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README.txt
An intimate, revealing memoir from one of the most important activists of our time.
While working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq for the United States Army in 2010, Chelsea Manning disclosed more than seven hundred thousand classified military and diplomatic records that she had smuggled out of the country on the memory card of her digital camera. In 2011 she was charged with twenty-two counts related to the unauthorized possession and distribution of classified military records, and in 2013 she was sentenced to thirty-five years in military prison.
The day after her conviction, Manning declared her gender identity as a woman and began to transition, seeking hormones through the federal court system. In 2017, President Barack Obama commuted her sentence and she was released from prison.
In README .txt, Manning recounts how her pleas for increased institutional transparency and government accountability took place alongside a fight to defend her rights as a trans woman. Manning details the challenges of her childhood and adolescence as a naive, computer-savvy kid, what drew her to the military, and the fierce pride she has about the work she does. This powerful, observant memoir will stand as one of the definitive testaments of our digital, information-driven age.
While working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq for the United States Army in 2010, Chelsea Manning disclosed more than seven hundred thousand classified military and diplomatic records that she had smuggled out of the country on the memory card of her digital camera. In 2011 she was charged with twenty-two counts related to the unauthorized possession and distribution of classified military records, and in 2013 she was sentenced to thirty-five years in military prison.
The day after her conviction, Manning declared her gender identity as a woman and began to transition, seeking hormones through the federal court system. In 2017, President Barack Obama commuted her sentence and she was released from prison.
In README .txt, Manning recounts how her pleas for increased institutional transparency and government accountability took place alongside a fight to defend her rights as a trans woman. Manning details the challenges of her childhood and adolescence as a naive, computer-savvy kid, what drew her to the military, and the fierce pride she has about the work she does. This powerful, observant memoir will stand as one of the definitive testaments of our digital, information-driven age.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published October 18, 2022
207 people are currently reading
8,468 people want to read
About the author
Chelsea Manning
8Ìýbooks86ÌýfollowersChelsea Elizabeth Manning is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly 750,000 classified, or unclassified but sensitive, military and diplomatic documents.
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October 20, 2022ARE YOU KIDDING ME WHY ISN’T EVERYONE SCREAMING ABOUT THIS
October 20, 2022
Chelsea Manning is a cultural hero. Her moving and deeply personal memoir touched my heart, not just as a transgender person and advocate, but as someone that believes our government's wars and secrets are rarely justified. That being said, this book wasn't just about that. It offered a humanizing perspective into Manning's childhood and early life as a young queer person that described challenges many LGBTQ+ youth struggle with - abuse, homelessness, and wanting to give up. The media has objectified Manning and oversimplified her story, undermining her brilliance and gifts. This memoir is a long-awaited rectification of her story...and what a story it is.
October 29, 2022
Very strong memoir which balances the situation for which the author became know (leaking Iraq military documents on wikileaks) with a memoir of how she sees herself, her coming of age and her transformation to a female body (briefly). While doing so she tells us of her parents, her upbringing, her grapple with identity, self and shame, her lost and drifitng years, her reasons for joining the military, the comfort she took in online spaces and her horrendous experiences in prison. Not for the faint of heart with trigger warnings for suicide and yet for those who read a truly brilliant memoir awaits you. Not only is her life interesting, the emotions she shares with you and those she does not superbly well chosen, but also the way she writes pulls you in and the confusion, loss of self and finally understanding that she has of herself is infectious.
October 26, 2022
Utterly engrossing, deeply personal, and immensely inspiring - it's high time Chelsea Manning had the opportunity to tell her story in her own words. An important book, and an excellent one.
June 9, 2023
chelsea manning i'm free friday night if you wanna hang out or something.... hahA
January 25, 2023
3.5.
This isn’t a reflection on how I feel about Manning herself, but the actual memoir. There’s nothing wrong with it per se, it just leaves a lot wanting literarily. The substance of the story being told is compelling, interesting and heartbreaking but the storytelling itself is just…fine. I think the way Manning was treated is atrocious and I hope this and her continued activism can bring more light and correction to how our country uses the military when engaging in war and how they deal with members of the military and that Manning gets to have the life they’ve hoped for.
This isn’t a reflection on how I feel about Manning herself, but the actual memoir. There’s nothing wrong with it per se, it just leaves a lot wanting literarily. The substance of the story being told is compelling, interesting and heartbreaking but the storytelling itself is just…fine. I think the way Manning was treated is atrocious and I hope this and her continued activism can bring more light and correction to how our country uses the military when engaging in war and how they deal with members of the military and that Manning gets to have the life they’ve hoped for.
January 23, 2023
chelsea manning im free on thursday if you wanna hang out
October 28, 2022
this book needs 10x more attention/press/whatever. A wonderfully written memoir. 10/10. Thank u Chelsea
January 17, 2024
Chelsea Manning blickt in ihrem Memoir "README.txt - Meine Geschichte", übersetzt von Katrin Harlaß, Enrico Heinemann und Anne Emmert, auf gerade einmal rund 30 Lebensjahre zurück - diese sind aber von so vielen Ereignissen durchzogen, dass sie damit ein ganzes Buch füllen kann. Die Autorin ist eine US-amerikanische Whistleblowerin und Transaktivistin, sie informierte über amerikanische Kriegsverbrechen und Menschenrechtsverletzungen, gab vertrauliche Dokumente der US-Armee an WikiLeaks weiter, etwa Videos, die tödliche Angriffe auf Zivilisten im Irak zeigen. Dafür wurde sie 2013 zu 35 Jahren Haft verurteilt. In einer seiner letzten Amtshandlungen begnadigte Präsident Barack Obama sie 2017 nach sieben Jahren.
In ihrem Buch schildert sie ihre von Armut und Gewalt geprägte Kindheit, ihre innerliche Zerrissenheit aufgrund ihrer Geschlechtsidentität, Obdachlosigkeit und Prostitution nach einem Rausschmiss aus der Familie ihres Vaters, ihren Weg zum US-Militär und die Strapazen und Demütigungen, die sie während ihrer Militärzeit erdulden musste, ihre Entscheidung, durch die Weitergabe geheimer Informationen für mehr institutionelle Transparenz einzustehen und schließlich ihre Zeit in (Untersuchungs)Haft. Einen Tag nach ihrer Verurteilung outete sich Manning öffentlich als trans Frau und kämpfte während ihrer Haft um die Möglichkeit einer Transition - die ihr nach Selbstmordversuchen und einem Hungerstreik endlich ermöglicht wurden, als erste Inhaftierte eines Militärgefängnisses.
Chelsea Mannings Memoir liest sich wie eine berührende Coming-Of-Age Geschichte, ein unglaubliches Leben, das unbedingt erzählenswert ist - vor allem, weil während ihrer Haftzeit zu viel über und zu wenig mit ihr gesprochen wurde. Eine sehr lesenswerte Autobiografie!
In ihrem Buch schildert sie ihre von Armut und Gewalt geprägte Kindheit, ihre innerliche Zerrissenheit aufgrund ihrer Geschlechtsidentität, Obdachlosigkeit und Prostitution nach einem Rausschmiss aus der Familie ihres Vaters, ihren Weg zum US-Militär und die Strapazen und Demütigungen, die sie während ihrer Militärzeit erdulden musste, ihre Entscheidung, durch die Weitergabe geheimer Informationen für mehr institutionelle Transparenz einzustehen und schließlich ihre Zeit in (Untersuchungs)Haft. Einen Tag nach ihrer Verurteilung outete sich Manning öffentlich als trans Frau und kämpfte während ihrer Haft um die Möglichkeit einer Transition - die ihr nach Selbstmordversuchen und einem Hungerstreik endlich ermöglicht wurden, als erste Inhaftierte eines Militärgefängnisses.
Chelsea Mannings Memoir liest sich wie eine berührende Coming-Of-Age Geschichte, ein unglaubliches Leben, das unbedingt erzählenswert ist - vor allem, weil während ihrer Haftzeit zu viel über und zu wenig mit ihr gesprochen wurde. Eine sehr lesenswerte Autobiografie!
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November 4, 2022This is the incredibly important memoir and testimony of Iraq War whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who writes eloquently of her motivation-- of spurring transparency in government affairs and the conduct of war-- when she released an unscrubbed firehose of files and documents that provided a more comprehensive, accurate picture of the war, even though the files contradicted the polished public messaging offered by the US admin to its citizens. Chelsea Manning was instrumental in raising awareness of the public to revelations about the conduct of war including the treatment of some innocent bystanders or civilians. For this series of revelations, Chelsea Manning was condemned to a punitive, torturous span of solitary confinement by the military hierarchy during the Obama administration, an inhumane and quite illegal treatment of Chelsea Manning-- without a trial.
This memoir also covers Chelsea Manning's earlier years, an eventful one that was already full of hardship. Chelsea Manning was raised in a family where domestic violence and parental alcoholism and neglect occurred regularly. She was the subject of random anger and violence from her father. A crack of divorce meant that she moved to a foreign land (Wales) where she was essentially the adult support worker to her mom who had several attacks of stroke and worked odd cleaning jobs that barely covered their financial needs. She suffered overwhelming gender dysphoria, bouts of homelessness over frictions with her father's new family, painful stints of casual courtesan-like work just to have a place to sleep for the night, and lack of opportunities to utilize her burgeoning talents with computers. She sought to join Iraq for multiple reasons-- parental approval, direction in life, financial support for college through the GI Bill-- but found the psychological demands of the job (constant monitoring of attacks and deaths) disassociating, depressing and debilitating. A growing cynicism with the purposes and conduct of the war led her to take active steps to expose the intelligence she had clearance for to the public, led by a desire to enjoin the American public to see the real war and decide for themselves whether this was what they had signed up for. She also had to manifest incredible courage to take on her true identity and transition.
Whether the readership agrees with Chelsea's political positions or not, it is so important to have this book published, where she can express her own POV without censorship or the translations of others.
This memoir also covers Chelsea Manning's earlier years, an eventful one that was already full of hardship. Chelsea Manning was raised in a family where domestic violence and parental alcoholism and neglect occurred regularly. She was the subject of random anger and violence from her father. A crack of divorce meant that she moved to a foreign land (Wales) where she was essentially the adult support worker to her mom who had several attacks of stroke and worked odd cleaning jobs that barely covered their financial needs. She suffered overwhelming gender dysphoria, bouts of homelessness over frictions with her father's new family, painful stints of casual courtesan-like work just to have a place to sleep for the night, and lack of opportunities to utilize her burgeoning talents with computers. She sought to join Iraq for multiple reasons-- parental approval, direction in life, financial support for college through the GI Bill-- but found the psychological demands of the job (constant monitoring of attacks and deaths) disassociating, depressing and debilitating. A growing cynicism with the purposes and conduct of the war led her to take active steps to expose the intelligence she had clearance for to the public, led by a desire to enjoin the American public to see the real war and decide for themselves whether this was what they had signed up for. She also had to manifest incredible courage to take on her true identity and transition.
Whether the readership agrees with Chelsea's political positions or not, it is so important to have this book published, where she can express her own POV without censorship or the translations of others.
October 29, 2022
Enjoyed this a lot but the final few pages should have been another chapter - a lot of Manning's post-release work feels very rushed compared to the detail in the rest of the book.
December 5, 2022
A phenomenal work. The author does a huge amount of intellectual and emotional digging to make coherent her evolution in thought, feeling and action. Her POV is invaluable. Highly recommended.
January 16, 2025
I was rather surprised that more people aren’t talking about this book, but whether that’s on the publishers or the public, I cannot say. I only heard of this from stumbling on a publicity event where Chelsea Manning was promoting the book in conversation with another. It was really cool to see her in person and also get to hear her talk about some of the experiences from the book, which she said isn’t really a memoir as such. It’s more of an expose of the defining events from her early life and what led her to where she is today—and importantly the events for which she is most famous. During the leaks of the war logs, I was too young and politically inept to really concern myself with the details, though her name was vaguely familiar. This book doesn’t presume you know anything about what happened, but it does give Manning a chance to defend her actions and explain her philosophy of transparency.
There are two major running themes here: abuse and poverty and what Manning has overcome to be in her current position, including having to fight for her identity, and the value and emphasis placed on government transparency above all (even such a highly noble cause as pacifism). Both may be preaching to the choir a bit, judging by some of the questions asked at the event’s Q&A session and some of the reviews here. If you believe Manning leaked state secrets or caused irreparable harm to the country� then there isn’t a great compromise with Manning’s account, which categorically denies that this is the case. I’m much more sympathetic to her view, so it was easy for me to sympathize with her plight and confirm her philosophy.
The government should be more transparent, and Manning’s actions informed war policy for a lot of people in my generation and beyond in an invaluable way. That’s all I’ll say of my personal view on the matter. As for the book itself, it reads easily and captivated me. The start reads like a thriller, with Manning finding the single last Barnes & Noble cafe that is open and has wifi during an intense snowstorm. The rest is perhaps less dramatized for effect but no less compelling. I was immediately drawn into her story of growing up in a rural, conservative town surrounded by family members who did not understand her or were downright violent towards her. Her zealousness for ensuring government transparency, and to make sure the truth prevails above all, was laudable. I’m not an activist and doubt it’s in my blood, but she made even me feel invigorated to try and participate in direct action.
Whether you agree with Manning’s decision or not, or even are skeptical, I think most people can agree that her conditions while imprisoned were condemnable. Before even having a chance to face trial, she was put in solitary confinement for almost a year, and then again later. Such a process is dehumanizing and, for Manning, nearly fatal. Her experiences in the military also made it quite clear that her enlistment was driven less by patriotism and more by a desire for upward mobility as exemplfied by many of the downtrodden in the US who see no other recourse to improve their situation. It made me feel angry that the military’s legal processes were so horrific but also so incompetent in so many ways—especially when it came to matters of technological security. The security ‘measures� on some of these things were truly laughable. I can only admire Manning for her curiosity and grit that served her well as an intelligence analyst as well as an activist with the interests of the public at heart. This book is a great exploratory look at some of the ways even military and government officials can get basic things like computer security so wrong, and what needs fixing in this bureaucratic system.
My only gripe with this book is mainly that the writing style felt a bit� repetitive at times. Manning’s style is succinct and to the point, perhaps a reflection of that military training. But it sometimes felt like I was reading her cover letter rather than her memoir: ‘my job consisted of…� and similar. I would have also liked to see Manning engage more with the descriptions of her life—she does open up about her emotional responses in a few episodes, but it would have been even better to see not only a description of her early life but more detail in her reflections on it.
I hope more people hear about this book! There aren’t that many reviews on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, and I haven’t seen this in public book stands. Most people I’m acquainted with know who Chelsea Manning is, but their exposure to her was largely curated by the media. This book is not merely a memoir, but a chance for Manning to tell her story and provide greater context for her actions—as well as an introductory note in understanding who she is as a person. For that alone, I think all who are interested in security or politics or even just curious about her philosophy should read this. I doubt my review will reach that many people, but even if it nudges you towards this book a tiny bit, I think it’ll be worth it.
There are two major running themes here: abuse and poverty and what Manning has overcome to be in her current position, including having to fight for her identity, and the value and emphasis placed on government transparency above all (even such a highly noble cause as pacifism). Both may be preaching to the choir a bit, judging by some of the questions asked at the event’s Q&A session and some of the reviews here. If you believe Manning leaked state secrets or caused irreparable harm to the country� then there isn’t a great compromise with Manning’s account, which categorically denies that this is the case. I’m much more sympathetic to her view, so it was easy for me to sympathize with her plight and confirm her philosophy.
The government should be more transparent, and Manning’s actions informed war policy for a lot of people in my generation and beyond in an invaluable way. That’s all I’ll say of my personal view on the matter. As for the book itself, it reads easily and captivated me. The start reads like a thriller, with Manning finding the single last Barnes & Noble cafe that is open and has wifi during an intense snowstorm. The rest is perhaps less dramatized for effect but no less compelling. I was immediately drawn into her story of growing up in a rural, conservative town surrounded by family members who did not understand her or were downright violent towards her. Her zealousness for ensuring government transparency, and to make sure the truth prevails above all, was laudable. I’m not an activist and doubt it’s in my blood, but she made even me feel invigorated to try and participate in direct action.
Whether you agree with Manning’s decision or not, or even are skeptical, I think most people can agree that her conditions while imprisoned were condemnable. Before even having a chance to face trial, she was put in solitary confinement for almost a year, and then again later. Such a process is dehumanizing and, for Manning, nearly fatal. Her experiences in the military also made it quite clear that her enlistment was driven less by patriotism and more by a desire for upward mobility as exemplfied by many of the downtrodden in the US who see no other recourse to improve their situation. It made me feel angry that the military’s legal processes were so horrific but also so incompetent in so many ways—especially when it came to matters of technological security. The security ‘measures� on some of these things were truly laughable. I can only admire Manning for her curiosity and grit that served her well as an intelligence analyst as well as an activist with the interests of the public at heart. This book is a great exploratory look at some of the ways even military and government officials can get basic things like computer security so wrong, and what needs fixing in this bureaucratic system.
My only gripe with this book is mainly that the writing style felt a bit� repetitive at times. Manning’s style is succinct and to the point, perhaps a reflection of that military training. But it sometimes felt like I was reading her cover letter rather than her memoir: ‘my job consisted of…� and similar. I would have also liked to see Manning engage more with the descriptions of her life—she does open up about her emotional responses in a few episodes, but it would have been even better to see not only a description of her early life but more detail in her reflections on it.
I hope more people hear about this book! There aren’t that many reviews on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, and I haven’t seen this in public book stands. Most people I’m acquainted with know who Chelsea Manning is, but their exposure to her was largely curated by the media. This book is not merely a memoir, but a chance for Manning to tell her story and provide greater context for her actions—as well as an introductory note in understanding who she is as a person. For that alone, I think all who are interested in security or politics or even just curious about her philosophy should read this. I doubt my review will reach that many people, but even if it nudges you towards this book a tiny bit, I think it’ll be worth it.
October 28, 2022
(CW: suicide)
This is a really well-rounded memoir that addresses the "who" and "why" of Manning's whistleblowing rather than fixating on the "how" or high-tech caper elements. The book really puts a lot of things in context that were lacking in mainstream coverage or deliberately downplayed by her adversaries.
I think Manning coming out as trans was really sensationalized and, when combined with her suicide attempts, was used to portray her as this confused, unstable, freakish figure. In the book, she reclaims her narrative by speaking about how she dealt with gender dysphoria all her life, and how she struggled with abuse and poverty before joining the military. The latter felt very germane to the current discourse, with some politicians recently complaining that student loan forgiveness would negatively effect military recruitment. The former hit home for me more personally.
At roughly the same time Chelsea joined the military and more or less the same age as Chelsea, I had a trans friend who committed suicide. They had always presented as a cishet male, but had apparently been experiencing gender dysphoria for some time and quietly expressed that to some female friends. Like some people in the book, I and several other people in my friend's life didn't really understand what was going on and drifted apart through the usual university bustle of classes, jobs, and moving apartments. I remember a lot of confusion or feeling off-put by seeing them first experimenting with more effeminate clothing and affect, or accidentally discovering they were presenting as female online with a second Facebook account. I think sometimes we feel the need to categorize everything. I think many people in their life just wanted a clear "So are you gay, or where is this going?" without understanding the nature of transition and how it would be a process. Chelsea's descriptions of many of these topics, again especially because of the age similarity, really hit close to home and put things in better perspective.
In general, I think the book does a really good job of showing how the adverse conditions of Manning's life shaped her and led to the events she's best known for. There are some omissions, including her more recent post-prison life and suicide attempt, but I didn't get the sense that there was disingenuousness or that she was trying to avoid painting herself in a bad light. I feel like it's one of those books you have to give five stars to not because it's transcendent, but on a "mission accomplished" basis of being well-rounded, insightful, and well-paced.
This is a really well-rounded memoir that addresses the "who" and "why" of Manning's whistleblowing rather than fixating on the "how" or high-tech caper elements. The book really puts a lot of things in context that were lacking in mainstream coverage or deliberately downplayed by her adversaries.
I think Manning coming out as trans was really sensationalized and, when combined with her suicide attempts, was used to portray her as this confused, unstable, freakish figure. In the book, she reclaims her narrative by speaking about how she dealt with gender dysphoria all her life, and how she struggled with abuse and poverty before joining the military. The latter felt very germane to the current discourse, with some politicians recently complaining that student loan forgiveness would negatively effect military recruitment. The former hit home for me more personally.
At roughly the same time Chelsea joined the military and more or less the same age as Chelsea, I had a trans friend who committed suicide. They had always presented as a cishet male, but had apparently been experiencing gender dysphoria for some time and quietly expressed that to some female friends. Like some people in the book, I and several other people in my friend's life didn't really understand what was going on and drifted apart through the usual university bustle of classes, jobs, and moving apartments. I remember a lot of confusion or feeling off-put by seeing them first experimenting with more effeminate clothing and affect, or accidentally discovering they were presenting as female online with a second Facebook account. I think sometimes we feel the need to categorize everything. I think many people in their life just wanted a clear "So are you gay, or where is this going?" without understanding the nature of transition and how it would be a process. Chelsea's descriptions of many of these topics, again especially because of the age similarity, really hit close to home and put things in better perspective.
In general, I think the book does a really good job of showing how the adverse conditions of Manning's life shaped her and led to the events she's best known for. There are some omissions, including her more recent post-prison life and suicide attempt, but I didn't get the sense that there was disingenuousness or that she was trying to avoid painting herself in a bad light. I feel like it's one of those books you have to give five stars to not because it's transcendent, but on a "mission accomplished" basis of being well-rounded, insightful, and well-paced.
Want to read
May 15, 2024Remember how the US built Guantanamo Bay up as this super duper place where all the evil 9/11 terrorists would go to be locked up forever, but it turned out that they had difficulty actually finding those specific terrorists and so they rounded up a somewhat random mix of middle eastern men, many of which were later proven completely innocent but all of whom where tortured, starved and held without trial, in violation of the human rights charta?
At least three of which were arrested solely for wearing a Casio F91W digital watch (nope this is not a joke - just the US personnel making these illegal arrests being clowns)
The US military personnel tortured these men for years, which cost millions that could have been invested in finding and bringing to trial the real perpetrators of 9/11 but I digress.
Do you suppose any of the disgusting human scumbags who tortured people ever faced negative repercussions? No they got promoted and are living their best lives
The one person who got a trial and jail time is Chelsey Manning, because she had the gall to make evidence of torture in Guantanamo Bay public, because snitching > torture
At least three of which were arrested solely for wearing a Casio F91W digital watch (nope this is not a joke - just the US personnel making these illegal arrests being clowns)
The US military personnel tortured these men for years, which cost millions that could have been invested in finding and bringing to trial the real perpetrators of 9/11 but I digress.
Do you suppose any of the disgusting human scumbags who tortured people ever faced negative repercussions? No they got promoted and are living their best lives
The one person who got a trial and jail time is Chelsey Manning, because she had the gall to make evidence of torture in Guantanamo Bay public, because snitching > torture
Read
May 24, 2020winter 2020.... so far away.. 😣
but still, this sounds like an inspiring and emotional story
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but still, this sounds like an inspiring and emotional story
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October 21, 2022
Chelsea Manning is strong as hell. LOVED this book!
February 12, 2023
A personal and political memoir, giving context for how she came to leak U.S. government secrets.
"People had begun to pretend that the seven years of conflict had been worth it, all the lost American lives and the still-uncounted lost lives of Iraqis and Afghanis. The establishment had moved on. There was the recession to deal with. People at home were losing everything. The health care debate was on the news every night. And yet we were still fucking there. Still dying. In every scenario I gamed out, we’d be there for many more years."She perceived "two different realities—the one I was looking at, and the one Americans at home believed. So much of the information they received was distorted or incomplete. The irreconcilable differences became an all-consuming frustration for me." I .
September 30, 2023
A straightforward, powerful memoir written by one of the most important whistleblowers of our time, README.txt pleasantly disproved my preconceived notions about this genre. I found Chelsea Manning a humble, relatable narrator - on the chronically online side, which felt very familiar. As someone with limited power and very limited rights, trying to make sense of the world from her own lens, she ties together visceral passages about her burden of conscience, her harsh imprisonment, and her struggles with sexuality.
November 30, 2022
Absolutely outstanding. This memoir is one of the best autobiographies I have ever read. I loved every single part of it and couldn't put it down. It is unflinchingly honest throughout and really does show how her life and decisions were manipulated and frankly lied about in the media. Chelsea really is a hero who made an incredible sacrifice for the rights of others, I'm so glad she is now able to tell her story and explain things. 5 big stars.
November 19, 2022
Everyone should read this book-- people that know about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, people that don't; people that still like Obama, people that haven't read enough about him yet; people who were old enough to follow Chelsea's news cycle back in 2010, people who were 9 years old at the time. Wherever you land on American foreign policy, military imperialism, or electronic dance music, I think Chelsea has a perspective that will challenge you to complicate your views of the world these issues exist in. I learned way more about what I don't know than what I do know and I ended the book with a much longer list of books to read about Guantánamo, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and protests within American prisons.
It's hard to keep track of any specific passages or details to highlight here, because I couldn't annotate the copy I was reading. I borrowed the book from Cait who borrowed it from the Smith library, so it was double-borrowed.
It's hard to keep track of any specific passages or details to highlight here, because I couldn't annotate the copy I was reading. I borrowed the book from Cait who borrowed it from the Smith library, so it was double-borrowed.
November 22, 2022
Manning presents us with a passionate, candid portrayal of her life. Having heard of her much following her leaks, but never truly understanding their context, I was excited to read this book. The media got its chance to chew on Chelsea Manning and spit out an image, an idea, a persona; in this memoir, Manning eloquently and meticulously crafts us her own tale, granting herself the platform I think many of us knew she deserved. At once a dissection of the US penal system and the US Army’s monopoly on information, a treatise on the inherent value of government transparency and information accessibility, and a moving account of unjust queer suffering, especially in military spaces, Readme.txt, I suspect, has the potential to be a meaningful and important document for a multitude of readers across a wide array of backgrounds for years to come.
November 7, 2022
Screaming from every mountaintop that everyone needs to read this book!!!
I had such a surface level knowledge of Chelsea’s life beforehand. My heart broke for her over and over again throughout my reading.
Her story isn’t a pretty one, but it’s an important one!
I had such a surface level knowledge of Chelsea’s life beforehand. My heart broke for her over and over again throughout my reading.
Her story isn’t a pretty one, but it’s an important one!
January 24, 2023
Great memoir of the millennial generation. The book gives a real sense of the person and her struggles. Highly recommend to read it.
The Dutch translation of the book is a poorly executed machine translation that does not do the book and its author justice.
The Dutch translation of the book is a poorly executed machine translation that does not do the book and its author justice.
February 6, 2023
It's hard to swallow because military, but: sooooo brave
August 4, 2023
An absolute must read, really
January 11, 2023
It was pretty amazing to hear her story through her own perspective, and in particular navigating her gender identity in military prison. I especially liked that the places where the government edited content in this book, she says they "have redacted the following 11 lines." I found that a great way to address that particular issue.
October 30, 2022
README.txt is an easy read, a captivating book which is difficult for the reader to put down, though perhaps not for reasons the author intends. Every few pages or so I came across a passage which caused me to stop reading and remind myself the writing was not intended as parody.
"I was thrown into despair over something much more ordinary, a series of professional disappointments. I was passed over, twice, for an assistant manager position I’d been promised at Starbucks."
"My intellectual and political life can be divided into pre- and post-Proposition 8. It made me think long and hard about my blind faith in nationalism."
Surely this is intended as farce?
A policy review on possible effects of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell "was filled with outdated, offensive stereotypes about queer people--would a repeal mean the army would have to accomodate increased HIV care? What if the domestic partnerships of gay soldiers change rapidly because they relationship-hop?" heartily offends Manning, which we learn in the midst of dozens of pages about life with one night stands. He thinks he manages to catch a glimpse of the rank of an officer who rapes him after a gay bar pickup - is this reported as a way to put paid to that outdated notion of anonymous gay cruising?
When not spending hours crying in the shower or sequestered in a baracks room playing video games Manning would "make the rounds, chatting up anyone from an officer to the guy in the armory who I paid twenty bucks a month to clean my M9 carbine rifle."
When I used to clean my M9 Beretta it appeared to be a handgun to me. If Manning had a carbine it was more likely an M4, which that guy in the armory was likely aware of.
There are many, many entries about the "incredibly detailed, invasively intimate information I was getting about the people we were tracking." There is not a mention of Manning ever having a language course to learn the remotest beginnings of any language spoken in Afghanistan or Iraq, indeed there is no mention whatsoever even of the names of any language. The "incredible detail" would appear to be detail provided with English translation, but we read no indication of an inkling some of this detail might have been constructed by American consciousness.
It really is a compelling read. Here among other things Manning has laid out a strong case for the US return to a military draft. Unanswered is Katy Perry or Lady Gaga's position on this.
"I was thrown into despair over something much more ordinary, a series of professional disappointments. I was passed over, twice, for an assistant manager position I’d been promised at Starbucks."
"My intellectual and political life can be divided into pre- and post-Proposition 8. It made me think long and hard about my blind faith in nationalism."
Surely this is intended as farce?
A policy review on possible effects of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell "was filled with outdated, offensive stereotypes about queer people--would a repeal mean the army would have to accomodate increased HIV care? What if the domestic partnerships of gay soldiers change rapidly because they relationship-hop?" heartily offends Manning, which we learn in the midst of dozens of pages about life with one night stands. He thinks he manages to catch a glimpse of the rank of an officer who rapes him after a gay bar pickup - is this reported as a way to put paid to that outdated notion of anonymous gay cruising?
When not spending hours crying in the shower or sequestered in a baracks room playing video games Manning would "make the rounds, chatting up anyone from an officer to the guy in the armory who I paid twenty bucks a month to clean my M9 carbine rifle."
When I used to clean my M9 Beretta it appeared to be a handgun to me. If Manning had a carbine it was more likely an M4, which that guy in the armory was likely aware of.
There are many, many entries about the "incredibly detailed, invasively intimate information I was getting about the people we were tracking." There is not a mention of Manning ever having a language course to learn the remotest beginnings of any language spoken in Afghanistan or Iraq, indeed there is no mention whatsoever even of the names of any language. The "incredible detail" would appear to be detail provided with English translation, but we read no indication of an inkling some of this detail might have been constructed by American consciousness.
It really is a compelling read. Here among other things Manning has laid out a strong case for the US return to a military draft. Unanswered is Katy Perry or Lady Gaga's position on this.
January 21, 2023
Why is not everybody talking about this? Easily in the top 10 most important books for the 21st century. Chelsea comes from the long tradition of activism and direct action which she connects with deeply humanistic ideas about the world. This is not an abstract theoretical work but a lived experience of somebody who stood up against the military and a survellaince state in the hopes of preventing civilian casualties, torture and human rights abuse everywhere in the world. I admire Chelsea for everything she has done and continues to do for this world. This memoir is a reminder that behind our freedoms stand people like Chelsea who fought long and hard for everything we take for granted. Thank you, Chelsea!
November 19, 2022
What a moving and deeply personal memoir. Very painful and traumatizing experiences openly and very bravely shared with the world. While this memoir was not quite what I was expecting in terms of her experiences with the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell� military policy, I was still deeply shocked. Her bravery to leak the truth of both situations of the Iraq and Afghan wars was beyond commendable and something that was necessary. While I may have been too young at the time when her story made news headlines, I am glad that I stumbled across this memoir. I learnt a lot!
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