These are the books Morgan has read, re-read, and recommended to anyone who wants to understand what is really happening to their data online — and what to do about it. No sponsored picks. No fluff. Just books that changed how we think about privacy, surveillance, and digital security.
Privacy & Surveillance
The Art of Invisibility — Kevin Mitnick
The most practical privacy book ever written. Mitnick — once the most wanted hacker in the US — walks you through exactly how corporations, governments, and hackers track you, and exactly what to do about it. Covers VPNs, passwords, phones, email, and more. Required reading before trusting any privacy tool.
Permanent Record — Edward Snowden
The book that explains why VPNs exist. Snowden documents how the NSA built a global surveillance architecture capable of collecting virtually every digital communication on earth — and why he chose to expose it. Essential context for understanding what privacy tools are actually protecting you from.
Data and Goliath — Bruce Schneier
Schneier is the most respected security technologist alive. This book maps the surveillance economy in clear, non-technical language — who collects your data, how it is used, what the real risks are, and what policy changes would actually help. Less paranoid than Mitnick, more rigorous than most.
How to Be Invisible — J.J. Luna
The most US-specific privacy guide available. Luna covers real-world anonymity — phone numbers, addresses, vehicles, mail, banking — written for people who want to be left alone by corporations, stalkers, or data brokers. Practical and immediately actionable.
Cybersecurity
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends — Nicole Perlroth
The definitive account of the global cyberweapons arms race, written by the New York Times cybersecurity reporter. Perlroth spent a decade reporting on zero-day exploits, state-sponsored hackers, and the shadow market for digital weapons. This book makes abstract threats concrete and impossible to ignore.
Sandworm — Andy Greenberg
The story of the most destructive cyberattack in history. Greenberg traces the Russian hacking group behind NotPetya — the malware that caused $10 billion in damage worldwide. A thriller written with reporting precision. If you want to understand why cybersecurity matters, start here.
Ghost in the Wires — Kevin Mitnick
Mitnick autobiography — how he hacked dozens of Fortune 500 companies, evaded the FBI for years, and reinvented himself as a security consultant. More than a hacker story: a textbook on social engineering and why human psychology is the weakest link in any security system.
Digital Freedom
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism — Shoshana Zuboff
The most important book written about the internet in the last decade. Zuboff explains how Google, Facebook, and their ecosystem extract behavioral data to predict and modify human behavior at scale. Dense, academic, and absolutely essential. Read this and you will never look at a free app the same way.
The Filter Bubble — Eli Pariser
Written in 2011 and more relevant every year. Pariser explains how personalization algorithms trap users in information bubbles — showing you only what the algorithm predicts you want to see. A clear-eyed look at how your browsing history shapes your reality.
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