“A vital book about the ridiculously cozy relationship between corporate wealth and government power and how it only seems to be getting worse” (William Cohan, author of Money and Power ). In the United States today we have good reasons to be afraid. Our Bill of Rights has been rendered powerless by ubiquitous surveillance and our freedoms are impaired by government control of information, systemic financial corruption, and unfettered corporate influence in our elections. Behind a thinning veneer of democracy, the Corporate Security State is tipping the balance between the self-interest of a governing corporate elite and the rights of the people to freedom, safety, and fairness. In Rise of The American Corporate Security State , Beatrice Edwards examines the real reasons to be afraid in twentyt-first century America, and outlines how we can address them. Our first steps in the right direction may be small, but they are important. They are based on the principle that we have a right to know what our government is doing and to speak openly about it. Creeping censorship, secret courts, and clandestine corporate control are all anathema to democratic practices and must be corrected now—before this last chance to redeem our rights is lost. “Bea Edwards has written a vital book about the ridiculously cozy relationship between corporate wealth and government power and how it only seems to be getting worse. It's up to the rest of us now to do something about it.” —William Cohan, New York Times and Financial Times reporter and author of Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World “A must-read for those who love this country and wish to preserve its fast-fading democracy. Edwards is an extraordinary writer who brilliantly captures the essence of what whistleblowers such as Snowden have sacrificed their careers and jeopardized their personal liberties to convey to each of us. This book has arrived just in time if—and only if—those who are moved by it take concerted practical actions to reverse the silent coup that we suffered in 2001.” —Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower and Director, Freedom of the Press Foundation Beatrice Edwards is both the executive director and the international program director at the Government Accountability Project, which is currently one of Edward Snowden’s legal representatives. She holds a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of Texas and a doctorate in sociology from American University.