Category Archives: Reviews
Recommended Books from 2011 Readings
In what follows, I offer a list of the ‘best’ books that I read through 2011. Some are thought-provoking, others were important in how I understood various facets of the policy process, and still others offer interesting tidbits of information that have until now been hidden in shadow. For each book I’ll identify it’s main aim and a few points about what made the book compelling enough to get onto my list. Texts are not arranged in any particular ranking order, and all should be available through your preferred online book seller. Continue reading
Review: Islands of Privacy
Ultimately, Nippert-Eng has provided a real contribution to the literature by making available years of empirical research and reaffirming conclusions that the literature has come to by way of theorization. In this way, Islands of Privacy offers strong empirical support for existing theoretical work, better grounding scholarly work and offering novel ways of articulating issues and problems that scholars have grappled with for decades. If you are invested in the sociological analysis of privacy and surveillance, or are looking for strong empirical grounding for some abstract theorizations of either, then this is a good book to add to your library. Continue reading
Review of The Googlization of Everything
Ultimately, while Vaidhyanathan offers insight into Google itself – its processes, products, and implications of using the companies systems – he is less successful in digging deeply into the nature of technology and Google at a theoretical level. This leaves the reader with an empirical understanding of the topic matter without significant analytic resources to unpack the theoretical significance of their newfound empirical understandings. Continue reading
Review of The Offensive Internet: Speech, Privacy, and Reputation
In this review I want to cover the particularly notable elements of the book and identify a few spaces where contributions could have been strengthened. Specifically, I’ll note elements from various essays that were of importance and conclude by discussing the concerns surrounding removing Section 230 of the Children’s Decency Act and broader theme of the relative novelty/non-unique nature of anything Internet. Continue reading
