The Curtain - A Novel
People who seek to profit at the expense of others have never had it so good. Tools exist in today’s digital economy that allow the knowledgeable and motivated to manipulate and even enslave the less sophisticated. Patrick Ord was so concerned about educating others to these dangers that he wrote THE CURTAIN.  Though the content of THE CURTAIN could have been conveyed in a nonfiction format, Ord wanted to reach a broader audience. He thus wrote a story that allows the reader to digest sophisticated and destructive insider business strategies while being engrossed in an entertaining plot. Ord’s formula has proven to be an outstanding success. Readers as diverse as grandmothers to Chief Technology Officers and teenagers to PHDs have all provided rave reviews.  If current day business is not so much concerned with creating products as making consumers, as Ord’s main character Henry Maddox believes, it’s time for you to meet your maker. Patrick Ord owns and operates his own business consulting firm. He and his wife Emily have five children. Visit Patrick’s blog for THE CURTAIN at henrymaddox.com. A SAMPLING OF REVIEWS: "This summer I read this novel in two days sitting on my couch trying to ignore morning sickness. It was pretty gripping. Told like a Dan Brown thriller, The Curtain exposes some of the biggest secrets of the Internet business. Hint: it’s all about getting your information. And there’s a part about how mommy blogging is used to drive women to perfection which ultimately leads them to buy more stuff. You can imagine I was pretty engrossed."       - Courtney Kendrick from cjanekendrick.com "I’m mad that these big-profit businesses can get into our homes.  I’m mad that without permission they can just put things out there that are dangerous and that can hurt people.  I read a book this summer called “The Curtain” that was SOOO interesting… Read it if you want an interesting way to open your eyes to how companies work to gather information and use it to catch people in their snare and make money.  It’s scary business."       - Shawni Pothier from 71toes.com "THE CURTAIN goes so deeply into how your data is used, how much it effects you and everyone else. It’s a lesson to be learned, which is taught, I think, very well.  After you read the last page, you look up, and realize, not only was it a good story, but that it’s happening."       - Nathan (9th Grade)