The Patriot Act, government eavesdropping, the distribution of our most personal information . . . recent security breaches have affected millions of Americans' privacy. But who controls this information about us and what are they doing with it? This question touches almost every aspect of our lives--;from control over our finances and identities to the (assumed) basic rights to keep our thoughts, actions, medical histories, whereabouts, and other personal information to ourselves. While other books in the field focus on the legal aspects of privacy issues, Holtzman presents the technological and social angles. He outlines a seven-part framework into which most privacy violation can be categorized, explains exactly how privacy is being eroded, reveals the dangers associated with the loss of privacy, and takes a realistic look at the tradeoffs between privacy and such vital issues as security, medical safety, and economic growth.
