Includes bibliographical references (pages 539-581) and index.

Becoming a whistleblower -- Question authority -- The money dance -- Blood ivory towers -- Reaping the nuclear harvest -- Money makes the world go round -- Ministries of truth -- Epilogue: the Banana Republic wasn't built in a day. The author forces readers to confront fundamental questions about the balance between free speech and state secrecy, and between individual rights and corporate power as he traces the rise of whistleblowing through a series of riveting cases. Over the past few decades, principled insiders who expose wrongdoing have gained unprecedented legal and social stature, emerging as the government's best weapon against corporate misconduct-- and the citizenry's best defense against government gone bad. Whistleblowers force us to confront fundamental questions about the balance between free speech and state secrecy, and between individual morality and corporate power. Mueller traces the rise of whistleblowing through cases, and anatomizes what inspires some to speak out while the rest of us become complicit in our silence. -- adapted from jacket