FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Info:
Frederick
Lane
Burlington, VT
802-318-4604
fslane3@gmail.com
www.FrederickLane.com
AMERICAN PRIVACY SELECTED
AS NOVEMBER BOOK OF THE MONTH BY AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS FOUNDATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION
The American Booksellers Foundation for Free
Expression has selected American Privacy: The
400-Year-History of Our Most Contested Right as its Book of the Month for
November. American Privacy, which will be officially released by Beacon Press
on November 23, 2009, is the fifth book of Frederick S. Lane,
an author, attorney, expert witness, and lecturer based in Burlington, Vermont.
A Q&A between the ABFFE
and Lane will soon be published on the Foundation’s Web
site.
American Privacy will be launched at a panel discussion and book
signing to be held at the Old State House on Wednesday,
November 4, at 6:30p.m. The event, entitled “A Knock at the Door: Three
Centuries of Governmental Search and Seizure,” is being hosted by The Bostonian Society, is free of charge and open to the public.
In addition to introducing his book, Lane will moderate
the discussion on the relationship between general writs of assistance and
current domestic surveillance programs. Joining him will be Prof. John Bell, a
specialist in Revolutionary history; Prof. John McEtterik, a law professor at
Suffolk University, who is an expert on the general writs of assistance issued
by the British crown; and Kurt Opsahl, Senior Staff Attorney with the Electronic
Freedom Foundation, and one of the key players in the litigation regarding the
secret domestic wiretapping program by the National Security Agency. Additional
information is available on the Boston Historical Society’s Calendar of
Events.
American Privacy has received early praise from a wide range of
scholars and privacy activists:
“Frederick Lane offers a thoughtful and insightful biography of the right to privacy in American law from the Puritans to the War on Terror. In an illuminating account of the evolution of the right, Lane shows how various threads of the right have emerged over time in our ever more complex society. This is a fascinating read for any American who wants a deeper understanding of one of the most important and contentious issues of our age.”
— Geoffrey R. Stone, author of Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime: From the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism
“American Privacy is a deeply-informed discussion of the history and present state of a fundamental American value. Frederick Lane’s detailed account of the attacks against our basic right to privacy is chilling.”
— Craig Newmark, founder, craigslist
“Is there anything more fundamental to human freedom than the right to privacy, to be able to live your life as you wish without the scrutiny or the interference of bullying authority? Frederick Lane’s book confronts us with this largely invisible threat, magnified by modern technology, and challenges us to defend our most basic rights.”
— Howard Zinn, Historian, Author, and Playwright (HowardZinn.org)
“Written with grace and probing insight, Frederick Lane’s book is a tour de force guide that illuminates our country’s intense relationship with the concept of privacy. Covering the colonial period to today’s digitally driven online society, American Privacy explains how much Americans-and citizens around the world-have at stake if we allow governments and market forces to erode our privacy rights.”
— Jeffrey Chester, author of Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy
“Frederick Lane’s American Privacy is a highly readable history of the right to privacy in America. It brings to life the people, debates, and events that have shaped our current protections of privacy.”
— Daniel J. Solove, author of Understanding Privacy
“Frederick Lane’s timely and lucid history lays bare how attacks on privacy by government and industry threaten democracy itself. Essential reading.”
— Christopher Finan, author of From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America
