Dystopia Nonfiction Book Club: Chasing Shadows

Join us each month to discuss nonfiction literature that explores how powerful forces in society are negatively shaping our world and dystopian imaginings are becoming present-day realities.

March's book is Chasing Shadows: Cyber Espionage, Subversion, and the Global Fight for Democracy by cyber security expert Ronald Deibert. Copies of the book are available to borrow in print and eBook format.

"Chasing Shadows provides a front-row seat to a dark underworld of digital espionage, sabotage, and subversion where autocrats and dictators peer into their targets’ lives with the mere press of a button, spreading their tentacles of authoritarianism through a digital ecosystem that is insecure, invasive by design, poorly regulated, and prone to abuse. The brave activists, opposition figures, and journalists who dare to advocate for basic political rights and freedoms are hounded, arrested, tortured, and sometimes murdered. From the gritty streets of Guatemala City to the corridors of power in the White House, this compelling narrative traces the journey of the Citizen Lab, a pioneering digital watchdog, as it evolved into a globally renowned source of counter-intelligence for civil society... Like a John Le Carré novel brought to life and updated for the digital age, this book is a powerful tale of high-stakes espionage, transnational intrigue, and the inevitable toll exacted when one dares to defy oligarchs and dictators. You’ll never look at your smartphone the same way again."

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