College and Research Libraries 210 College & Research Libraries should find its place in the burgeoning number of college courses in technology and society. Although of interest to the general reader, the book is designed so that it can be used as a teaching text. It is divided into eight chapters and touches on such subjects as computer crimes, software theft, viruses, hacking, invasion of privacy, and artificial intelli- gence. Each of the eight main chapters contains a section entitled "Suggestions for Further Discussion." These sections are based on material covered in the chapter and set up scenarios for the classroom or provide the basis for fur- ther reflection. The subtitle describes precisely the au- thorial strategy: to bring together in one place a list of facts, anecdotes, study re- sults, and surveys that pertain to a gen- eral theme, such as computer crimes, and to let these then define the landscape for discussion. There is no attempt here to grapple with ethical issues in a struc- tured, logical fashion. The object is rather to show both the range of social issues within a problem set and inherent difficulties in structuring clear, unam- biguous positions. The value of this ap- proach is that it places the computer back into a social structure and makes potent arguments from the sheer mass of assembled evidence. The danger of such a strategy is that it can lack coherence or that the examples chosen may be care- fully filtered to reflect the political agen- das of the authors. Within this general framework, the authors also do an excellent job of pre- senting the problem set and technical language of computers to a nontechnical audience. For example, the chapter "Hacking and Viruses" provides an ex- cellent differentiation among viruses, Trojan horses, logic bombs, and other arcane examples of programming with a malicious intent. The general discussion of software engineering techniques in- cluded in the section on unreliable com- puters should make it possible for the general reader to get a glimpse of some of the problems and difficulties of pro- ducing reliable software and hardware (although Tracy Kidder's Soul of the New March 1991 Machine remains the definitive, if some- what romanticized, statement on this subject). Similarly, the brief but cogent discussion of the major positions in the current debates on intellectual property, copyright, and patents in the chapter on software theft is noteworthy. If an agenda is at work here, then it is decidedly democratic, antitechnocratic (not antitechnical), antimilitaristic, and highly skeptical of highfalutin claims, particularly when these are offered as social solutions or make extravagant de- .mands on the public purse. The more egregious claims and some of the episte- mological underpinnings of the artificial intelligence (AI) crowd come under par- ticularly sharp attack, as does former President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), to which the authors devote a separate appendix. While one can certainly disagree with individual points of the authors' political agenda, these are fundamentally social and polit- ical issues for which computers provide tools for answers, but computers are not the answers in themselves. This work is largely successful in heightening that awareness and should prove of value to those interested in pursuing the social aspects of computing in greater depth.- James Coleman, Research Libraries Group, Inc. Mountain View, California. Harris, William V. Ancient Literacy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Pr., 1989. 383p. alk. paper, $35 (ISBN 0- 674-03380-9). LC 89-7588. From lead curse-tablets in archaic Greece to graffiti on the walls of imperial Pompeii, from monumental inscriptions to bills of sale, medical treatises, and epic poems, the Greeks and Romans left abundant evidence that writing, once in- troduced, was quickly adapted to a range of purposes. Assumptions about the level of literacy in this part of the ancient world-the title does not dis- close that its subject is restricted to Greco-Roman antiquity-have varied, but have often been optimistic. In this well-documented and thorough study, William V. Harris surveys the evidence for the nature and extent of literacy in the Greek and Roman world and concludes that overall it rarely exceeded 10 percent of the entire population, though among the elite it was often much higher. Such an assertion, Harris acknowledges, will be "highly unpalatable to some classical scholars," those who have maintained that at their pinnacle Greek and Roman civilization depended heavily on the written word and achieved, if not uni- versal, at least very high levels of literacy. The author uses the results of recent studies of literacy in early-modern and contemporary societies to define the conditions under which majority liter- acy can emerge. Among these are urban- ization, educational opportunity, an economic system which encourages the use of writing, even the availability of inexpensive writing materials. A chron- ological review of Greek and Roman so- ciety occupies much of the book. In it, Book Reviews 211 Harris seeks to show that many of these preconditions were never fulfilled suffi- ciently for anything like mass literacy to flourish. The author's broad familiarity with the primary evidence, including lit- erary texts, papyri, inscriptions, and other archeological sources, is apparent in his discussions of the functions of writing during each period, the avail- ability of schooling, and the probable levels of literacy among different social groups and in different geographical areas. . Harris pays special attention to the reduced access to literacy among women during most periods and to the limited educational opportunities for the rural and urban poor and for slaves. He ar- gues that ancient society rarely achieved much more than what he terms "craftsman's literacy," a state in which much of the elite and a large number of "Some librarians decide to consolidate their business with one serials vendor because they appreciate the benefits of dealing with a single representative. We're consolidating as many titles as we can through Faxon for an even more simple reason. I've never asked Faxon for anything I haven't gotten." &:on -DINA GIAMBI, HEAD OF ACQUISITIONS AND SERIALS, KENT STATE UNNERSITY Helping you manage your world of information. To learn more about the Faxon Company, the international subscription agency with a commitment to quality service, calli (800) 766-0039 . 212 College & Research Libraries skilled craftsmen are literate, while women, the unskilled, and peasants are, for the most part, illiterate. While Harris has certainly taken the relevant evidence into account, many of his arguments by necessity are based on the silence of the sources-the absence of contrary evi- dence-and his interpretation of some of the remaining evidence will certainly be questioned. He concludes each section of the study with an attempt to estimate the literate portion of the total population and of various subgroups. Although this attempt is admirable, it appears rather futile in light of the paucity and incon- clusiveness of the sources. Among the evidence which Harris considers in seeking to define the levels of ancient literacy is the extent of the book trade and the existence of libraries and collections of written texts. For those interested in the history of libraries and publishing, or the dissemination of texts, his discussion of the uses and functions March 1991 of the written word as they changed from archaic Greece to late antiquity pro- vides a useful context. Harris' applica- tion of recent studies of contemporary and early-modern societies to the prob- lems of ancient literacy is interesting. He underscores the importance of some basic prerequisites, such as educational opportunity and a widely held convic- tion of the value of universal literacy, necessary for the high levels .of literacy associated with developed countries in the contemporary world. Accessible, well-written, clearly or- ganized, with a useful index and exten- sive bibliography, Ancient Literacy will likely stand as a basic introduction to its su~ject matter for some years to come. The fact that some of Harris' conclusions will engender controversy in no way di- minishes his achievement in gathering, analyzing, and synthesizing such a vast array of evidence.-Edward Shreeves, University of Iowa, Iowa City.