NP Fwd: Death of Privacy in the 21st Century

[Doug Millison]

I read this when it was first published last year and recommend it.

>
>DATABASE NATION: THE DEATH OF PRIVACY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
>RELEASED IN PAPERBACK
>
>
>Sebastopol, CA--O'Reilly and Associates today announced the paperback
>release of "Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century,"
>by Simson Garfinkel.
>
>As the 21st century begins, advances in technology endanger our privacy
>in ways never before imagined. This newly revised update of the popular
>hardcover edition, "Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st
>Century," is the compelling account of how invasive technologies will
>affect our lives in the coming years. It's a timely, far-reaching,
>entertaining, and thought-provoking look at the serious threats to
>privacy facing us today.
>
>Fifty years ago, in the book "1984," George Orwell imagined a future in
>which privacy was vanquished by a totalitarian state that used spies and
>video surveillance to maintain control. In 2000, we find that the threats
>to our privacy are not coming from a monolithic "Big Brother," but--even
>harder to grapple with--from hundreds of sources, not seeking to control
>us, merely to market to us, track us, count us, or streamline paperwork.
>
>The result, though, is still as chilling as "1984."
>
>"Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century" is the
>"Silent Spring" of 2000. Simson's hope is that this important new book
>will open the public's eyes to the many intrusions on our privacy before it
>is too late.
>
>For more information about the book, including Table of Contents, index,
>author bio, and sample chapter, see:
>http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dbnationtp/
>
>Chapter 6, To Know Your Future, is available free online at:
>http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dbnationtp/chapter/ch06.html
>
>For a cover graphic in jpeg format, go to:
>ftp://ftp.ora.com/pub/graphics/book_covers/hi-res/0596001053.jpg
>
>For images of Simson Garfinkel, go to:
>ftp://ftp.ora.com/pub/graphics/photos/Simson_Garfinkel/
>
>Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century
>By Simson Garfinkel
>Softcover Edition, January 2001
>ISBN 0-596-00105-3, 336 pages, $16.95
>order at oreilly.com
>1-800-998-9938
>http://www.oreilly.com
>
>
>Critical Acclaim for "Database Nation"
>
>"'Database Nation' by Simson Garfinkel is a graphic and blistering
>indictment of the burgeoning technologies used by business,
>government, and others to invade the self--yourselves--and restrict both
>your 'freedom to' participate in power and your 'freedom from' abuses of
>power. The right of privacy is a constitutionally protected right, and its
>erosion or destruction undermines democratic society as it generates, in
>one circumstance after another, a new kind of serfdom. This book is one
>that you're entitled to take very personally."--Ralph Nader, Consumer
>Advocate
>
>"'Database Nation' is illuminating and disturbing, fascinating in its
>explanations of new technologies, but easily accessible to readers who
>might not otherwise have an interest in computers. Mr. Garfinkle's
>accounts of privacy abuses are alarming, not because they are unusually
>horrifying but because they are so familiar."
>--Peter H. Lewis, NY Times, Feb 10, 2000
-- 
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