THE NAKED SOCIETY

The Naked Society, just like The Privacy Invaders which will come out two weeks later, is concerned with all the peeping tomfoolery which is going on today and the various ways in which we are exposed and thereby victimized. There is no question, in making a choice between the two books, that Vance Packard has not only otten there first but with the most. His coverage is broader based; he manages ust the right note of indignation in the interests of informing in an area which as had limited spadework elsewhere (i.e. Martin Gross- The Brain Watchers, one phase). And while Packard has never been much more than a lick and a promise sociologist, he does take a few potshots at what makes all this possible (closeness of Giving; affluence; etc.). The book is primarily a rundown on the degrading procedures to which the job candidate is submitted; once hired, the surveillance techniques used by many companies (it would seem pilferage is as prevalent as the common cold). If you're in the government, or a teacher, or a student, or just a stay-at-home, you are being watched in many ways; you may be persecuted as well as probed and the victim of arbitrary arrests, household harassment, search and seizure procedures. Packard analyzes your forfeited freedom which the Bill of Rights does protect...Where Packard wins hands down on the competition is in the use of the fascinating detail: how to conceal a mike and transmitter in a pack of igarettes ; how a private investigator can buy almost anything, your pigeon's arrest record for $10.00 while a mental hospital record will set him back $500.00.