From the Horizon scandal and Watergate to the blogpost that brought down the CEO of Uber, these works of nonfiction throw some light on those brave enough to speak truth to power
For a primetime TV drama, whether or not your show is a hit is usually settled by your ratings. But ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office has raised the bar – by prompting the government to introduce emergency legislation aimed at quashing thousands of improper convictions that ruined the lives of sub-postmasters across the country. Before the TV drama, though, came a lot of journalistic work which in turn relied on the courage of whistleblowers. In some cases, these were people targeted by the Post Office machine, but insiders in Fujitsu and the Post Office did their part too.
So, in the spirit of celebrating whistleblowers, here are five of the best books by and about people who’ve taken on big power.
The Great Post Office Scandal by Nick Wallis
Nick Wallis has a good claim to have done more than any other journalist to have reported on the decades-long Horizon crisis. His retelling of what happened relies on the endless (and nightmarish) work of families trying to clear their names – but it was only when people inside the headquarters of the Post Office and Fujitsu started revealing what they knew that the scale of the preventable, mass miscarriage of justice became clear.
Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg is the former Pentagon official and...
IBM reached a settlement with the federal government on Friday, agreeing to pay roughly $17 million to resolve allegations of illegal diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Acting Attorney Gen...