Database nation : the death of privacy in the 21st century /

Database Nation, the most comprehensive of the many books on privacy to appear in recent years, surveys the ways in which technology has invaded and, in some cases, usurped the privacy of contemporary Americans. Garfinkel, an acknowledged expert in the field and author of eight other books and a weekly column for the Boston Globe on this and related topics, provides a wealth of detailed information about the myriad ways the government and big business are acquiring personal information without citizens' awareness of how they are being scrutinized. Each chapter addresses a separate issue, all of which have been the subject of other books, but Garfinkel brings them all together in a well-written, well-informed, and readily accessible book. Among the topics treated are surveillance cameras, linked databases, encryption, medical records and research, wiretapping, and privacy protection. Although the author's style is journalistic, his knowledge of the field is impeccable, and he provides both footnotes and an abbreviated bibliography. See also Harry Henderson's Privacy in the Information Age (Jul'00). Garfinkel's volume is highly recommended for public and academic collections, lower-division undergraduate through research.

If you have a computer with Intel's "processor serial number," own a pet with an embedded "radio frequency identification device," use ATMs and credit cards, and shop on the Internet, privacy is almost a nonexistent concept, because your every move is being tracked and stored somewhere for future use. Garfinkel, who has reported on computer privacy issues for Wired and other publications, is an exceptional writer who clearly understands his topic; here he explores today's threats to privacy and how they might be stopped. This is for all libraries. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.