Gold Star!

Don't be put off by the first page as the rants of a paranoid, technical Luddite. This is a well written examination of American privacy and the laws and regulations attempting to protect it. From the creation of companies like Equifax (in 1899 to help grocery stores in Atlanta track who paid their bills and who didn't) to the 4 four distinct kinds of invasion and the legal safeguards around each (embodied today in regulations like HIPAA), to the digitization of records in the 1960s and the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970, to the effects of 9/11 and beyond.

An excellent read to privacy advocates and the lay-person alike.