What do you think?
Rate this book
Watching Earth From Space: How Surveillance Helps Us - And Harms Us
Our planet is constantly monitored by hundreds of space-borne instruments. This book describes the technology of those instruments and the sciences that provide useful information from them. It also discusses the political implications of space-borne monitoring. From the moment satellites were launched into orbit their ability to see what was happening on a global scale was appreciated -- and feared. This well researched book strives to answer such diverse questions as: Are satellites really a threat to individual privacy? How bad, really, is climate change and global warming? Why can't we find Osama bin Laden? Does the world have enough fresh water? The military side of the story is linked to the big security issues that we face, such as terrorism and civil wars. The civilian side of the story involves numerous successful collaborations in weather forecasting, navigation, communications, and other such "peaceful" uses of satellite surveillance. How the world handles the knowledge gained from these Earth watchers will be critical in the years to come, and Norris skillfully leads us through the issues and possible paths we can take.
304 pages, Paperback
First published November 16, 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 6, 2011
I'm not sure that I knew what to expect from this book when I got it. The title almost seems to have a conspiracy theory quality to it, and I would not have been surprised if much of the book had been dedicated to uncovering top secret government surveillance projects. Instead, it read much like a textbook. I found a lot of the basic conceptual information very interesting, such as how different types of satellites work and what they can be used for, but it also contained a huge amount of information that was of no interest to me. Each chapter included information about cost differences between different generations of the same satellite, bureaucratic squabbles that slowed down production, and treaty agreements between allied countries to share information. While this information is probably very useful to people who work in communications or with satellite systems, it was a little too in depth for the casual reader.
Interestingly enough, the parts of the book that I enjoyed the most were the parts that did not talk about satellites. The book addresses a number of situations in which satellites are employed such as monitoring global warming, commercial imaging, and radio signal detection. It was often the peripheral information about these subjects that was most interesting to me rather than the actual data about satellite performance. The chapter about global warming, for instance, gave me a good idea of the difficulties and inherent complexities involved in monitoring global climate change. The book might have been worth reading just for that information alone.
As mentioned above, the book was not a bad read, but I would have given it a much higher rating if I had been interested in very specific information about the satellites themselves.
Interestingly enough, the parts of the book that I enjoyed the most were the parts that did not talk about satellites. The book addresses a number of situations in which satellites are employed such as monitoring global warming, commercial imaging, and radio signal detection. It was often the peripheral information about these subjects that was most interesting to me rather than the actual data about satellite performance. The chapter about global warming, for instance, gave me a good idea of the difficulties and inherent complexities involved in monitoring global climate change. The book might have been worth reading just for that information alone.
As mentioned above, the book was not a bad read, but I would have given it a much higher rating if I had been interested in very specific information about the satellites themselves.
Want to Read
March 21, 2011I just found out I won this book on Goodreads First read program! I am so excited!!
This book was very interesting and very descriptive and detailed. It is not a book that you can read from cover to cover, but I did learn some very amazing facts about the surveillance from outer space. I found out some very great facts such as:
* Some satellites are strong enough to see you through a window in your home.
* Some people think that cameras meant for saftey reasons, such as catching someone who is speeding, on a road or highway, is an invasion on privacy. They think that the cameras spying on them.( My opinon is that if they arent doing anything against the law, they have nothing to worry about.)
* Usually satellites are used to spy on enemy countries during war, help to keep the people in the government safe, an example would be someone trying to break into the White House, cameras would see them and alert the president.
I would like to thank the author Pat Norris and the co- authors for creating such a factual and descriptive book about what really happens above us. I learned alot about the survalliance of cameras and satellites about us and really, like the cover says, how they help us and harm us.
This book was very interesting and very descriptive and detailed. It is not a book that you can read from cover to cover, but I did learn some very amazing facts about the surveillance from outer space. I found out some very great facts such as:
* Some satellites are strong enough to see you through a window in your home.
* Some people think that cameras meant for saftey reasons, such as catching someone who is speeding, on a road or highway, is an invasion on privacy. They think that the cameras spying on them.( My opinon is that if they arent doing anything against the law, they have nothing to worry about.)
* Usually satellites are used to spy on enemy countries during war, help to keep the people in the government safe, an example would be someone trying to break into the White House, cameras would see them and alert the president.
I would like to thank the author Pat Norris and the co- authors for creating such a factual and descriptive book about what really happens above us. I learned alot about the survalliance of cameras and satellites about us and really, like the cover says, how they help us and harm us.
March 21, 2011
I thought this book would be more about the pros and cons and geeky details of surveillance. Instead, it is mostly filled with technical details about digital photography and satellite construction and deployment. There are also a lot of details about public policy regarding surveillance and land use. This is a great reference book, but not such a fantastic armchair read.
Fair Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Goodreads first reads program.
Fair Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Goodreads first reads program.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews