Glenn Greenwald’s No Place to Hide keenly reflects the adversarial relationship that has so often defined his work—both with the federal government, and with his critics as well.

Reading the book, one gets the sense that it bounces between a well-researched and compelling story of the government’s systematic efforts to eliminate privacy, the technical details of how they did it, and a shameless lettre de célébrant that smacks of satisfaction and a proverbial ‘fuck you’ to detractors.

Not that it isn’t warranted. Last year, I commented that Edward Snowden’s actions were perhaps the most impactful leak in American history. After reading Greenwald’s account of the sheer size and scope of the leaked documents and seeing the implications it has had on policy and public opinion, I’m convinced it has far surpassed the significance of the Pentagon Papers leaked by Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning’s cables and war logs, or Deep Throat’s exposé of the Watergate scandal.

The sort of memoir-esque recounting of the process of publishing, his doubts, and bristles with colleagues are certainly an entertaining read, especially given the revelation that the Guardian almost missed the opportunity to publish the leaks at all. But the real meat of this book arrives later as Greenwald begins unraveling the various surveillance programs of the National Security Agency (NSA). Greenwald deftly untangles the web of initalisms and vague codewords to paint a clear picture of the agency’s overreach and concerted effort to collect, store, and analyze all communications. It’s no small task, given the complexity of the topic and the sprawling nature of the leak itself. Greenwald tackles it gracefully, explaining each piece of jargon just enough to provide context without getting too bogged down in the details.

It’s a little jarring to see how fiercely Greenwald defends his points of view, railing against assertions that Snowden is any less than a hero. But no more so than the determination of his critics in discrediting his work as a journalist or suggesting that very work result in his prosecution. Individuals like NBC’s David Gregory likened support of Snowden as tantamount to a crime itself, asking Greenwald “to the extent that you have aided and abetted Snowden … why shouldn’t you, Mr. Greenwald, be charged with a crime?” Michael Kinsley, a Vanity Fair columnist, panned No Place to Hide, stating flatly “there shouldn’t be a special class of people called ‘journalists’ with privileges like publishing secret government documents.”

While contemporary reporting is religiously sanitized of contextual perspective, it’s refreshing to see a clear point of view in lieu of the notion of objectivity from a journalist.

Some would argue that No Place to Hide reveals a degree of Greenwald’s insecurity in his identity and work, but that misses the point entirely. Beyond the specifics of the NSA program, the book is less a validation of his own career and more a broader continuation of the conversation he had with the New York Times’ Bill Keller on the role of journalism and its future. In the dueling essay format, Greenwald summed up his approach to the profession:

“The relevant distinction is not between journalists who have opinions and those who do not, because the latter category is mythical. The relevant distinction is between journalists who honestly disclose their subjective assumptions and political values and those who dishonestly pretend they have none or conceal them from their readers.”

Certainly, there’s an effective treatise on the importance of privacy and Fourth Amendment rights in the book. The closing chapters turn into something of a manifesto for privacy as a right, channeling the self-righteousness of a reformer and the legalistic determination of an attorney in deposition. Evidence of Greenwald’s former work as a constitutional and civil rights lawyer is present throughout the book, with a careful attention for detail and an aggressive pursuit of the truth as he sees it. Greenwald is both willing and eager to disclose his values and openly clash with those whom he sees as misleadingly clinging to a conceited notion of objectivity while still advocating for their own interests.

As Americans struggle with the reality of a government that seeks to monitor every aspect of their lives, Greenwald’s skillful unpacking of the Snowden leaks is valuable and necessary. But understanding the worldview of one of the most important and polarizing journalists of this generation makes No Place to Hide worth reading.

Joda Thongnopnua writes about policy and politics—you can find him on Twitter or at his blog.