An expert tutorial on a complex and important problem.
Ledas provides a comprehensive overview of the problem of identity theft and offers possible solutions to it in this nonfiction work.
The author observes that the contemporary scourge of identity theft is largely the result of the ubiquity of “transacting remotely,” or routinely conducting business from afar. The internet, per Ledas, has been “famously designed to preserve anonymity,” and this protection is equally extended to criminals who operate in the shadows. Additionally, the author asserts, most consumers “[choose] convenience over security,” leaving them at a terrible disadvantage to fraudsters, who enjoy a considerable “structural advantage”: Those responsible for protecting the identity of users simply don’t control the entire process of authentication. Thus, “self-sovereign identity,” a user’s ability to control their identity securely across multiple platforms, frustratingly remains an elusive “holy grail of digital identity.” In this marvelously thorough but concise primer on the issue, Ledas provides a full breakdown of the subject (including its historical development) as well as an overview of the more promising solutions. According to the author, who has a wealth of professional experience in digital communications (this rigorous and insightful resource comes from an industry insider), the technology does exist to keep identity thieves at bay. The real issue is a human one—Ledas writes that an “alignment on identity verification methods and business models” must emerge before any real progress takes hold. The author asserts that he intended to compose this volume in “plain language [for] a reader new to the subject,” and that goal has been entirely accomplished. The book’s thoroughness is remarkable given its brevity and will be helpful to anyone looking to comprehend the subject or take steps to secure their identities. In these pages, Ledas convincingly articulates a vision, even a hopeful one, of the future of identity protection.
An expert tutorial on a complex and important problem.Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781038333322
Page Count: 180
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.
A warts-and-all portrait of the famed techno-entrepreneur—and the warts are nearly beyond counting.
To call Elon Musk (b. 1971) “mercurial” is to undervalue the term; to call him a genius is incorrect. Instead, Musk has a gift for leveraging the genius of others in order to make things work. When they don’t, writes eminent biographer Isaacson, it’s because the notoriously headstrong Musk is so sure of himself that he charges ahead against the advice of others: “He does not like to share power.” In this sharp-edged biography, the author likens Musk to an earlier biographical subject, Steve Jobs. Given Musk’s recent political turn, born of the me-first libertarianism of the very rich, however, Henry Ford also comes to mind. What emerges clearly is that Musk, who may or may not have Asperger’s syndrome (“Empathy did not come naturally”), has nurtured several obsessions for years, apart from a passion for the letter X as both a brand and personal name. He firmly believes that “all requirements should be treated as recommendations”; that it is his destiny to make humankind a multi-planetary civilization through innovations in space travel; that government is generally an impediment and that “the thought police are gaining power”; and that “a maniacal sense of urgency” should guide his businesses. That need for speed has led to undeniable successes in beating schedules and competitors, but it has also wrought disaster: One of the most telling anecdotes in the book concerns Musk’s “demon mode” order to relocate thousands of Twitter servers from Sacramento to Portland at breakneck speed, which trashed big parts of the system for months. To judge by Isaacson’s account, that may have been by design, for Musk’s idea of creative destruction seems to mean mostly chaos.
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9781982181284
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy.
Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. “Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them,” she writes. “Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love.” Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche’s perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). “You’re not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop,” she writes. “Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone.” Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche’s business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived.
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781627783316
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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