{"product_id":"the-soft-cage-9780465054855","title":"The Soft Cage","description":"On a typical day, you might make a call on a cell phone, withdraw money at an ATM, visit the mall, and make a purchase with a credit card. Each of these routine transactions leaves a digital trail for government agencies and businesses to access. As cutting-edge historian and journalist Christian Parenti points out, these everyday intrusions on privacy, while harmless in themselves, are part of a relentless (and clandestine) expansion of routine surveillance in American life over the last two centuries-from controlling slaves in the old South to implementing early criminal justice and tracking immigrants. Parenti explores the role computers are playing in creating a whole new world of seemingly benign technologies-such as credit cards, website \"cookies,\" and electronic toll collection-that have expanded this trend in the twenty-first century. \u003ci\u003eThe Soft Cage\u003c\/i\u003e offers a compelling, vitally important history lesson for every American concerned about the expansion of surveillance into our public and private lives.","brand":"Basic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51106850341169,"sku":"9780465054855","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0787\/2420\/2801\/files\/O_19e7db83-b854-4093-85df-8abe7a7def54.jpg?v=1755563462","url":"https:\/\/pageaday.com\/products\/the-soft-cage-9780465054855","provider":"Page-A-Day","version":"1.0","type":"link"}