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First Platoon
- A Story of Modern War in the Age of Identity Dominance
- Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
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Publisher's Summary
A powerful story of war in our time, of love of country, the experience of tragedy, and a platoon at the center of it all.
This is a story that starts off close and goes very big. The initial part of the story might sound familiar at first: it is about a platoon of mostly 19-year-old boys sent to Afghanistan, and an experience that ends abruptly in catastrophe. Their part of the story folds into the next: inexorably linked to those soldiers and never comprehensively reported before is the US 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 that illuminates a transformation of society made possible by this new technology. Part war story, part legal drama, it is about identity in the age of identification. About humanity - physical bravery, trauma, PTSD, a yearning to do right and good - in the age of biometrics, which reduce people to 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.
Critic Reviews
One of Houston Chronicle's "10 Books That Brought a Little Magic to Their Genres" in 2021
One of Science for the People's "Best Science Books of the Year"
On The Octavian's 2021 Book List
“Jacobsen brings empathy, compassion, compelling writing and some truly dogged reporting.” (The Washington Post)
“Jacobsen follows the lives of Americans told to gather that data in Afghanistan - and she questions what the U.S. government means to do with it all.” (NPR)
“A deeply researched book about modern warfare. A startling prompt to stop worrying about fabricated conspiracy theories and to consider for a moment actual threats to privacy.” (Houston Chronicle)
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- Josh
- 27-01-2021
Always great work from Annie Jacobsen
This is another thorough narrative of the use of biometrics in the battlefield and beyond. Jacobsen explores the use of biometric data in the establishment of a western style Rule of Law judiciary system in Afghanistan via the story of a young platoon.
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- Anonymous User
- 06-04-2021
Excellent
A must read to preserve the bulwark of democracy. The genetic panopticon is real and ever growing. The time to act is now.
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- Bill H
- 24-04-2021
Everyone concerned about surveillance read this.
This is an excellent examination of biometrics surveillance. Jacobsen’s analysis is superb. I would advise anyone to think about this and the implications of state control of knowledge of everyone’s genotype and phenotype.
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- Anonymous User
- 18-11-2021
Not her best work
The whole first part of the book is tiresome and laborious. It really was hard to listen to. the middle section and towards the end is insightful and we'll written. this is the only reason it got the score I have it. She does a great job at the performance. I have read all of her books, and I can't help but feel let down by this one.
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