US/EN
Democracy in the Dark: The Seduction of Government Secrecy
Description
"A timely and provocative book exploring the origins of the national security state and the urgent challenge of reining it in" (The Washington Post). From Dick Cheney's man-sized safe to the National Security Agency's massive intelligence gathering, secrecy has too often captured the American government's modus operandi better than the ideals of the Constitution. In this important book, Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr., who was chief counsel to the US Church Committee on Intelligence--which uncovered the FBI's effort to push Martin Luther King Jr. to commit suicide; the CIA's enlistment of the Mafia to try to kill Fidel Castro; and the NSA's thirty-year program to get copies of all telegrams leaving the United States--uses examples ranging from the dropping of the first atomic bomb and the Cuban Missile Crisis to Iran-Contra and 9/11 to illuminate this central question: How much secrecy does good governance require? Schwarz argues that while some control of information is necessary, governments tend to fall prey to a culture of secrecy that is ultimately not just hazardous to democracy but antithetical to it. This history provides the essential context to recent cases from Chelsea Manning to Edward Snowden. Democracy in the Dark is a natural companion to Schwarz's Unchecked and Unbalanced, cowritten with Aziz Huq, which plumbed the power of the executive branch--a power that often depends on and derives from the use of secrecy. " An] important new book . . . Carefully researched, engagingly written stories of government secrecy gone amiss." --The American ProspectProduct Details
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About the Author
Reviews
"Schwarz is among the many quiet patriots who are spreading the word that the very meaning of the United States, the whole point of this fragile experiment in representative democracy, will be lost if the nation's ironclad commitment to the rule of law is allowed to unravel."
--Bob Herbert, "The New York Times"
Praise for "Democracy in the Dark"
"Filled with powerful and colorful stories and new analyses, this book will be great reading for citizens and government officials alike."
--Former Vice President Walter Mondale
"No one writes about the hazards of secrecy as clearly and convincingly as does Frederick A.O. Schwarz in this important book. It should be required reading for every citizen who seeks to bring sunlight into the darkened corridors of government that endanger America's democracy."
--Loch Johnson, editor of "Intelligence and National Security"
"A thoughtful, highly informed, and carefully researched analysis of one of the most fundamental challenges facing our nation today. He highlights secrecy's dangers to democracy but also acknowledges that secrecy is sometimes essential to national security. His effort to help us strike the right balance between democracy and secrecy is his greatest--and truly insightful--contribution."
--Geoffrey R. Stone, member of President Obama's Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and author of "Top Secret: When Government Keeps Us in the Dark"
Praise for "Democracy in the Dark"
"Filled with powerful and colorful stories and new analyses, this book will be great reading for citizens and government officials alike."
--Former Vice President Walter Mondale
"No one writes about the hazards of secrecy as clearly and convincingly as does Frederick A.O. Schwarz in this important book. It should be required reading for every citizen who seeks to bring sunlight into the darkened corridors of government that endanger America's democracy."
--Loch Johnson, editor of "Intelligence and National Security"
"A thoughtful, highly informed, and carefully researched analysis of one of the most fundamental challenges facing our nation today. He highlights secrecy's dangers to democracy but also acknowledges that secrecy is sometimes essential to national security. His effort to help us strike the right balance between democracy and secrecy is his greatest--and truly insightful--contribution."
--Geoffrey R. Stone, member of President Obama's Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and author of "Top Secret: When Government Keeps Us in the Dark"
Praise for "Democracy in the Dark"
"Schwarz is among the many quiet patriots who are spreading the word that the very meaning of the United States, the whole point of this fragile experiment in representative democracy, will be lost if the nation's ironclad commitment to the rule of law is allowed to unravel."
Bob Herbert, former "New York Times" op-ed columnist
"Filled with powerful and colorful stories and new analyses, this book will be great reading for citizens and government officials alike."
Former Vice President Walter Mondale
"No one writes about the hazards of secrecy as clearly and convincingly as does Frederick A.O. Schwarz in this important book. It should be required reading for every citizen who seeks to bring sunlight into the darkened corridors of government that endanger America's democracy."
Loch Johnson, editor of "Intelligence and National Security"
"A thoughtful, highly informed, and carefully researched analysis of one of the most fundamental challenges facing our nation today. He highlights secrecy s dangers to democracy but also acknowledges that secrecy is sometimes essential to national security. His effort to help us strike the right balance between democracy and secrecy is his greatestand truly insightfulcontribution."
Geoffrey R. Stone, member of President Obama s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and author of "Top Secret: When Government Keeps Us in the Dark"
"A timely and provocative book exploring the origins of the national security state and the urgent challenge of reining it in.
Katrina vanden Heuvel, "Washington Post"
"Thorough and even-handed In Democracy in the Dark, Frederick Schwarz, Jr., has produced a thoughtful, authoritative account[of] the troubling consequences of excessive secrecy.his work is a must-read."
"Foreign Affairs"
Timely and powerfully argued, this account by an exceptionally well-positioned observer and participant in the contentious history of government secrecy will prove a necessary addition to ongoing policy debates.
"Publishers Weekly"
"
Praise for Frederick A.O Schwarz Jr.:
"Schwarz is among the many quiet patriots who are spreading the word that the very meaning of the United States, the whole point of this fragile experiment in representative democracy, will be lost if the nation's ironclad commitment to the rule of law is allowed to unravel."
Bob Herbert, The New York Times
Praise for Democracy in the Dark
"A timely and provocative book exploring the origins of the national security state and the urgent challenge of reining it in.
Katrina vanden Heuvel, Washington Post
"Thorough and even-handed In Democracy in the Dark, Frederick Schwarz, Jr., has produced a thoughtful, authoritative account[of] the troubling consequences of excessive secrecy.his work is a must-read."
Foreign Affairs
[An] important new bookcarefully researched, engagingly written stories of government secrecy gone amiss.
The American Prospect
Timely and powerfully argued, this account by an exceptionally well-positioned observer and participant in the contentious history of government secrecy will prove a necessary addition to ongoing policy debates.
Publishers Weekly
"Filled with powerful and colorful stories and new analyses, this book will be great reading for citizens and government officials alike."
Former Vice President Walter Mondale
"No one writes about the hazards of secrecy as clearly and convincingly as does Frederick A.O. Schwarz in this important book. It should be required reading for every citizen who seeks to bring sunlight into the darkened corridors of government that endanger America's democracy."
Loch Johnson, editor of Intelligence and National Security
"A thoughtful, highly informed, and carefully researched analysis of one of the most fundamental challenges facing our nation today. He highlights secrecy s dangers to democracy but also acknowledges that secrecy is sometimes essential to national security. His effort to help us strike the right balance between democracy and secrecy is his greatestand truly insightfulcontribution."
Geoffrey R. Stone, member of President Obama s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and author of Top Secret: When Government Keeps Us in the Dark"
Praise for Frederick A.O Schwarz Jr.:
"Schwarz is among the many quiet patriots who are spreading the word that the very meaning of the United States, the whole point of this fragile experiment in representative democracy, will be lost if the nation's ironclad commitment to the rule of law is allowed to unravel."
--Bob Herbert, The New York Times
"A timely and provocative book exploring the origins of the national security state and the urgent challenge of reining it in."
--Katrina vanden Heuvel, Washington Post "Thorough and even-handed... In Democracy in the Dark, Frederick Schwarz, Jr., has produced a thoughtful, authoritative account...[of] the troubling consequences of excessive secrecy....his work is a must-read."
--Foreign Affairs "[An] important new book...carefully researched, engagingly written stories of government secrecy gone amiss."
--The American Prospect "Timely and powerfully argued, this account by an exceptionally well-positioned observer and participant in the contentious history of government secrecy will prove a necessary addition to ongoing policy debates."
--Publishers Weekly "Filled with powerful and colorful stories and new analyses, this book will be great reading for citizens and government officials alike."
--Former Vice President Walter Mondale "No one writes about the hazards of secrecy as clearly and convincingly as does Frederick A.O. Schwarz in this important book. It should be required reading for every citizen who seeks to bring sunlight into the darkened corridors of government that endanger America's democracy."
--Loch Johnson, editor of Intelligence and National Security "A thoughtful, highly informed, and carefully researched analysis of one of the most fundamental challenges facing our nation today. He highlights secrecy's dangers to democracy but also acknowledges that secrecy is sometimes essential to national security. His effort to help us strike the right balance between democracy and secrecy is his greatest--and truly insightful--contribution."
--Geoffrey R. Stone, member of President Obama's Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and author of Top Secret: When Government Keeps Us in the Dark
