The Revolution Will be Digitised: Dispatches from the Information War by Heather Brooke

The Revolution Will be Digitised: Dispatches from the Information War Reviews

• 
  Wendy Tagg

  This book provides a good snapshot of the politics of information in the Wikileaks era. Obviously things have moved on since then but some much of the underlying philosophy remains true. The most eye catching part is the exiting era when Wikileaks was releasing diplomatic cables. Brooke gives an excellent account of this along with glimpses of the fractures that were tearing Wikileaks and its allies apart.
  
  For me the more valuable part of the book was the less obvious areas such as the Iceland’s freedom of information laws, hackerspaces and the disappearance of personal privacy. Brooke not only spoke to many of the main players to get current information but weaved this in with America’s founding fathers and other thinkers.
  
  Beware that the area is moving rapidly and this book was published in 2011.
• 
  Jonathan

  An easily digestible overview of the legal and political battles being waged over information ownership, online privacy and Internet surveillance. The book is at its most focussed when discussing the role of media outlets in publishing leaked documents supplied by WikiLeaks. Brooke knew many of the key players personally, including Julian Assange, and was herself entangled in a dispute between WikiLeaks and The Guardian over her possession of leaked US State Department diplomatic cables. Her involvement in the "Cablegate" saga gives us a unique perspective on the subject. The book's forays into other aspects of the "information war" are more cursory, but provide a good overview of the topic, and Brooke makes a compelling argument against internet regulation and the concentration of technological power.
• 
  Emma

  As a little kid I wonder if people on the other side of the TV was watching us and taking not on what we watched. Turns out that is what happening on the internet. Now I must live my life know there is Privacy is dying out. As American government tries to control everything but thanks to their money problems I’m not too worried. It was all so interesting to see how corrupt power is and there is no safety from it anywhere or way. I wish Julian Assange rape case will finely come to an end and is ego is crushed. I do hope this case won’t destroy Wiki leaks.
• 
  Nurture Waratah

  The subject matter of this book is certainly interesting. However, it has been let down by the author's choice of writing style. While it is not my preference, I don't mind the occasional non-fiction book written in story format. My problem with this book is that the format is inconsistent, switching between narrative and story and back again without warning. I was too annoyed to finish the book. Perhaps somebody else will like it better.
  
  
• 
  Paul

  Slightly terrifying read when you realise how pervasive the surveillance society now is, but there is some hope that the way Iceland is dealing with freedom of speech can be replicated in the UK.
• 
  Anton

  Ini buku tentang analisis perang informasi secara global yang saya baca pertama kali. Saya belum pernah mendengar, apalagi membaca buku sejenis. Jadi, mohon maklum kalau jadinya agak excited pas menemukan buku ini rak Media di toko buku Kinokuniya, Singapura awal Februari lalu. Saya langsung membelinya meski belum membaca ulasannya sama sekali.
  
  Buku ini memang memberikan tak hanya narasi tentang perang informasi ini tapi juga analisis di dalamnya. Heather Brooke, penulis buku setebal 251 halaman ini menulis mulai dari kelompok peretas (hacker), pejuang kebebasan informasi di Norwegia, pembocor video penembakan warga Iraq, dan tentu saja tentang WikiLeaks. Semua ditulis dalam narasi amat rapi dan detail.
  
  Reportase dalam buku mulai dari Boston, Berlin, Islandia, London, dan seterusnya. Dari tempat-tempat tersebut, Brooke menuliskan perjuangan kebebasan informasi oleh peretas, jurnalis, anggota DPR, hingga staf Departemen Pertahanan Amerika Serikat.
  
  Penulis buku ini, Heather Brooke, tak hanya jurnalis peraih penghargaan bergengsi Judge's Prize oleh British Press Award. Dia juga pejuang kebebasan informasi di negeri asalnya, Inggris. Karena itu, Brooke juga dekat tak hanya dengan kalangan jurnalis tapi juga peretas dan pejuang kebebasan informasi, terutama di Amerika Serikat dan Eropa. Maka, lahirlah reportase yang tak hanya menempatkan Brooke sebagai penulis tapi juga pelaku dalam buku ini.
  
  Dengan kekuatan itulah maka Brooke melahirkan tulisan yang tak hanya kulit tapi juga jeroan perjuangan kebebasan informasi itu terjadi. Dia terlibat langsung dalam tarik ulur dan ketegangan ketika WikiLeaks akan menerbitkan rahasia pemerintah Amerika Serikat, kebocoran terbesar dalam sejarah hingga saat ini.
  
  Buku ini sayangnya hanya berfokus pada Amerika dan sebagian Eropa. Padahal cerita tak kalah serunya dari Timor Tengah lewat Arab Spring juga amat menarik kalau dibahas juga.
• 
  James Elder

  This book sets out to do three things: first, to give a general overview of 'the information wars' and get the reader thinking about issues of privacy and transparency, and the relationship between government and the individual; second to tell the story of WikiLeaks; third to recount Brooke's own role within that story and her to give an insight into some of the key players, especially - of course - Julian Assange.
  
  The flitting between these these viewpoints is not entirely successful, but Brooke's semi-insider's perspective is interesting.
  
  I'm less convinced by her conclusions about what happens next, and her positioning the question as largely one of bad, centralising, authoritarian government versus good, idealistic citizenry. That's an over-simplification of her position, but equally it felt to me as if she over-simplified the issue.
  
  Still, very definitely worth a read - and even more relevant in a post-Snowden world.
• 
  PsypherPunk

  Opening as it does with a 'dramatisation' of the events and bearing a rather confrontational title/cover, I was a little worried about the tone this would take. I needn't have been. Perhaps a little too much time is spent on Julian Assange and the cult of personality that's seemingly grown around him but its coverage of Wikileaks and the resulting (tragically Shakespearean) implosion is integral to modern, digital culture (and perceptions thereof).
  
  There are some oddities as the timeline seemingly skips around occasionally without a clear narrative. But as we view things behind-the-scenes, the momentum and drive of all the figures involved keep things clear (even if, in the modern, hi-tech age, they have to occasionally wrestle with an Excel spreadsheet).
  
• 
  Thomas

  Light and very readable book about Wikileaks, digital privacy, investigative journalism, hackers, data mining, the Arab Spring and Iceland's crowdsourced constitution amongst other things. It's based on the last few years of Heather Brooke's interviews and connections with the grauniad and Wikileaks and is dramatized to string a story together about the future of the Internet. Probably not for everyone but essential for anyone who uses the Internet or phones, so yes it is actually essential reading.
• 
  Violet Nomads

  This is a great book.
  Heather Brooke is an excellent investigative journalist and brilliant writer.
  It was a while ago that I read this book, so I can't really remember specifics, but I often recommend it to others and have bought at least two copies myself as I often give my copy to people when I recommend it.
  I currently need to buy myself a new copy ;)
  
  I would also recommend 'Digital Revolutions: Activism in the Internet Age' by Symon Hill.
  These two books go very well together as they look at a similar subject from two complimentary angles.
• 
  Jonathan

  A book really addressing the Wikileaks saga of 2009/2010, but with an attempt to cover more generally the ongoing battles over data access, ownership and privacy. The latter is less successful, and the book only substantially comes together in the later, more focused chapters relating to the US cables release. Brooke was there, of course, a player in the action, and gives a great miniature portrait of a frenetic and important piece of journalism.
• 
  Alex Jahnke

  Der Titel macht falsche Hoffnungen, das Buch dreht sich um die Vorgänge zwischen Presse und Wikileaks - insbesondere die Person Assange - während der Colleteral Murder Veröffentlichung. Lässt man das hinter sich, ist es ein sehr persönlicher Blick hinter die Kulissen der Zeit. Leider ist Brooke zu unkritisch mit ihrer eigenen Rolle und hinter fragt diese gar nicht.
• 
  Charles

  I borrowed this book from the library - it looks very interesting. The author is a freelance journalist and freedom of information campaigner. The book explores the balance between freedom and security. In an online world, does privacy exist?
• 
  Stu Robarts

  A really excellent take on the digital revolution, woven together in a storytelling / reporting style that is more digestible than often such books can be. Fascinating behind the scenes discussion of how the major Wikileaks leaks were played out in the press.
• 
  Jane

  Bought this as an audio book and thought it was really well put together. The research seemed good, and the method of communicating the facts was interesting and engaging. Worth a read (or listen to).
• 
  Andreas Jungherr

  For my taste too much storytelling, too little analysis. Still, some interesting anecdotes about the cooperation between Wikileaks and the Guardian in 2010.
• 
  Richard

  Super readable (i think...confession: I listened to the unabridged audio version)