The Truth About Biometrics is a highly unusual book which combines an academic treatise with a political history and moves on to algorithm design and new concepts such as the integration of biometrics and digital certificates. It is a comprehensive work based upon more than three decades of direct experience across the entire world. The author has a unique experience in this context and is probably the only living person who could write this book. It represents a watershed in the world of technology and also the state use of technology. Furthermore, it provides an ethical overview and explains in some detail how technology may be used in a socially sympathetic manner, rather than simply imposed upon the masses. There is no other published work which dares to walk this path. The Truth About Biometrics is just that - the truth.