During the 1990s Americans received thirty-four pounds of junk mail a year. Direct mailing was a big business; Americans spent almost $244 million in response to junk mail, with $48 million spent on catalogue merchandise alone. Driving the boom in junk mail was an increasingly, sophisticated network of information gathering, which allowed solicitors to "target" customers more effectively. Sales of mailing lists constituted a small cottage industry within the industry, as solicitors, eager to garner names for their products or causes, would buy lists with names and addresses, as well as information such as sex, marital status, and, in some cases, preferences, likes, and dislikes, in order to project the buying potential for each possible customer. Still, the presence of watchdog groups and individuals stopped some companies from selling, renting, or trading their mailing lists. In 1996 alone, more than three million persons took advantage of the...