10%OFF
Stock image for illustration purposes only - book cover, edition or condition may vary.
We Know All About You: The Story of Surveillance in Britain and America
Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones
€ 33.99
€ 30.53
FREE Delivery in Ireland
Description for We Know All About You: The Story of Surveillance in Britain and America
Hardcover. The story of surveillance in Britain and the United States - from the detective agencies of the late nineteenth century to the era of wikileaks and the Snowden revelations in the twenty-first. The first history of its kind - and a salutary assessment of the dangers of the surveillance society in which we live today. Num Pages: 304 pages, 8 black and white illustrations. BIC Classification: 3JJ; HBLW; HBLX; JPS; JPSH; JPV; JPVH2. Dimension: 204 x 140 x 31. Weight in Grams: 378.
We Know All About You shows how bulk spying came of age in the nineteenth century, and supplies the first overarching narrative and interpretation of what has happened since, covering the agencies, programs, personalities, technology, leaks, criticisms and reform. Concentrating on America and Britain, it delves into the roles of credit agencies, private detectives, and phone-hacking journalists as well as government agencies like the NSA and GCHQ, and highlights malpractices such as the blacklist and illegal electronic interceptions. It demonstrates that several presidents - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon - conducted political surveillance, and how British agencies have been under a constant cloud of suspicion for similar reasons. We Know All About You continues with an account of the 1970s leaks that revealed how the FBI and CIA kept tabs on anti-Vietnam War protestors, and assesses the reform impulse that began in America and spread to Britain. The end of the Cold War further undermined confidence in the need for surveillance, but it returned with a vengeance after 9/11. The book shows how reformers challenged that new expansionism, assesses the political effectiveness of the Snowden revelations, and offers an appraisal of legislative initiatives on both sides of the Atlantic. Micro-stories and character sketches of individuals ranging from Pinkerton detective James McParlan to recent whisteblowers illuminate the book. We Know All About You confirms that governments have a record of abusing surveillance powers once granted, but emphasizes that problems arising from private sector surveillance have been particularly neglected.
Product Details
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Format
Hardback
Publication date
2017
Condition
New
Number of Pages
304
Place of Publication
Oxford, United Kingdom
ISBN
9780198749660
SKU
V9780198749660
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 15 to 20 working days
Ref
99-23
About Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones
Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones is Emeritus Professor of American History at the University of Edinburgh and has held postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard, the Free University of Berlin, and Toronto. The founder of the Scottish Association for the Study of America, of which is he the current honorary president, he has also published widely on intelligence history, including The CIA and American Democracy (1989), The FBI: A History (2007), and In Spies We Trust: The Story of Western Intelligence , the last of these also published by Oxford University Press (2013). He was the winner of the 2014 Neustadt Prize for the best UK book on American politics with The American Left: Its Impact on Politics and Society (2013).
Reviews for We Know All About You: The Story of Surveillance in Britain and America
No challenge is greater in the democratic nations than preserving privacy and civil liberties in this rush toward greater security at all costs. Over the years, Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones has proven his ability to grapple with this struggle between the forces of privacy, on the one hand, and security, on the other hand. With this new book, he offers an exceptionally insightful examination of how Britain and America have tried to cope with the threat of modern terrorism, as they have stumbled from a devotion to security, then to privacy, and back to security again, seeking the elusive Golden Mean between these two values that would protect democratic principles while defeating the ruthless enemies of liberty. The challenge continues and in this readable volume Jeffreys-Jones helps clarify the pathways ahead with his usual wisdom and reliable analysis.
Loch K. Johnson, author of National Security Intelligence
We live in an age George Orwell predicted, yet we hardly understand it. Thankfully, Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones does. With style and wit, intelligence and humanity, he analyses the role of state surveillance but also reveals the more pervasive crisis of private snooping. A book of insight and importance, We Know All About You is the definitive history of surveillance in Britain and America.
Andrew Preston, Cambridge University
... important and timely ... In an age obsessed with security, the author has made a compelling case that more political attention and regulatory redress to our largely unthinking embrace of the digital age is urgently needed.
David Stafford, University of Edinburgh Journal
Fascinating.
Times Higher Education Supplement
Rigorous and highly readable.
Ian Cobain, The Guardian
A brilliant and well-researched book. Entertaining and engaging, it tells the story of surveillance...in a compelling way. Highly recommended.
Catherine Balavage, Frost Magazine
Thought-provoking... We Know challenges us to re-assess our notions and attitudes towards mass surveillance.
Lorraine Chimbga, Society for Computers and Law
A fascinating, if not a troubling, read.
Arthur Chappell, Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation
Comprehensive... unique.
Jennifer Daskal, Foreign Affairs
In this outstanding, brief overview of the history of surveillance and debates surrounding it in the UK and US, University of Edinburgh academic Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones challenges head-on Orwells representation of the secret state in his celebrated dystopian novel... overall, the author has presented a convincing critique of Orwellian statism.
Richard Lance Keeble (Lincoln and Liverpool Hope University), George Orwell Studies Vol. 2, No.1 2017
Loch K. Johnson, author of National Security Intelligence
We live in an age George Orwell predicted, yet we hardly understand it. Thankfully, Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones does. With style and wit, intelligence and humanity, he analyses the role of state surveillance but also reveals the more pervasive crisis of private snooping. A book of insight and importance, We Know All About You is the definitive history of surveillance in Britain and America.
Andrew Preston, Cambridge University
... important and timely ... In an age obsessed with security, the author has made a compelling case that more political attention and regulatory redress to our largely unthinking embrace of the digital age is urgently needed.
David Stafford, University of Edinburgh Journal
Fascinating.
Times Higher Education Supplement
Rigorous and highly readable.
Ian Cobain, The Guardian
A brilliant and well-researched book. Entertaining and engaging, it tells the story of surveillance...in a compelling way. Highly recommended.
Catherine Balavage, Frost Magazine
Thought-provoking... We Know challenges us to re-assess our notions and attitudes towards mass surveillance.
Lorraine Chimbga, Society for Computers and Law
A fascinating, if not a troubling, read.
Arthur Chappell, Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation
Comprehensive... unique.
Jennifer Daskal, Foreign Affairs
In this outstanding, brief overview of the history of surveillance and debates surrounding it in the UK and US, University of Edinburgh academic Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones challenges head-on Orwells representation of the secret state in his celebrated dystopian novel... overall, the author has presented a convincing critique of Orwellian statism.
Richard Lance Keeble (Lincoln and Liverpool Hope University), George Orwell Studies Vol. 2, No.1 2017