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Julian Assange - The Unauthorised Autobiography Hardcover – Import, January 1, 2011


In December 2010, Julian Assange signed a contract with Canongate Books to write a book - part memoir, part manifesto - for publication the following year. At the time, Julian said: 'I hope this book will become one of the unifying documents of our generation. In this highly personal work, I explain our global struggle to force a new relationship between the people and their governments.' In the end, the work was to prove too personal. Despite sitting for more than fifty hours of taped interviews and spending many late nights at Ellingham Hall (where he was living under house arrest) discussing his life and the work of WikiLeaks with the writer he had enlisted to help him, Julian became increasingly troubled by the thought of publishing an autobiography. After reading the first draft of the book at the end of March, Julian declared: 'All memoir is prostitution.' In June 2011, with thirty-eight publishing houses around the world committed to releasing the book, Julian told us he wanted to cancel his contract. We disagree with Julian's assessment of the book. We believe it explains both the man and his work, underlining his commitment to the truth. Julian always claimed the book was well written; we agree, and this also encouraged us to make the book available to readers. And the contract? By the time Julian wanted to cancel the deal he had already used the advance money to settle his legal bills. So the contract still stands. We have decided to honour it - and to publish. This book is the unauthorised first draft. It is passionate, provocative and opinionated - like its author. It fulfils the promise of the original proposal and we are proud to publish it.

Julian's statement on this unauthorised publishing by Canongate: http://wikileaks.org/Julian-Assange-S...

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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Canongate Books; Main edition (January 1, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 339 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0857863843
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0857863843
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.32 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.38 x 1.26 x 9.45 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

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Julian Assange
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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
125 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2013
History in the making. You should watch the film "We steal secrets", too. Julian Assange still remains a mystery to me, despite the book and the film. It's never quite clear who he really is - the motivation of the safe haven is plausible - but I think the problem in the whole issue lies in that even Mr. Assange is not an objectively thinking machine, as rational and super intelligent as he might be. His personal convictions and opinions inherently influence his motivation for "complete freedom of information". Although the book recounts the many story of how he landed himself where he is and explains some of idealisms, it does not give you much insight into his real motivation. - Or it doesn't come across as convincing. So he remains the enigma - villain or saviour of the worlds? He still manages to keep his personality tightly under wraps, which is understandable but then goes against his own philosophy. What if he were the evil villain? Wouldn't we then also have the right to know exactly who he is. Not just his childhood experiences and that he has some kids etc. But more how he reconciles his conscience. How can you have 4 kids and not be with them? Why are you saving the world and not looking after your own? Or maybe you are? Who knows. Still not clear. That's why I'm waiting for more to come.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2015
It's hard not to cringe at some of the self-serving remarks Assange makes in telling his story and the rise of WikiLeaks. But once you get beyond them, the book is really good. Assange decided, after the book was finished, that he didn't want the story or himself exploited by the media, so he backed off his authorization "for moral reasons." The publishers were not pleased. Ha! Score another for Assange.
His relating of his childhood and his adolescent experiences explain a lot of his personality. I do believe him when he claims the governments infringement upon the individual's privacy is a global crisis. He attachs several documents at the end, showing some of the material WikiLeaks used to expose corruption and deception.
You may not care for Assange's personality, but you can't dispute the service he and his site provided for us to see just how exposed we are to Big Brother. The man is no fraud. He's been confined to one room at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London because the minute he steps out, he will be extradited to Sweden and then all around the globe where the exposed countries want a shot at him.
I support him and WikiLeaks. I hope he gets free.
19 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2014
We all know the media version of the Wikileaks scandal. But in this book you will get to understand why he did it and what are the principles in which Wikileaks and other institutions advocates of freedom of information are based on. He has a very cohesive way of writing making the reading of the story effortless and captivating.

In my opinion Asange has already made his place in human history as a defender of human rights and free press and thus I totally recommend reading this book.
9 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2021
One of the best books of the century.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2014
I read this book because I was curious about the man. Its really a good insight into Julian Assange's point of view on all the things we've heard about him. You get to learn a lot about the man from childhood to the work that got him in trouble in recent years. My only complaint is that I wish they could have finished the project. However, in the place that it stops, you still get a pretty good picture of Assange's life. Also, the publisher included a list of the next few major events that had occurred between writing and publishing the book so you still get to see what happened later. For me it was worth the read.
5 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2015
Everyone who is concerned with what has happened to American Democracy should read this. Assange should be declared the man of the Decade! Though he is not an American he is a far more appropriate symbol of what American Ideals are supposed to be about than any of our so called leaders could ever be.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2012
What a remarkable book! Assange has a brilliant, graceful writing style, and every sentence rings with truth and clarity. There is insight into his personality through his love of Dickens, Dostoyevsky and Solzhenitsyn. The is a very important work, and it will survive the lies and slanders of the establishment, both political and corporate.
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2014
It was dirt cheap (about 2 euro) so worth it's money. All in all it provides an interesting look on Assange's life. Unfortunately the book has an unfinished feeling when reading. parts are missing information while others are stretched out too long.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

palmans alain
5.0 out of 5 stars 👍
Reviewed in France on April 25, 2021
👍
tejas
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice book
Reviewed in India on June 18, 2019
Nice book
cristina vizcaino
5.0 out of 5 stars camino a la nueva información
Reviewed in Spain on June 6, 2014
El libro de Assange me ha enseñado cómo la información no sólo está controlada y censurada por los gobiernos sino también por la prensa misma. Los grandes grupos de información controlan e informan a su antojo porque información es poder. Por eso no quieren reconocer la fuerza de internet, quieren controlarlo de alguna manera, les asustan las redes sociales. Y no apoyaron a Wikileaks, no reconocieron que era un paso adelante. Bueno, pues se equivocan la información se les va a ir escapando de las manos porque podrán quizás ahora con Assange pero va a haber más Assanges y más Wikileaks, de eso estoy segura.
One person found this helpful
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Mags
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2013
I very much enjoyed reading this book and have no doubt in my mind that Julian has put his own life in jeopardy in order to expose the lies and corruption that all the world's governments are up to their necks in. This sort of corruption and lying to the people has been going on forever of course but once people started learning to read, they were able to discover bit by bit, the truth. The Internet has allowed the flood gates of knowledge to open and this was one of the things that "they" were scared of and "they" tried to suppress and control what we were allowed to read, think and do. Since organised religions started putting the fear of god (literally) into the uneducated peoples of the world, there have been individuals prepared to release them from their ignorance by shining a light into the darkness. Julian Assange and people like him are shining a light and deserve medals for putting themselves out there to bring us the truth. "They", of course, will not rest until they have arranged for untimely "accidents" for these saviours and anyone who has ever read any investigative journalism into the subject will know that these "accidents" happen all the time when "they" have been exposed for the lying ba**ards that they are! Good luck to Julian and people like him and please carry on keeping us informed of the things that we should know and are being kept from us. Remember that there are lot of us out there following you and believing in you and supporting you. Many of us have lost all faith in the world's leaders and lost hope for a world run by honest and trustworthy people. And we truly appreciate your wonderful efforts. Thanks.
2 people found this helpful
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Dieda
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolut lesenswert!
Reviewed in Germany on July 5, 2013
Ich bin sehr froh, dass der Cannongate Verlag das Buch trotz der nachträglichen Bedenken von Julian Assange veröffentlicht hat. Dessen Befürchtung, sich mit einer Autobiographie zu prostituieren, ist meiner Ansicht nach völlig unbegründet. Im Gegenteil, wenn man sein Buch gelesen hat kann man nicht anders, als diesen Mann für seinen Mut und sein Durchhaltevermögen zu bewundern. Abgesehen davon pflegt Assange einen Sprachstil, der das bloße Lesen schon zum Genuss macht.
Es bricht mir das Herz zu wissen, dass Assange, der wie er schreibt, eine "Tom Sawyer Kindheit" in der unendlichen Weite Australiens verbracht hat und für den Freiheit so einen großen Wert hat, jetzt schon seit über einem Jahr in einem zum Wohnraum umgebauten Büro ohne Sonne und nur durch das Internet mit der Welt verbunden leben muss.
4 people found this helpful
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