Ben Franklin's Web Site: Privacy and Curiosity from Plymouth Rock to the Internet (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Since this continent was settled from Europe, Americans have quested for personal privacy, first in our physical space and later in the use of our..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, New England, Nineteenth Century (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A delightful read for everyone in business, government, the legal professions, and academia who wants historical insights." -- Columbia University Privacy Expert Alan F. Westin

"A delightful read for everyone in business, government, the legal professions, and academia who wants historical insights." --Columbia University Privacy Expert Alan F. Westin

"A historical and anecdotal style that should appeal to readers of all kinds, from the casually curious to the legally sophisticated." -- The Federal Lawyer, August 2000 (Attorney Jeremiah S. Gutman)

"A superb account." -- Stanford Law Review

"A superb overview. The organization of the material is both novel and exceptionally helpful, both as a solid read on its merits, as well as a handy reference tool. The book is scholarly and intellectual enough to serve as an academic reference, but clear and simple enough in its presentation to reach a wider audience." --2007 "Writer's Digest" International Self-Published Book Awards competition

"An all-fact fiesta. A must-read. To enhance your beach-reading experience, Smith does a fabulous job of explaining... -- Seattle Weekly

"His numerous books are required reading for anyone concerned about the ongoing threats." -- Simson Garfinkel, in Database Nation, published by O'Reilly, 2000

"Interesting and illuminating." -- Computer Security Report, June 2004, Columnist Rebecca Herold

"Robert Ellis Smith's expose of privacy invasion will be one of the sleeper best-selling books..." -- William Safire, columnist, The New York Times, December 30, 1999

"Still the best and most readable all-purpose introduction to privacy history, policy and law" -- DM News, July 5, 2004, Columnist Robert Gellman

"The most practical of [the new privacy books], with its mix of readable history and sensible advice on what to do about your own privacy." -- Wall Street Journal (Robert Templer) Oct. 30, 2000

"an engaging and exhaustive historical survey" -- Reason magazine, October 2000

"A delightful read for everyone in business, government, the legal professions, and academia who wants historical insights." /><br />"A superb account." -- Stanford Law Review<br /><br />"A superb overview. The organization of the material is both novel and exceptionally helpful, both as a solid read on its merits, as well as a handy reference tool. The book is scholarly and intellectual enough to serve as an academic reference, but clear and simple enough in its presentation to reach a wider audience." --2007 "Writer's Digest" International Self-Published Book Awards competition<br /><br />"An all-fact fiesta. A must-read. To enhance your beach-reading experience, Smith does a fabulous job of explaining... -- Seattle Weekly<br /><br />"His numerous books are required reading for anyone concerned about the ongoing threats." -- Simson Garfinkel, in Database Nation, published by O'Reilly, 2000<br /><br />"Interesting and illuminating." -- Computer Security Report, June 2004, Columnist Rebecca Herold<br /><br />"Robert Ellis Smith's expose of privacy invasion will be one of the sleeper best-selling books..." -- William Safire, columnist, The New York Times, December 30, 1999<br /><br />"Still the best and most readable all-purpose introduction to privacy history, policy and law" -- DM News, July 5, 2004, Columnist Robert Gellman<br /><br />"The most practical of [the new privacy books], with its mix of readable history and sensible advice on what to do about your own privacy." -- Wall Street Journal (Robert Templer) Oct. 30, 2000<br /><br />"an engaging and exhaustive historical survey" -- Reason magazine, October 2000<br /><br />"A historical and anecdotal style that should appeal to readers of all kinds, from the casually curious to the legally sophisticated." -- The Federal Lawyer, August 2000 (Attorney Jeremiah S. Gutman)<br /><br />"A superb account." -- Stanford Law Review<br /><br />"A superb overview. The organization of the material is both novel and exceptionally helpful, both as a solid read on its merits, as well as a handy reference tool. The book is scholarly and intellectual enough to serve as an academic reference, but clear and simple enough in its presentation to reach a wider audience." --2007 "Writer's Digest" International Self-Published Book Awards competition<br /><br />"An all-fact fiesta. A must-read. To enhance your beach-reading experience, Smith does a fabulous job of explaining. -- Seattle Weekly<br /><br />"His numerous books are required reading for anyone concerned about the ongoing threats." -- Simson Garfinkel, in Database Nation, published by O'Reilly, 2000<br /><br />"Interesting and illuminating." -- Computer Security Report, June 2004, Columnist Rebecca Herold<br /><br />"Privacy Journal publisher Robert Ellis Smith tracks this history [of new inventions and privacy] in a fascinating and fact-filled journey." Wall Street Journal, June 2007

"The most practical of [the new privacy books], with its mix of readable history and sensible advice on what to do about your own privacy." --Wall Street Journal (Robert Templer)

Product Description

This new book explores the hidden niches of American history to discover the tug between Americans' yearning for privacy and their insatiable curiosity. The book describes Puritan monitoring in Colonial New England, then shows how the attitudes of the founders placed the concept of privacy in the Constitution. This panoramic view continues with the coming of tabloid journalism in the Nineteenth Century, and the reaction to it in the form of a new right - the right to privacy. The book includes histories of wiretapping, of credit reporting, of sexual practices, of Social Security numbers and ID cards, of modern principles of privacy protection, and of the coming of the Internet and the new challenges to personal privacy it brings.

"Robert Ellis Smith's expose of privacy invasion will be one of the sleeper best-selling books..." wrote columnist William Safire in The New York Times, December 1999. "His numerous books are required reading for anyone concerned about the ongoing threats," said Simson Garfinkel in Database Nation, 2000.

Here's a chapter-by-chapter description: "Watchfulness" describes church monitoring in the Colonial period. "Serenity" shows the craving for solitude by our founders, which shaped the rights they enshrined in the Constitution. "Mistrust" recounts early battles over confidentiality in the Post Office, the Census, and Western Union. "Space" describes the quest for privacy in living arrangements (including the first moves to suburbia after the Civil War) and the lack of privacy on Southern plantations. "Curiosity" traces the epic development of sensational journalism in the Nineteenth Century. "Brandeis" chronicles how Louis Brandeis reacted to gossip journalism and other new technology by "inventing" a legal right to privacy. "Wiretaps" is the story of electronic surveillance from the invention of the telephone to the 1970s.

"Sex" traces changing attitudes towards sexual privacy over two centuries, and provides a chronicle of a Clintonesque sex scandal that changed attitudes forever after the 1880s. "Torts" describes court battles that eventually provided great latitude for gossip journalism. "The Constitution" is a remarkable new look at the very narrow decisions of the Supreme Court that shaped the very narrow Constitutional protections for privacy in the Twenty-first Century.

"Numbers" tells for the first time where Social Security numbers came from and how they are used now, and describes subtle political efforts to create a universal identity document in the U.S. "Databanks" provides histories of credit reporting, database marketing, and government record keeping from the 1950s to the present. "Cyberspace" is a look back at the overnight development of the World Wide Web and its impact on personal privacy.

Lastly, the epilogue entitled "Ben Franklin's Web Site" offers specific tips for protecting your privacy. It is modern guidance that Ben Franklin himself would have provided on his Web site.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 407 pages
• Publisher: Privacy Journal (April 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930072146
• ISBN-13: 978-0930072148
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #854,442 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ben Franklin's Web Site, June 8, 2000

By	Harry Hammitt (Lynchburg, VA) - See all my reviews

With more than 25 years of experience writing on privacy issues in his newsletter, Privacy Journal, Smith has written a clear, readable history of privacy in America that weaves the various threads of and threats to privacy together in a well-documented fashion. From Americans' insatiable curiosity to the tabloid press, from mistrust of the census to the endless collection of personal information we face today, Smith examines it all thoroughly and cogently. Certainly the best book on privacy I have read. Highly recommended both for those who know something about the area already and those who would like to know more.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Messrs. Smith and Franklin: Bringing Privacy Back Home, June 7, 2000

By	Wayne Madsen (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Robert Ellis Smith brings the privacy debate back home and to an understandable level in "Ben Franklin's Web Site : Privacy and Curiosity from Plymouth Rock to the Internet." Many privacy books dwell on obscure legal cases that bore the reader to a near state of torpidity. Not so with Mr. Smith's common sense descriptions and explanations of privacy issues throughout the American experience. Aside from giving the reader the ability to understand the importance of privacy in a number of critical facets, this book is just plain fun to read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book on Privacy, March 27, 2004

By	Chris Hoofnagle "billgateseatsass" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Robert Ellis Smith's _Ben Franklin's Web Site_ is the best book written on privacy (I've read a lot of them). Smith thoughtfully explores the nuances of Americans' conception of privacy in this book. I use Ben Franklin's Web Site frequently in my work, and think it's just wonderful that it's now in a 2nd printing.