Common Sense Media Review
By Michael Berry
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Exciting spy memoir hits digital privacy, exposing secrets.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
PERMANENT RECORD traces Edward Snowden's life from his childhood in North Carolina to his exile in Moscow. Entranced by his father's computer, Snowden learned how to program at an early age and worked for the CIA and the National Security Agency in his 20s. When he discovered that the NSA and other government agencies were secretly recording texts, emails, and phone calls of U.S. citizens, he decided to make his findings available to the public and the media. In 2013, he went on the run, desperately searching for someone to trust.
Is It Any Good?
It may be tempting to gussy-up a tale of espionage with false hype, but this thoughtful memoir portrays the real-life perils of working against your own government. Whistleblower Edward Snowden doesn't indulge in self-pity or false modesty, but sets out the step-by-step path he took from being an ambitious and dedicated CIA employee to deciding to abandon life in the United States and alert the world to the covert surveillance conducted by the CIA, the NSA, and others. For readers interested in protecting their privacy, Snowden offers some useful tips. Permanent Record offers much food for thought and tells an important story for anyone who uses a smartphone.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Permanent Record addresses the issue of privacy. Should private citizens expect that their phone calls are not recorded, that their emails are not read by others?
Can you imagine what it would be like to never be able to return to your country of origin? What would you need in order to establish a new life for yourself?
Is Edward Snowden a patriot, or a traitor? How do governments justify the punishment of spies or whistleblowers?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Biography
- Topics : Activism , STEM
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Henry Holt & Company, Inc.
- Publication date : February 9, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 15
- Number of pages : 256
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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