This is a detailed account of the development of wide area surveillance tools and technology, at first in the context of IED campaigns against US troops in the Middle East, but now increasingly as a tool of domestic surveillance as well.
The "eye in the sky" devices that have been developed use incredibly high-resolution wide area cameras mounted on planes or drones, with the ability to take multiple images per second of entire cities, and then can use the images and high-powered computers to be able to track people and activities forward and backward in time.
The book does a good job of laying out the development history, and then evaluating both the pros and cons of having a "God's Eye" view available to the government agencies that now possess this technology.
Its uses in war and law enforcement were the first and most obvious (and controversial) applications, with attendant civil liberty fears, but Michel also discusses positive potential uses for disaster management, environmental protection and various kinds of scientific research. Recommended.
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