When Sarah Palin announced that she would be resigning as
Governor of Alaska with 18 months left in her term, she offered no clear explanation
for her decision, and the rumors soon began to fly. One theory among them that Palin
was being investigated by the FBI; however, in an uncharacteristically
forthcoming gesture for the agency, an FBI spokesman quickly denied any
investigation.

This rare display of disclosure highlights the issue of
confidentiality, the focus of Ronald Goldfarb’s In Confidence. In the book, Goldfarb explores the popular
conceptions and expectations of privacy and the legal obligations for
confidentiality and disclosure. Drawing on individual court cases, Goldfarb
discusses privacy between attorney and client, doctor and patient, journalist
and source, and government and people, indicating that even a public figure
like Palin is entitled to a measure of secrecy.