First Platoon
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  • Published: 12 January 2021
  • ISBN: 9780593401996
  • Imprint: RH US Audio Adult
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $23.00
Categories:

First Platoon

A Story of Modern War in the Age of Identity Dominance

Formats & editions
EBook
12 Jan 2021
Audiobook
12 Jan 2021
Paperback
12 Apr 2022
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From the author of NUCLEAR WAR: A SCENARIO, a powerful story of war in our time, love of country, the experience of tragedy, and a platoon at the center of it all.

This story might sound familiar at first: it is about a platoon of mostly nineteen-year-old boys sent to Afghanistan, and an experience that will change all their lives. But their part of the story folds into the next: linked to those soldiers and never comprehensively reported before is the U.S. Department of Defense’s quest to build the world’s most powerful biometrics database, with the ability to identify, monitor, catalog, and police people all over the world.

First Platoon is an American saga of technology and war that illuminates a transformation of society. It is about identity in the age of identification. About humanity in the age of biometrics, iris scans, fingerprint scans, voice patterning, detection by odor, gait, and more. And about the power of point of view in a burgeoning surveillance state.

Based on hundreds of formerly classified documents, FOIA requests, and exclusive interviews, First Platoon is an investigative exposé by a master chronicler of government secrets. First Platoon reveals a post–9/11 Pentagon whose identification machines have grown more capable than the humans who must make sense of them. A Pentagon so powerful it can cover up its own internal mistakes in pursuit of endless wars. And a people at its mercy, in its last moments before a fundamental change so complete it might be impossible to take back.
  • Published: 12 January 2021
  • ISBN: 9780593401996
  • Imprint: RH US Audio Adult
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $23.00
Categories:

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Praise for First Platoon

Praise for Annie Jacobsen and her previous works:

  • "A brilliantly researched account of a small but powerful secret government agency whose
  • military research profoundly affects world affairs."--Pulitzer Prize jury, on The Pentagon's Brain

  • "Compellingly hard-hitting."--The New York Times, on Area 51

  • "Important, superbly written.... Jacobsen's book allows us to explore these questions with the ultimate tool: hard evidence. She confronts us with the full extent of Paperclip's deal with the devil, and it's difficult to look away."--Matt Damsker, USA Today (4 stars) on Operation Paperclip

  • "Read this book from page one. It will blow your mind."--Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, on Area 51

    • Praise for Annie Jacobsen and her previous works:

  • "A brilliantly researched account of a small but powerful secret government agency whose
  • military research profoundly affects world affairs."--Pulitzer Prize jury, on The Pentagon's Brain

  • "Compellingly hard-hitting."--The New York Times, on Area 51

  • "Important, superbly written.... Jacobsen's book allows us to explore these questions with the ultimate tool: hard evidence. She confronts us with the full extent of Paperclip's deal with the devil, and it's difficult to look away."--Matt Damsker, USA Today (4 stars) on Operation Paperclip

  • "Read this book from page one. It will blow your mind."--Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, on Area 51