Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 1 9/29/16 5:51 PM also by edward jay epstein The Annals of Unsolved Crime Three Days in May: Sex, Surveillance, and DSK The Hollywood Economist: The Hidden Financial Reality Behind the Movies The Big Picture: The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood Dossier: The Secret History of Armand Hammer Deception: The Invisible War Between the KGB and the CIA The Rise and Fall of Diamonds: The Shattering of a Brilliant Illusion Cartel Legend: The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald Agency of Fear: Opiates and Political Power in America Between Fact and Fiction: The Problem of Journalism News from Nowhere: Television and the News Counterplot Inquest: The Warren Commission and the Establishment of Truth Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 2 9/29/16 5:51 PM HOW AMERICA LOST ITS SECRETS Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 1 9/29/16 5:51 PM Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 2 9/29/16 5:51 PM HOW AMERICA LOST ITS SECRETS Edward Snowden, the Man and the Theft Edward Jay Epstein alfred a. knopf | new york | 2017 Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 3 9/29/16 5:51 PM this is a borzoi book published by alfred a. knopf Copyright © 2017 by E. J. E. Publications, Ltd. All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York, and distributed in Canada by Random House of Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited, Toronto. www.aaknopf.com Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data [to come] Jacket photograph by TK Jacket design by TK Manufactured in the United States of America First Edition Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 4 9/29/16 5:51 PM This book is dedicated to the memory of a wise teacher, James Q. Wilson (1931–2012) Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 5 9/29/16 5:51 PM Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 6 9/29/16 5:51 PM There are certain persons who . . . hav