In November 2005, I read a post by a what-was-then-new voice in the progressive blogosphere, that of former civil rights and constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald. The blog was called "Unclaimed Territory". We had a few nice email exchanges at the time, initially prompted by the fact that we both went to NYU Law School in the early nineties and had a couple of classes together (he was a year behind me).
He is a very elucidating writer, a thorough researcher, and is gifted with incredible analytical skills. Everything I’m not.
Glenn’s star quickly rose, as anyone who reads him (and his readers number in the millions now) can understand. In 2006, he won the Koufax Award for best new blog. In early 2006, he broke a story on his blog regarding the NSA scandal that served as the basis for front-page articles in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers, all of which credited his blog for the story.
In May 2006, Glenn published his first book, "How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values From a President Run Amok," which critiqued the radical theories of executive power used by the Bush administration to justify everything from lawbreaking powers to the use of torture to indefinite detention of American citizens. The book was an instant bestseller, rising to No. 1 on Amazon’s Best Seller List and remaining there for almost a full week. The book also debuted at No. 11 on the New York Times Best Seller list, and remained on the list for the next two months.
He has sinced moved his location to Salon (who hired him) and is widely recognized as one of the most important voices of the progressive left.
His second book, "A Tragic Legacy: How A Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed The Bush Presidency" goes on sale today. Already, it is #26 at Amazon.