Database Nation
Simson Garfinkel
O'Reilly and Associates
2000
Database Nation is an examination of the nature of privacy
in a heavily networked, databased era. In it, Garfinkel
spells out what he views as the most critical threat to free
society in the world today.
Garfinkel is ambitious. He sets forth to pen a modern day
Silent Spring; something to help spur the exploited and threatened
masses to take action against the silent dangers of the corporate nation
state before it irreparably harms the world around us.
Well written and thought-provoking, this book will provide ample
fodder for any person worried about the flow of personal data around
the world. Garfinkel provides excruciating detail of how people's personal
information is traded without their knowledge or consent; he extrapolates
current trends to a scary future; and he concludes with specific policy
suggestions to try to mitigate the harm that he sees coming.