Permanent Record

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In May 2013, as I sat in that hotel room in Hong Kong wondering whether
any journalists would show up to meet me, I’d never felt more alone. Six
years later, I find myself in quite the opposite situation, having been
welcomed into an extraordinary and ever-expanding global tribe of
journalists, lawyers, technologists, and human rights advocates to whom I
owe an incalculable debt. At the conclusion of a book, it’s traditional for an
author to thank the people who helped make the book possible, and I
certainly intend to do that here, but given the circumstances I’d be remiss if
I didn’t also thank the people who have helped make my life possible—by
advocating for my freedom and, especially, by working ceaselessly and
selflessly to protect our open societies as well as the technologies that have
brought us, and that bring everyone, together.
Over the last nine months, Joshua Cohen has taken me to writing school,
helping to transform my rambling reminiscences and capsule manifestos
into a book that I hope he can be proud of.
Chris Parris-Lamb proved himself a shrewd and patient agent, while
Sam Nicholson provided astute and clarifying edits and support, as did the
entire team at Metropolitan, from Gillian Blake to Sara Bershtel, Riva
Hocherman, and Grigory Tovbis.
The success of this team is a testament to its members’ talents, and to
the talents of the man who assembled it—Ben Wizner, my lawyer, and, I am
honored to say, my friend.
In the same vein, I’d like to thank my international team of lawyers who
have worked tirelessly to keep me free. I would also like to thank Anthony
Romero, the ACLU’s director, who embraced my cause at a time of
considerable political risk for the organization, along with the other ACLU

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staff who have helped me throughout the years, including Bennett Stein,
Nicola Morrow, Noa Yachot, and Daniel Kahn Gillmor.
Additionally, I’d like to acknowledge the work of Bob Walker, Jan
Tavitian, and their team at the American Program Bureau, who have
allowed me to make a living by spreading my message to new audiences
around the world.
Trevor Timm and my fellow board members at the Freedom of the Press
Foundation have provided the space and resources for me to return to my
true passion, engineering for social good. I am especially grateful to our
CTO Micah Lee, former FPF operations manager Emmanuel Morales, and
current FPF board member Daniel Ellsberg, who has given the world the
model of his rectitude, and given me the warmth and candor of his
friendship.
This book was written using free and open-source software. I would like
to thank the Qubes Project, the Tor Project, and the Free Software
Foundation.
My earliest intimations of what it was like to write against deadline
came from the masters, Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Ewen Macaskill,
and Bart Gellman, whose professionalism is informed by a passionate
integrity. Having been edited now myself, I have gained a new appreciation
of their editors, who refused to be intimidated and took the risks that gave
meaning to their principles.
My deepest gratitude is reserved for Sarah Harrison.
And my heart belongs to my family, extended and immediate—to my
father, Lon, to my mother, Wendy, and to my brilliant sister, Jessica.
The only way I can end this book is the way I began it: with a dedication
to Lindsay, whose love makes life out of exile.

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