The End of Privacy: The Attack on Personal Rights at Home, at Work, On-Line, and in Court [Hardcover]

Charles J. Sykes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0312203500 | ISBN-13: 978-0312203504 | Edition: 1st

As Justice Louis Brandeis suggested more than a century ago, privacy—the right to be left alone—is the most valued, if not the most celebrated, right enjoyed by Americans. But in the face of computer, video, and audio technology, aggressive and sophisticated marketing databases, state and federal “wars” against crime and terrorism, new laws governing personal behavior, and an increasingly intrusive media, all of us find our personal space and freedom under attack.

In The End of Privacy, Charles Sykes traces the roots of privacy in our nation’s founding and Constitution, and reveals its inexorable erosion in our time. From our homes and offices to the presidency, Sykes defines what we have lost, citing example after example of citizens who have had their conversations monitored, movements surveilled, medical and financial records accessed, sexual preferences revealed, homes invaded, possessions confiscated, and even lives threatened—all in the name of some alleged higher social or governmental good. Sykes concludes by suggesting steps by which we might begin to recover the territory we’ve lost: our fundamental right to our own lives.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sykes (A Nation of Victims) provides a timely analysis of the challenges to privacy posed by technological change, media aggressiveness, governmental and business intrusion and even our own propensity to share information about ourselves. In today's "surveillance society," Congress has refused to regulate clandestine workplace videotaping or the dissemination of personal information in the private market. To illustrate how pervasive the threat to privacy is, Sykes observes that pressures from criminal courts and from HMOs have eroded the formerly sacrosanct confidentiality of psychotherapy. Sykes finds that privacy is far more respected in Europe, where stringent regulations limit intrusions. While "the legal remedies for private sector invasions of privacy are virtually nonexistent," Sykes suggests that such law might develop. As he looks at both governmental and private-sector encroachments on individual privacy, Sykes comes to the conclusion that, rather than wait for government to rein itself in or regulate the private sector, individuals should be more vigilant about their privacy. They should not only refuse to release personal data but also try to keep "private lives private." Sykes concludes his informative tour of the shrinking realm of privacy by warning readers that a recommitment to privacy requires us to "rethink the reach of the therapeutic state." (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The pervasiveness of computer technology in our daily lives has brought about a moderate degree of "big-brother-is-watching-you" paranoia. Here, journalist Sykes (A Nation of Victims) gives us all good reason to be paranoid. Using examples from everyday activitiesAshopping on the Internet, sending e-mail, using cell phones, passing by security cameras, securing medical records, and conducting ATM transactionsASykes sets the scene for an eye-opening discourse on the "surveillance society" and the "exposure culture." He laments the revelation of too much personal information about public figures and devotes entire chapters to the media frenzy that followed both Princess Diana's death and the Clinton sex scandal. Along the way, he explores important concerns about the loss of individual privacy in the workplace, in healthcare, and in electronic commerce. He is equally fearful of the government's assault on privacy. Useful for public libraries.AThomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (October 21, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312203500
• ISBN-13: 978-0312203504
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,166,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles J. Sykes is senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute and a talk show host at WTMJ radio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has written forThe New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today and is the author of six previous books: A Nation of Victims, Dumbing Down Our Kids, Profscam, The Hollow Men, The End of Privacy, and 50 Rules Kids Won't Learn in School.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another hit!, March 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The End of Privacy: The Attack on Personal Rights at Home, at Work, On-Line, and in Court (Hardcover)

I discovered Sykes when I read "Nation of Victims" several years ago. Interestingly, another book by a different author with the same name "The End of Privacy" was released about the same time as Sykes' "End of Privacy" by Reg Whitaker.

Sykes is more in line with my own concerns regarding privacy as well as the even more compelling issue which is the threat to freedom posed by intrusive tracking technologies.

The ultimate horror will occur when this technology, matures and riding on a universal netted infrastructure eventually replaces paper currencies, which are still nominally anonymous, with a digital system which is not.

That will bring the real end of privacy and freedom. Because it will eliminate most criminal activity for profit and a host of other problems as well it will almost certainly be accepted by the majority of Americans as progress.

The very best portrayal-in fact the only portrayal of this kind of system is in "Transfer-the end of the beginning" by Jerry Furland. I recommend all Sykes fans, especially those interested in near future outcomes and consequences, to get a copy of "Transfer".

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You're being monitored for your own safety., August 12, 2000

By 

B. Freeman (poughkeepsie NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The End of Privacy: The Attack on Personal Rights at Home, at Work, On-Line, and in Court (Hardcover)

At some point in each of our lives, we think that others have too much information about us. We've heard about movies like "Enemy of the State" and "The Net" and we've watched "60 Minutes" report on surviellence networks like "Echelon." We also know that cellular phones are not always the safest medium to impart confidential information. For those of you who are concerned about privacy issues, this book is for you.

Sykes does a good job examining all of the potential ways that people go about "exposing" themselves to the outside world. His message is that technology has a dark underbelly, and when used by the "wrong people" (perhaps government or big business) it can have a mjor impact on one's life.

If words like "encryption," "data-mining," or "big brother" (not the cbs show) are a regular part of your weekly vocabulary - then you'll probably want a copy of this book. It is also recommended reading for private investigators and some lawyers - or those having to deal with them. I was disappointed that there wasn't more info on some survellience systems and also the debate about the way the government sifts through mail servers really got heated just after the book came out.

For what it's worth, I liked this book better than the other with the same title. I'm giving it three stars, although I'd give it three and a half - if halves were allowed! At times it can be a little dry, especially after such a good beginning story hooks the reader in. Stick it out and you'll have a greater awareness of how technology can be used.

14 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An alarmist position, February 10, 2000

By 

john r rice - See all my reviews

This review is from: The End of Privacy: The Attack on Personal Rights at Home, at Work, On-Line, and in Court (Hardcover)

This book presents a very alarmist view about the implications of technology for privacy. I found it to be one sided, for example, bad things that technology might develop are presented but good things that counter them are not presented. It will appeal to those who are looking for pessimism about technology but those who are looking for the pros and cons of technology developments will be disappointed.