, and supposed allies. It brought to the surface the dark truths of crimes committed in our name: human rights violations, covert operations, and cover-ups.
The WikiLeaks Files presents expert analysis on the most important cables and outlines their historical importance. In a series of chapters dedicated to the various regions of the world, the book explores the machinations of the United States as it imposes its agenda on other nations: a new form of imperialism founded on varied tactics from torture to military action, to trade deals and "soft power," in the perpetual pursuit of expanding influence. It illustrates the close relationship between government and big business in promoting US trade.
An introduction by Julian Assange-writing on the subject for the first time-exposes the ongoing debates about freedom of information, international surveillance, and justice.
The WikiLeaks Files presents expert analysis on the most important cables and outlines their historical importance. In a series of chapters dedicated to the various regions of the world, the book explores the machinations of the United States as it imposes its agenda on other nations: a new form of imperialism founded on varied tactics from torture to military action, to trade deals and "soft power," in the perpetual pursuit of expanding influence. It illustrates the close relationship between government and big business in promoting US trade.
An introduction by Julian Assange-writing on the subject for the first time-exposes the ongoing debates about freedom of information, international surveillance, and justice.
Reviews / Votes
Long after the debate over the publication of these cables has been forgotten, the documents themselves will remain a valuable archive for scholars and students of US foreign policy. The essays that make up The WikiLeaks Files shed critical light on a once secret history. -- Edward J. Snowden, July 2015 Reveals a profound hatred of democracy on the part of our political leadership. -- Noam Chomsky A deep dive into what the cables reveal about America's dealings with a variety of states. It will be left to other books to argue whether WikiLeaks is right or wrong in their mission and approach. This one gives solid context to the cables themselves, explaining what they mean to the wider world. * Kirkus Reviews * Takes on a huge amount of data and delivers a thorough introduction to the narratives of US policy that the cables reveal [and] . makes the information in the cables accessible to a wide audience of readers who may not otherwise have the time or background knowledge to search through the data themselves. * Publishers Weekly * Provides accessible insight into nearly every major news topic of today. * Portland Press Herald * Wikileaks is the absolute most important project on the globe. -- Jacob Appelbaum From government to big business, if you have a dirty secret, Wikileaks is your nightmare. * Guardian * I've heard the impact of these releases on our foreign policy described as a meltdown, as a game-changer and so on ... Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes. -- Bob Gates, US Defense Secretary, 2010. The guy ought to be ... and I'm not for the death penalty, so if I'm not for the death penalty, there's only one way to do it: illegally shoot the son of a bitch. -- Bob Beckel * Fox News * The whole weighty book is a missile aimed at breaking the plate glass of US diplomacy and revealing its motivations. * Sydney Morning Herald *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 42 mm
Weight
1009 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78168-874-8 (9781781688748)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
09/2016
Verso Books
€63.32
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Persons
Julian Assange has been the Editor-in-Chief of WikiLeaks since 2006. Since 2010 when the website published thousands of US military and diplomatic documents, he has been under investigation by the United States. That year he was called a "criminal" and a "terrorist" by some politicans, but also won the Sam Adams Award, was named Person of the Year by Le Monde's readers' and received the Time Readers' Award. In 2011 he accepted the Sydney Peace Foundation Gold Medal for Peace, the Martha Gelhorn Prize for Journalism, the Walkley Award for most outstanding contribution to journalism, and the Amnesty International UK Media Award. Since June 2012 he has been seeking political asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy, London.