They're out there... and could be after you!"
Great little book unless you are "unstable," then it could push you over the edge. Stalkers, Corporate Bullies, Gangs, Professional Criminals, the IRS and a Host of Government 'Intelligence' Agencies... are groups mentioned.
Interestingly the "how to fight back" are far from the "Get Even" and "Screw You" series by another author.
Best chapter (and point of the book) is "Awareness is the First Line of Defense" unless of course you are already freaked out, then skip this chapter AND the book.
There's also a useful Internet Resource listing in the book.
A great and useful read. Recommended.
Whistleblower's Applaud
I am a whistleblower in a state Supreme Court Case and must say that this book is all it purports to be. I used the text to help resolve many of the problems I was having dealing with a certain government agency for which I worked. The methods of self protection outlined can be of use to any whistleblower involved in a serious situation. Mr. Sweeney, I applaud you for this timely work.
good
My dad read this book back in 1984 and though it was
good because it was honest about what was going on back then.
One of the Most Useful Books I Ever Bought
When I was targeted by the Clinton Administration, I experienced several years of round the clock physical surveillance and harrassment and all manner of risks for which my experience on Wall Street and in Washington had not prepared me. This included friends and family who helped me during this extraordinary period also being targeted.Thank goodness for H. Michael Sweeney and his book, The Professional Paranoid. To this day, I believe that this book helped save my life. This was a period when websites kept death lists of people who had been targeted and died. I sure did not want to end up on one of those lists.
Sweeney has lived through the real thing, bested it and his lessons learned can work for you, whether you are dealing with being targeted by the government, by private organized crime, or just a pesky landlord or neighbor. It's well written too.
Unfortunately, the time has come in American when many of us have to protect ourselves, our family and our neighbors without much help from law enforcement. In the face of covert operations by intelligence agencies or the wishes of drug cartels, local police hands are often tied. Local police can be as scared of the powers that be as we are, or as mystified by the latest "tools of the trade" such as non-lethal weapons.
H. Michael Sweeney can teach us how to "hold the line" despite what is happening and do it with a marvelous sense of humour. I recommend it highly.
Split Decision
H. Michael Sweeney made a lot of psychological observations and recommendations that are invaluable for people trapped in a war with electronic eavesdroppers and other stalkers. I would recommend the book on that basis to anyone with an interest in the subject. The book is a treasury of practical suggestions that I very much enjoyed.At the same time I would advise anyone to disregard his technical opinions and read more technologically competant authors like M. L. Shannon for defense startegies based on using or avoiding electronics.
Mr. Sweeney said, for instance, to only use an analog cell phone, never digital. He should know that analog is open to everyone with a scanner. DES and CDMA are essentially unbreakable. Why would he tell people--with no explanation--that a mode that isn't even encrypted is the only type safe enough to use? I was so horrified at a mistake of this magnitude that I could barely read past this point.
If he has a defense I would be interested in hearing it. No competant technical author I have read agrees with this...
(7 reviews)
