Book review of "Julian Assange- The unathorised autobiography"

Introduction

Wikileaks - a not for profit organization has been a phenomenal attempt at uncensored reporting. It is a war on secrecy. It stands as a paradigm for the kind of statesmanship referred to by US president Theodore Roosevelt in his words " Behind the ostensible government sits an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul this unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of statesmanship".

Various dictatorial and totalitarian governments (Libya, Zimbabwe, Kenya etc) and their atrocities were exposed . Major leaks like Iraq war logs and Afghan war logs brought to light the faux claims of the US about their secretly held barbaric military exploitations in these countries. Even India has not been kept of the hook with Cablegate (A series of US confidential diplomatic cables) releases exposing the deep seated corruptions, darker shades of few politicians, foreign policies, arms control etc of the country [1][2]. Though global community has opposing views on the impact of the work with adversaries claiming that leaking of 'confidential reports' will inevitably lead to security issues, the work itself has gained attention and countries like Brazil, Ecuador, Russia, Venezuela and even United nations have expressed solidarity with the project.

The book

The book is conceived and documented when he is under house arrest at Norfolk, East London 2010 for the stir that Wikileaks had created by then. Chapters two to seven serves as a personalized anecdotal references to explaining what constitutes the activist in Mr. Assange. Being born to parents for whom " idea of non conformity was only real passion worth being ruled by", his Tom Sawyer like childhood was spent traveling the breaths of Australia changing almost 30 schools in the span. In his own words " It was just that kind of life where consistency was a matter of style and values, not of there you parked your car or how you paid your debts". 

It was his mom's sexual affair with a man named Leil Meynell who was associated with a cult called 'The family' and the events  which followed that instilled in Mr. Assange his profound hatred for authority and coercion. It was during this period that a commodore 64 computer entered his life and changed the way he viewed world. " Computers provided a positive space in a negative field: they showed us we could start again, against 'self hood', against 'society', building something less flawed and less corrupt in these fresh pastures of code", he states.

The computers and modems also opened up a new arena for him: hacking. The challenge to break the artificial barriers created to restrict entry and guard private interest for profit and truths became almost an addictive hobby. His adventures took him to the information corridors of NASA, Pentagon, US military and scores of private organizations like Citibank, Norton etc. It was one of these electronic expeditions to Nortel's information system that got him and three of his companion hackers (together they called themselves ' The international subversives') get convicted for the 'trespassing into private information'. One could see the integrity in him even when his companions turned in for private gains when the case got stronger. He says " I couldn't abuse a private or a working friendship for a public gain". It was during these experiences that he basked in the true powers of Internet and had glimpses of how communication is a tool to pursue Justice and freedom of speech. 

He had also come into contact with a cryptographic movement named 'Cypherpunks' that championed the cause of individual information privacy to give individuals power to protect their own data from corporations and governments (Paypal was founded from this). This exposed him to Mathematics, cryptography and its power in changing the world.

When the world of Mathematics turned addictive enough, he decided to attend University of Melbourne for furthering his pedantic interests in Mathematics and physics. He details his mood about the university as " At first the university felt like a sheltered workshop for mental outpatients. Everyone was so tame, and the days were so structured and everyone so absorbed in a way that made it seem like the real world had somehow been filtered out". Elsewhere he condemns how "universities were being used by people interested in military profiteering".  

The law of causality expounded by quantum mechanics got him thinking of ways to relate the same to information and Internet. This was his true eureka moment and the birth of idea of Wikileaks. 

The rest of the book deals with the process of how Wikileaks came to be established and the particulars relating to its whistle blowing experiences. He also gives his side of the story about the allegation of rape for which he is facing extradition to Sweden currently. This part of the book also parades the reader through the nature of standard media publications and their unscrupulous ethics that makes one question whether media is really the fourth pillar of democracy or is it a propaganda mechanism to manufacture consent as warned by many  famous intellectuals including contemporary Mr. Noam Chomsky.

Why you should read this book

If you want to know what essentially makes up the man who believes " Technology can be used to pursue Justice", this is the book to turn to.

References

1. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424053111903285704576556110060658854#1

2. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshows/nation-world/what-wikileaks-revealed-about-emergency-era-indian-politics/slideshow/19467056.cms

3. All the relevant references are provided as web-links on keywords.

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