"The Right to Know" is a resource book for citizens seeking to understand, use, and defend their right to know their rights under the freedom of information laws in the United States. It sets out in plain language freedom-of-information best practices for ordinary citizens, activist organizations, journalists, bloggers, and lawyers. It educes practical lessons from dozens of case studies of how the reader can use our freedom of information laws in order to protect the environment, public health and safety and to expose governmental and corporate crime, waste, and corruption. Finally, it shows American readers how their right to know is being progressively curtailed, why the trend is so dangerous to American democracy, and what they can do to help reverse the alarming trend. Freedom of information is the bedrock of democracy and a leitmotif of the history of American democracy. Freedom of information laws were first passed in Sweden (1766) and the United States (1966). Over the course of the past decade, scores of democracies around the world have followed suit by enacting national legislation enshrining their citizens' right of access to government information. Yet, since even before 9/11, the United States has been going in the opposite direction, as the federal government has aggressively expanded exemptions from the protections of public access to government information guaranteed by the Freedom of Information Act of 1966 and the post-Watergate sunshine laws.