Eavesdropping: An Intimate History

by John L. Locke

Who among us hasn't eavesdropped on a stranger's conversation in a theater or restaurant? Indeed, scientists have found that even animals eavesdrop on the calls and cries of others. In Eavesdropping , John L. Locke provides the first serious look at this virtually universal phenomenon. Locke's entertaining and disturbing account explores everything from sixteenth-century voyeurism to Hitchcock's "Rear Window"; from chimpanzee behavior to Parisian café society; from private eyes to Facebook and Twitter. He uncovers the biological drive behind the behavior and highlights its consequences across history and cultures. Eavesdropping can be a good thing--an attempt to understand what goes on in the lives of others so as to know better how to live one's own. Even birds who listen in on the calls of distant animals tend to survive longer. But Locke also concedes that eavesdropping has a bad name. It can encompass cheating to get unfair advantage, espionage to uncover secrets, and
secretly monitoring emails to maintain power over employees. In the age of CCTV, phone tapping, and computer hacking, this is eye-opening reading.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Social Science

266 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[Raja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some great insights into the sources of our desire(s) for privacy, mixed with more information than I cared to know about sixteenth century France and England, and some completely incorrect observations. I appreciate any scholar's willingness to embrace the utter terribleness of most human behaviors.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ideas seem a little romantic - complex social things boiled down and packaged a little too neatly around a couple of ideas - but its an interesting read! And there's a new slant on inner/outer lives, privacy and trust that I hadn't thought about before.

Its short and good and there's pictures of keyholes opening each chapter.

[Octavian · Rating 5 out of 5]

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