Headspace: On the Trail of Sniffer Dogs, Wasp Wardens and Other Dumb Friends in the Surveillance Industry

by Amber Marks (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $3.25

  In some of the most advanced research facilities in the world, a crack team of scientists, security experts, dog-handlers and bee keepers are working to build a 'secure world' of bio-intelligence. A chance encounter with a police sniffer-dog draws criminal lawyer Amber Marks into the hidden world of the science of smell and its law-enforcement applications. She soon stumbles into a wonderland of contemporary surveillance, where she observes at first hand how scientists, businesses and the military are trying to harness the dubious capabilities of technology and mother nature. But as she comes into closer contact with the security services she finds herself questioning the true purpose of their information-gathering and asks: who stands to benefit from a surveillance society? Are you ready to discover the smell of fear?Amber Marks, formerly a barrister, is a freelance journalist. She has written for the Guardian and is a regular contributor to the Register . This is her first book. 'The Surveillance Society is here as never before, and in this highly personal and revealing study, Amber Marks has shown herself to be one of its most far-reaching, incisive and witty critics...this is an absolute must-read' - Tony Hanania, author of Unreal City . 'If you like Hunter S Thompson and Jon Ronson, Headspace will blow your mind' - Martin Deeson, Senior Editor of GQ and co-founder of Loaded .

• Used

  Paperback
  2009

  $3.25

  Crime detection has gone to the dogs and squirrels are being busted for espionage. If you've never wondered about the new direction of 'intelligence-led policing' in our society, now is the time to start. It was a chance encounter with a police sniffer-dog that drew criminal lawyer Amber Marks into the hidden world of the science of smell and its law-enforcement applications. Soon she stumbled into a wonderland of contemporary surveillance, where the spying skills of bees, dolphins and a myriad other critters were being harnessed to build a 'secure world' of bio-intelligence.From the businesses, scientists and military departments developing new smell-based surveillance technologies, to good old-fashioned police dogs, Amber discovered a secret world of security forces, where animals and scent are as important as intelligence agents and CCTV. Part polemical exploration of our burgeoning surveillance society, part humorous memoir, this intriguing book will capture your imagination and get you wondering: just who stands to benefit from all this 'security'?