Book
Review of: |
 There
is something in a name when we talk about products. Most of us reach for
a product with a name that we know and equate with quality. I have come
to believe that if it comes from O’Reilly
Publishing, it will be good. My belief has again been proven to be
solid. Database Nation by Simson Garfinkel is a 312-page non-fiction
book captures the reader’s attention from the very first paragraph and
is as hard to put down as a Stephen King book. As I read the cover synopsis
of this book I thought back to the year that I read 1984 by George
Orwell. It came as a major surprise when the author himself made a similar
comparison.
One of the most interesting chapters in the book is Chapter 3 where Garfinkel gives a short history of the development and use of fingerprint records. Garfinkel explores other areas of identification throughout the book and all of the different ways that human beings can be tracked. Chapter 4 explores the trails –paper and otherwise- that can be used to create a picture of each kind of human being. Chapter 6 on the release of medical information is a way to make each one of us sit up and think again. It seems that there are not any laws protecting our medical records and preventing them from being released. We all assume that our medical information is protected and private, but someone who wants it can obtain it. Direct marketing tactics are explored in Chapter 7 including how the advertisers aim their sales pitches to children. Chapter 9 explores terrorism. A very eye-opening section, Chapter 8 deals with unsolicited direct mail. Garfinkel cites the dollar amount that is paid just to rent mailing lists so as to send out information to entice you away from your money. In this book, Simon Garfinkel discusses the gradual dependency on computers by government and business. The flexibility, compassion and understanding that had always been part of dealing with customers/people suddenly ceased to exist as computers began to have all the answers. The author also shows how the data age enables each of us to be traced through our purchases, our travels, our library habits and, not surprisingly, our computer habits. As technology advances even further, there will be more reason to be wary of data base technology. Simon Garfinkel states that
I enjoyed this book very much. It is easy to read and holds the reader’s attention. Mr. Garfinkel hopes that this book will take its place alongside Silent Spring by Rachel Carson as a wake up call to the American people. Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century.
Rose Lynn Saenger |