The history of NSA spying, from telegrams to email

dailydot.com

45 pointsOTRAustin3 comments

Anyone interested in the history of the NSA should read Matthew Aid's The Secret Sentry. It's very, very good.

Another good option is Body of Secrets by bramford.

Whatever you do make sure to skip <2000 word "history of NSA" posts by Joe Blogger if you want to learn something. If you don't have the extra time or money for a book check out the wikipedia page about NSA.

I just started Bamford's The Puzzle Palace a couple of days ago. I'm only about 1/4 of the way through, but it's extremely interesting already. From what I've already seen, I'd have no problem recommending it to other HN readers who are interested in the history behind the NSA.

I'm guessing his other books (Body of Secrets and The Shadow Factory) are also going to be great reads.

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