Baase has written an excellent, comprehensive book that covers many of the social, legal, and ethical issues associated with computing. It is designed as a textbook for either computer science or the social sciences. However, it gives an excellent overview that might interest many computer professionals.

One striking characteristic of the text is the substantial amount of research used to develop it. The acknowledgments section is extensive, and a number of well-known people are cited as sources. It appears that the author developed many of her leads for topics from the Internet, Usenet, and the World Wide Web. In fact, the book gives a URL as a source of additional information, classroom material, and documentation (http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/giftfire).

Baase is able to communicate clearly without requiring the reader to have an extensive technical background. For example, her description of the Therac-25 radiation therapy overdose problem is well written and presents an interesting case study of computer-related risks.

The book contains ten chapters. It starts with an introduction to computing, followed by an introduction to privacy and information. It then discusses wiretapping and encryption. This chapter is followed by a long discussion of the risks associated with computer use. Other chapters discuss software piracy, constitutional issues, and computer crime. The book ends by discussing computers and the workplace and examining professional ethics and responsibilities of computer professionals.

The only problem with a book of this sort is that some of the material on the issues is outdated. This is not the fault of the author but simply a reflection of the rapid changes (and setbacks) that occur in a world that is increasing its reliance upon computers.

Overall, this is an outstanding work. I recommend it highly to any computer scientist, behavioral scientist, or interested citizen.