State of Silence: The Espionage Act and the Rise of America's Secrecy Regime

About this book

An "essential guide" (Beverly Gage Pulitzer Prizewinning author of G-Man) to how the Espionage Act gave rise to a vast American security state that keeps citizens in the dark In State of Silence  political historian Sam Lebovic uncovers the troubling history of the Espionage Act. First passed in 1917 it was initially used to punish critics of World War I. Yet as Americans began to balk at the acts restrictions on political dissidents and the press the government turned its focus toward keeping its secrets under wraps. The resulting system for classifying information is absurdly cautious staggeringly costly and shrouded in secrecy preventing ordinary Americans from learning what their country is doing in their name both at home and abroad. Shedding new light on the bloated governmental security apparatus thats weighing our democracy down  State of Silence offers the definitive history of Americas turn toward secrecyand its staggering human costs.