«A remarkable, authentic and chilling exposé of a global conspiracy that reads like a first-rate conspiracy thriller: a book of gripping, compulsive and disturbing impact»

William Boyd

«Bart Gellman is that rare combination of a tenacious reporter, a clear explicator of the most complex subjects, and a first-rate storyteller, all rolled into one. This book is a deep exploration of a surveillance apparatus of unimaginable magnitude, a chronicle of Gellman's intense and sometimes fraught relationship with his enigmatic and controversial source, Edward Snowden, and an intimate, disarmingly candid reporter's notebook about what it's like to spend years watching the watchers, and realizing, along the way, that they are watching you back»

Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing

«A riveting narrative of investigative reporting in the age of surveillance. It is a dramatic, authoritative account not only of the significance of Edward Snowden’s revelations, but of what public interest journalism must overcome to inform citizens about their exposure to our dystopian Internet»

Steve Coll, Pulitzer-winning author of Ghost Wars

«It is not hard to imagine the heart-stopping excitement of receiving the great trove of secrets that Edward Snowden sent to Barton Gellman ... a necessary and deep meditation about how far our online lives can or indeed should remain completely private»

Sunday Times

«A cyberspace thriller where even knowing the ending renders it no less gripping ... A much more nuanced piece of writing [than Poitras's, Greenwald's and Snowden's accounts] ... both credible and readable ... It is impossible not admire Gellman's industry and journalistic courage»

Standpoint

«A riveting and often surprising account. The scope of the NSA global snooping campaign is more shocking than ever, as Gellman pieces together the puzzle. If you want to understand how intelligence works in the 21st century, Dark Mirror is a must»

David Ignatius, columnist for the Washington Post and author of The Paladin

«Fascinating ... Gellman ... did more than any other journalist to make [Snowden's] story public ... cautious, agonised, philosophical, responsible»

The Times

«The scale of [the NSA’s surveillance operations] was truly staggering … Gellman’s concerns about the state’s ability to spy on its own citizens are particularly relevant today – as governments seek to monitor our movements even more closely»

Telegraph

«An enthralling tale of how Barton Gellman, one of the great investigative journalists of our era, worked to understand, process, and report the greatest and most challenging leaks of all time. Dark Mirror is a spy-thriller page-turner and a gripping, self-reflective master-class on how to discern truth in the dark shadows of the intelligence world»

Jack Goldsmith, Professor of Law, Harvard University

«An endlessly insightful narrative ... that deserves its place alongside All the President’s Men ... and other classics of the genre ... A riveting, timely book sure to be one of the most significant of the year»

Kirkus

«A frightening exposé on the powerful networks watching you that you haven't even heard of»

Esquire

«Dark Mirror stands out from all the other accounts. Gellman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning … investigative reporter … didn’t just use the Snowden files as sources; he used them as starting points for deep, labor-intensive reporting»

Washington Post

«Engrossing … His wariness makes Gellman a thorough, exacting reporter; it also makes him a marvelous narrator for this particular story, as he nimbly guides us through complex technical arcana and some stubborn ethical questions … He deploys plenty of metaphors, not to adorn the stakes but to clarify them. He shows how discussions of medieval ramparts and Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon are surprisingly pertinent to the architecture of mass surveillance. His voice is laconic and appealingly wry … Dark Mirror would be simply pleasurable to read if the story it told didn’t also happen to be frighteningly real»

New York Times

«Partly a thriller, partly a deeper exposé about the vast power the surveillance state, Dark Mirror is a riveting page-turner that captures the danger and drama of the most important leak of classified material in generations»

Carol Leonnig, three-time Pulitzer winner and bestselling author of A Very Stable Genius

«In Dark Mirror, Gellman tells the story with verve... compelling»

John Kampfner, Financial Times

«Enthralling ... a fine and deeply considered portrait of the US-dominated 21st-century surveillance state ... Gellman has waited seven years to give his version. He has spent the time well – delving into some of the more abstruse programmes from the Snowden archive, and talking to sources from the tech and security worlds [to] provide new and scary technical detail»

Luke Harding, Guardian

«The subject is so important that it is a book which ought to be read by anyone concerned with the way the world is going»

Allan Massie, Scotsman