| The Soft Cage: Surveillance in America, from Slavery to the War on Terror Contributor(s): Parenti, Christian (Author) |
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ISBN: 0465054854 ISBN-13: 9780465054855 Publisher: Basic Books OUR PRICE: $21.77 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: November 2004 Annotation: On a typical day, you might make a call on a cell phone, withdraw money at an ATM, visit the mall, and make a purchase with a credit card. Each of these routine transactions leaves a digital trail, logging your movements, schedules, habits and political beliefs for government agencies and businesses to access. As cutting-edge historian and journalist Christian Parenti points out in this urgent and timely book, these everyday intrusions on privacy, while harmless in themselves, are part of a relentless expansion of routine surveillance in American life over the last two centuries. Vivid and chilling, The Soft Cage explores the hidden history of surveillance--from controlling slaves in the old South to implementing early criminal justice, tracking immigrants, and even establishing modern social work. It also explores the role computers play in creating a whole new world of seemingly benign technologies--such as credit cards, website "cookies," electronic toll collection, "data mining." and iris scanners at airports. With fears of personal and national security at an all-time high, this ever-growing infrastructure of high-tech voyeurism is shifting the balance of power between individuals and the state in groundbreaking--and very dangerous--ways. From closed-circuit television cameras to the Department of Homeland Security, The Soft Cage offers a compelling, vitally important history lesson for every American concerned about the expansion of surveillance into our public and private lives. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Intelligence & Espionage - History | Social History - History | United States - General |
| Dewey: 303.330 |
| LCCN: 2003013330 |
| Physical Information: 0.76" H x 5.8" W x 8.9" (0.81 lbs) 273 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: On a typical day, you might make a call on a cell phone, withdraw money at an ATM, visit the mall, and make a purchase with a credit card. Each of these routine transactions leaves a digital trail for government agencies and businesses to access. As cutting-edge historian and journalist Christian Parenti points out, these everyday intrusions on privacy, while harmless in themselves, are part of a relentless (and clandestine) expansion of routine surveillance in American life over the last two centuries-from controlling slaves in the old South to implementing early criminal justice and tracking immigrants. Parenti explores the role computers are playing in creating a whole new world of seemingly benign technologies-such as credit cards, website cookies, and electronic toll collection-that have expanded this trend in the twenty-first century. The Soft Cage offers a compelling, vitally important history lesson for every American concerned about the expansion of surveillance into our public and private lives. |