An extraordinarily brave and moving memoir from one of the world's most famous transparency activists and trans women.

In 2010, Chelsea Manning was working as an intelligence analyst for the US Army in Iraq. She disclosed 720,000 classified military documents that she had smuggled out via the memory card of her digital camera. By far the largest leak in history, these documents revealed a huge number of diplomatic cables and footage of atrocities. She was sentenced to 35 years in military prison.

The day after her conviction, Chelsea declared her gender identity as a woman and began to transition. She was sent to a male prison, spent much of that time in appalling conditions in solitary confinement and attempted suicide multiple times. In 2017, after a lengthy legal challenge and an outpouring of support, President Obama commuted her sentence.

README.txt is a story of personal revolt, resilience and survival. Chelsea details the challenges of her childhood and adolescence in Oklahoma and in her mother's native Wales. She writes revealingly and movingly about a period of homelessness in Chicago, living under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in the US Army, and the experience of coming to terms with her gender identity and undergoing hormone therapy in prison. We witness her Kafkaesque trial and heroic quest for release.

This powerful, courageous and observant memoir sheds light on the big themes of today - identity, authenticity, technology, the authoritarian state - and will stand as one of the definitive testaments of our digital, information-driven age.

'Chelsea Manning is the biggest hero that ever lived' Vivienne Westwood
'Searing ... uplifting ... redemptive' The New York Times
'Electrifying ... an insider confessional turned inside out for the 21st century' Washington Post

The extraordinarily dramatic story of one of the world's most famous whistle-blowers and trans women

About the Author
Chelsea Manning is an American transparency activist, politician and former US Army intelligence analyst. She lives in Brooklyn and works as a security consultant and expert in data science and machine learning. She has written for the Guardian and New York Times and tweets @xychelsea.

Reviews
Gripping ... It takes extraordinary qualities to do some of the things she recounts in this book ... Manning has become a new kind of American heroine * Observer *
Electrifying ... an insider confessional turned inside out for the 21st century ... Manning reckons with this complex relationship of sex and gender to political radicalism ... absorbing ... sublime * Washington Post *
One of the bravest persons alive -- Yanis Varoufakis
A terrific read, full of unexpected turns and details that counter many of the assumptions made about Manning at the time ... Opens like a Jason Bourne novel * Guardian *
Chelsea Manning is the biggest hero that ever lived -- Vivienne Westwood
A heroine to millions -- Alan Moore
A searing personal element ... Although troubling to read, it manages to be uplifting as well * The New York Times *
Harrowing ... affecting * New Statesman *
A candidly told story from activist Chelsea Manning, which turns the tell-all confessional upside down. ... Chelsea moves through her life story with poignant, personal detail ... It's shocking to read what she's witnessed and triumphed over. * The Face *
Forceful ... To those who see Manning as a hero, [her memoir] will only intensify that feeling, given all the hardships she has overcome. Those who see villainy may perhaps find their views tempered by sympathy * Sunday Times *
A compelling, taut account of what she experienced and a persuasive justification of how she behaved * Guardian *
She has inspired countless people around the world ... I regard Chelsea Manning as one of this generation's greatest heroes -- Glenn Greenwald
Manning brought to light a number of human rights violations committed by the CIA and American military, many of which led to civilian deaths... but the crimes she exposed have never been investigated ... Many people view her as an American hero * Dazed *
[A] brilliantly told book * The Times *
A full and expansive account of Manning's life, one which is often harrowing but funny and poignant too * Dazed *
Chelsea Manning, with huge courage, exposed crimes of US imperialism and at the same time went through a personal journey of liberation. She details it all in a new book, Readme.txt ... Her story is about resistantance to war - and also fighting to be free. * Socialist Worker *



Book Information
ISBN 9781847925619
Author Chelsea Manning
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint The Bodley Head Ltd
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 480g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 162mm * 27mm