how to be a private citizen

None of Your Damn Business: Privacy in the United States from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age by Lawrence Cappello

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: non-fiction, law

Review: Cappello gives us an in-depth look at various types of privacy and the debate surrounding it in the US.  He's particularly skilled at showing the links between the different kinds of privacy (from organization privacy through to decisional privacy) and the importance of viewing privacy as a full spectrum, rather than trying to isolate one kind of privacy from another.  He also notes that giving up certain aspects of privacy over the years in the name of national security seemed like a good idea at the time, but points out that once given up, those rights are awfully hard to get back.

Although the writing is dense, it is far from dry, as the author's wit and sense of humor peek through often.  This book is excellent for anyone interested in the history of the debate over privacy.