This is a story that starts off small and goes very big. The small part of the story might sound familiar at first- It is a war story about a platoon of mostly nineteen-year-old boys sent to Afghanistan whose experience ends abruptly in catastrophe. The big part of the story--inexorably linked to the small story and never comprehensively reported before--is the Defense Department's quest to build the world's most powerful biometrics database with which to monitor and police the world. To pivot its warfighting capacity from lethal action to mass cyber-surveillance using military-grade systems to identify, track, and catalogue people all over the world by their unique biological markers.
First Platoon is an American saga, a story that illuminates a developing transformation of society made possible by new technology. Part war story, part legal drama, foreboding at every turn, it is about identity in the age of identification. About human biology (physical bravery, trauma, PTSD, amputation, ghost pain) in the age of biometrics (iris scans, fingerprint scans, voice patterning, detection by odor, gait, and more). About the power of point-of-view in a burgeoning surveillance state. About the profound issues around an erroneous presidential pardon. Ultimately, it is an investigative expose that 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.
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 nineteen-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 U.S. 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 expose 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.
Author Biography:
Annie Jacobsen is the author of Nuclear War, the Pulitzer Prize finalist in history The Pentagon's Brain, the New York Times bestsellers Area 51 and Operation Paperclip, and other books. She was a contributing editor at the Los Angeles Times Magazine. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons. Jacobsen's books have been named Best of the Year and Most Anticipated by outlets including The Washington Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, Apple, and Amazon. Coverage has ranged from The New York Times to Joe Rogan's podcast.
