Surveillance Valley

The Secret Military History of the Internet

By: Yasha Levine

Narrated by: LJ Ganser

The Internet is the most effective weapon the government has ever built.

In this fascinating book, investigative reporter Yasha Levine uncovers the secret origins of the Internet, tracing it back to a Pentagon counterinsurgency surveillance project.

A visionary intelligence officer, William Godel, realized that the key to winning the war in Vietnam was not outgunning the enemy but using new information technology to understand their motives and anticipate their movements. This idea - using computers to spy on people and groups perceived as a threat, both at home and abroad - drove ARPA to develop the Internet in the 1960s and continues to be at the heart of the modern Internet we all know and use today. As Levine shows, surveillance wasn't something that suddenly appeared on the Internet; it was woven into the fabric of the technology.

But this isn't just a story about the NSA or other domestic programs run by the government. As the book spins forward in time, Levine examines the private surveillance business that powers tech-industry giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon, revealing how these companies spy on their users for profit, all while doing double duty as military and intelligence contractors. Levine shows that the military and Silicon Valley are effectively inseparable: a military-digital complex that permeates everything connected to the Internet, even coopting and weaponizing the antigovernment privacy movement that sprang up in the wake of Edward Snowden.

With deep research, skilled storytelling, and provocative arguments, Surveillance Valley will change the way you think about the news - and the device on which you read it.

©2018 Yasha Levine (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

A shock that will stick with you

This is one of those books that you start and can’t stop. it will stir in your head long after you finish it.

Good history, sometimes spun

Great book overall. My only gripe is that it's told from such a radical leftists point of view it may turn off many people who don't share the authors perspective. I worry that if I recommend the book to others, they may miss the message through his commentary and tilt of the narrative.

Excellent!

Excellent! All of it! Enjoyed both the narration and the content, which was breathtaking in depth and scope!

Eye opener

Everyone that uses the internet, own a cell phone or smart device should listen to this book. After listening to this book my desire is to discharge all my electronics and go native in a island.

Stirring, but disturbing.

Very insightful, while I thought I understood the history of the Internet - I didn't fully. The true history of it's creation and how it was (is) created from military programs is stirring, but ultimately disturbing. Everyone loves to read about secret military technology and programs, but when you begin to merge big technology companies and the Federal government one should be concerned.

A Vital Deepdive

The book paints a thorough picture of the internet as it is, and always has been: a tool built by military and intelligence agencies to serve as a means of surveillance and control, coopted and cofunded by corporate power structures seeking to consolidate power and maximize profits, despite the costs to humanity and personal privacy. A must read.

Thank you, Yasha! Do read this book.

I’d been following Yasha Levine’s reporting for some 10 years now. Sometimes it seemed like he was too harsh on people and organizations he was reporting about. But in this book, he had a chance to put out a solid reporting, backing his points in a fascinating and an in-depth story that, while still pertains Yasha’s idealistic character, give the reader a clear picture of connections and records to form our own opinion.

I’d like to thank Yasha for this book. It must have felt like an unpopular topic. Yet it is a very important reminder of how things are.

Essential, thorough, darkly funny

Yasha Levine is a relentless researcher and a great writer. Must read for anyone who does more than share cat memes on the internet.

Scary! Mind Blowing! Government at its worst.

Loved the whole listen!!! Makes me rethink if I ever want to use the internet ever again.

Great story backed with research.

I am now retired Army. When I finished engineering school and returned to the Army as an officer I was assigned to a unit that was bringing the TCP/IP to the Arpanet. The year was 1985 and the RFC for TCP/IP had just been published in 1983. So listening to this book was both historical (confirming what I knew) and educational (filling in lots of blanks). I really enjoyed every minute. And now this review will become part of Bug Data for all time.