Chatter: Uncovering the Echelon Surveillance Network and the Secret World of Global Eavesdropping Audiobook, by Patrick Radden Keefe Play Audiobook Sample

Chatter: Uncovering the Echelon Surveillance Network and the Secret World of Global Eavesdropping Audiobook

Chatter: Uncovering the Echelon Surveillance Network and the Secret World of Global Eavesdropping Audiobook, by Patrick Radden Keefe Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Robertson Dean Publisher: Random House Audio Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 7.33 hours at 1.5x Speed 5.50 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: February 2005 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781415922798

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

11

Longest Chapter Length:

85:31 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

17:31 minutes

Average Chapter Length:

59:40 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

7

Other Audiobooks Written by Patrick Radden Keefe: > View All...

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Publisher Description

How does our government eavesdrop? Whom do they eavesdrop on? And is the interception of communication an effective means of predicting and preventing future attacks? These are some of the questions at the heart of Patrick Radden Keefe’s brilliant new book, Chatter. In the late 1990s, when Keefe was a graduate student in England, he heard stories about an eavesdropping network led by the United States that spanned the planet. The system, known as Echelon, allowed America and its allies to intercept the private phone calls and e-mails of civilians and governments around the world. Taking the mystery of Echelon as his point of departure, Keefe explores the nature and context of communications interception, drawing together fascinating strands of history, fresh investigative reporting, and riveting, eye-opening anecdotes. The result is a bold and distinctive book, part detective story, part travel-writing, part essay on paranoia and secrecy in a digital age. Chatter starts out at Menwith Hill, a secret eavesdropping station covered in mysterious, gargantuan golf balls, in England’s Yorkshire moors. From there, the narrative moves quickly to another American spy station hidden in the Australian outback; from the intelligence bureaucracy in Washington to the European Parliament in Brussels; from an abandoned National Security Agency base in the mountains of North Carolina to the remote Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. As Keefe chases down the truth of contemporary surveillance by intelligence agencies, he unearths reams of little-known information and introduces us to a rogue’s gallery of unforgettable characters. We meet a former British eavesdropper who now listens in on the United States Air Force for sport; an intelligence translator who risked prison to reveal an American operation to spy on the United Nations Security Council; a former member of the Senate committee on intelligence who says that oversight is so bad, a lot of senators only sit on the committee for the travel. Provocative, often funny, and alarming without being alarmist, Chatter is a journey through a bizarre and shadowy world with vast implications for our security as well as our privacy. It is also the debut of a major new voice in nonfiction.

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"The search for Echelon, a fabled system that supposedly sees all, hears all, by a young law student in the UK. This is a look at the NSA and its facilities across the globe, the interactions between NSA and the agencies of other nations. An excellent first book by a promising new investigator. "

— Will (4 out of 5 stars)

Chatter Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 3.66666666666667 out of 53.66666666666667 out of 53.66666666666667 out of 53.66666666666667 out of 53.66666666666667 out of 5 (3.67)
5 Stars: 3
4 Stars: 8
3 Stars: 5
2 Stars: 2
1 Stars: 0
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
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4 Stars: 0
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2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Write a Review
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Do you believe your government listens in on you? Well a lot more than you may think. Illegal? yes but the NSA and it's partners do it as a matter of course. All your e-mails all of your phone calls, your faxes, and your text messages. A wake up call written clearly and objectively. "

    — Mark, 8/22/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Holy crap reading that was prescient right before the NSA domestic spying scandal. Really interesting stuff, not especially detailed "

    — Michael, 4/16/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Interesting and balanced overview of SIGINT. "

    — Greg, 12/12/2012
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Good companion to Bamford's Body of Secrets. "

    — Gary, 8/15/2012
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Good technical update in the line of Kahn and Bamford. Read Agee, Stockwell, Edwin Black for the real wold consequences. "

    — Tim, 7/23/2012
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " The search for Echelon, a fabled system that supposedly sees all, hears all, by a young law student in the UK. This is a look at the NSA and its facilities across the globe, the interactions between NSA and the agencies of other nations. An excellent first book by a promising new investigator. "

    — Will, 7/15/2012
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " I'm listening to this book when I run, and it's really keeping me distracted from the agony of running on a treadmill. It's filled with the world of spies -- eavesdropping, interceptions, codes, and secrets. I really like learning about that sort of stuff, so it's a pleasure to read for me. "

    — Emily, 4/15/2012
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Interesting quasi-history of the "listening" game. If you are into the intelligence world / stories you'll probably like this one. "

    — Sheldon, 4/1/2012
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " too liberal in outlook. "

    — M0rfeus, 2/2/2012
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " A little boring but the author did a good bit of research on the different eavesdropping installations around the world to put this book together. Since the material is based on research, and related news stories, it barely starts to scratch the surface of SIGINT but still has some good info. "

    — Ryan, 1/6/2012
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Exceptionally well written. Insightful. A look into signal intelligence capturing by the Anglo alliance. "

    — James, 11/29/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " This was a very interesting book. "

    — Paul, 8/17/2011
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " A little boring but the author did a good bit of research on the different eavesdropping installations around the world to put this book together. Since the material is based on research, and related news stories, it barely starts to scratch the surface of SIGINT but still has some good info. "

    — Ryan, 1/10/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Good companion to Bamford's Body of Secrets. "

    — Gary, 9/12/2009
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " I'm listening to this book when I run, and it's really keeping me distracted from the agony of running on a treadmill. It's filled with the world of spies -- eavesdropping, interceptions, codes, and secrets. I really like learning about that sort of stuff, so it's a pleasure to read for me. "

    — Emily, 3/3/2009
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Another, "Hey, I've read that!" I knew next to nothing about Menwith Hill, etc., before reading this. It was a fascinating read. OST NON-FICTION ADULT STK 327.127 KEE "

    — Weavre, 1/8/2009
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Do you believe your government listens in on you? Well a lot more than you may think. Illegal? yes but the NSA and it's partners do it as a matter of course. All your e-mails all of your phone calls, your faxes, and your text messages. A wake up call written clearly and objectively. "

    — Mark, 2/27/2008
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Holy crap reading that was prescient right before the NSA domestic spying scandal. Really interesting stuff, not especially detailed "

    — Michael, 9/22/2007

About Patrick Radden Keefe

Patrick Radden Keefe is the author of several books of nonfiction, including Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, which received the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, was selected as one of the ten best books of 2019 by the New York Times Book Review, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune,  and Wall Street Journal and was named one of the “10 Best Nonfiction Books of the Decade” by Entertainment Weekly. He is a staff writer at the New Yorker and also the creator and host of the eight-part podcast Wind of Change.

About Robertson Dean

Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.