Heather Brooke

Given the subject matter - surveillance, bureaucracy and freedom of information - I'd expected this to be a worthy but somewhat dry read. I was delighted to be proved wrong. Heather Brooke is an engaging writer, and she's turned what could have been a very dull book into an absolutely gripping page turner.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who's ever tried to get information out of a reluctant government department, wrestled with a council website, or just wondered how much of show more your personal information the state actually holds and what they're doing with it. I would also recommend it to anyone who's never considered any of the above, and wonders why anyone should care.

My only minor criticism is that the book occasionally feels a little reactionary. I understand that the writer wanted to make a statement, to draw attention to how bad the state's use and abuse of information is, but I felt that the text could have used a little balance. For example, Brooke goes into a lot of detail about how difficult it is, as a member of the public to attend a trial at the Old Bailey - and she's right, it is incredibly unwelcoming to visitors - but doesn't mention the improvements made with the new Supreme Court. She mentions it briefly, in terms of how much was spent on the new building, but given how much effort the staff there have put into making visitors welcome and increasing the amount of information available about the hearings going on there, it seemed a little unfair not to mention this. Admittedly, there is still work to be done - Brooke also makes a very good point about the difficulties in getting hold of court bundles - but there is a concerted effort to improve transparency in the courts, starting with the Supreme Court, so I thought it was a bit odd that she didn't even acknowledge this.

Other than that small niggle, I was very impressed by this book. I often struggle to get through non-fiction books (I average about 2-3 weeks to read a non-fiction book, compared to 2-3 days for fiction), but I got through The Silent State in under a week. I'm encouraging all my friends to read it - especially my fellow librarians! show less

Slightly terrifying read when you realise how pervasive the surveillance society now is, but there is some hope that the way Iceland is dealing with freedom of speech can be replicated in the UK.

A short but interesting addition to the growing Wikileaks literature, written by a participant in the negotiations to publish the State Department cables in The Guardian and The New York Times. Worth a read.

The subject matter of this book is certainly interesting. However, it has been let down by the author's choice of writing style. While it is not my preference, I don't mind the occasional non-fiction book written in story format. My problem with this book is that the format is inconsistent, switching between narrative and story and back again without warning. I was too annoyed to finish the book. Perhaps somebody else will like it better.