This manuscript by Steven Shepard (a Vermont writer with deep expertise in international telecommunications) marks the first technology text to explore radio frequency identification from both the consumer's and supplier's perspectives. Basically, RFID is the foundation of the wireless communications industry and it stands at the forefront of a market that is expected to boom in the next decade. Shepard's text covers the topic in broad terms and he escorts the reader through the subject with amazing deftness - giving us an over-view of the business side of RFID and then segueing into its pertinent technical aspects: explaining each of the components of radio frequency identification and then noting how these labyrinths interlock to create a multi-layered system. Throughout the course of his treatise, Shepard is careful to thoughtfully address security issues that could develop as a result of using high-grade radio frequency systems - especially important at a time when threats of terrorism dominate. Mr. Shepard should be commended for his work here: the writing is crisp and clear, bringing the ability to dissect an ultra-complex topic and speak to it in practical terms. For the majority of the populous, the way their electronic gadgets work is secondary to the fact that they actually work. However, RFID is written in a way that illuminates how advances in technology have revolutionized our lives and will continue to instigate change as we move deeper into the 21st century. Since the industry is predicted to generate over 10 billion in earnings over the next decade, the information contained here is vital to beginning to understand the changing aspects of our world. Interesting not only for the wealth of technical information presented, but also for the social issues that are revealed as a result of the way we now communicate. Recommended to all college-level libraries as a general reference text. Also should be considered by technical science instructors whose courses over-lap with this subject matter. A burgeoning area of study that is addressed in concrete and thorough terms. Electric Review 20041004 I hate to say this, because it sounds so hokey in a book review, but this is one book I couldn't put down. Well obviously I could put it down, and I did. But I didn't until after I had read the first 54 pages, Part I of the book. Part I of this book talks about some applications of RFID that is stretching the limits of the technology as it exists today. He gives a series of examples of how RFID might be used in the future, along with a history of machine identification in the past. Perhaps my interest comes from the years I worked in that area. But that was some time ago, and RFID was just beginning. Now I see the applications he describes and immediately I think of several others. This kind of overview of where we are trying to go is rare in a technical book, and greatly appreciated. Part II of the book is a description of the current state of the art in RFID. Here is a detailed description of who makes what that you can use to implement what was thought about in Part I. He finally concludes with a short what-if story about a suspect container on a ship headed to an American port. This is straight out of not the headlines, but the comments made by John Kerry during the debates. This is a technology that is coming, that is needed. Books-On-Line 20041001
