If you’re intrigued by investigative truth-telling, the invisible threads of surveillance, and the fragility of personal privacy in an always-connected age, then John Crivellone’s books are a must-explore. In this blog post, we’ll dive deep into who John Crivellone is, examine each of his published works (so far), and explore the themes, impact, and reading value of his writing.
Who Is John Crivellone? (aka Jack Crivalle)
Before we dig into his books, it helps to understand the person behind the pen.
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John Crivellone is a seasoned investigator who works as a Senior Investigator at the Cook County Public Defender’s Office in Chicago.
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He also serves as Vice President of Illinois Security Cameras, giving him an insider perspective on surveillance technologies and their public implications.
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For his writing, he often uses the pen name Jack Crivalle.
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His background is quite grounded: he grew up in Chicago’s working-class neighborhoods, balancing labor jobs, night classes, and eventually earning a degree in Business & Marketing from Chicago State University.
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Crivellone’s investigative work has spanned criminal defense, government oversight, and surveillance—making him uniquely suited to explore both narrative memoir and systemic critique in his writing.
His books reflect that dual lens: deeply personal stories grounded in broader institutional systems.
John Crivellone’s Book Catalog
As of now, Crivellone (Jack Crivalle) has published two major books, with a third one announced. Here they are:
| Title | Type / Genre | Approx. Audience | Key Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ink on Your Hands: Sal’s Newspaper Crumbles Under Corporate Takeover | Memoir / Personal narrative + business reflection | Readers of memoirs, local journalism, small business, media critics | A personal account of Crivellone’s family’s involvement in a local newspaper, the pressures of corporate consolidation, and the emotional toll of media collapse. |
| Big Brother’s Watching | Investigative, expository non-fiction | Privacy advocates, tech watchers, general public concerned about surveillance | An exploration of how surveillance—corporate, governmental, and technological—permeates everyday life, tracking everything from devices to infrastructure. |
| The American Bubble (coming soon) | Political / investigative forecast | Readers of political nonfiction, systems critics, civic audiences | Claimed to “pull back the curtain on the grand illusion of American democracy” and examine power, performance, and political theater. |
Let’s look more deeply at each.
1. Ink on Your Hands
What it’s about
Ink on Your Hands is partly a memoir, partly a case study of how corporate power can erode local institutions. Crivellone recounts how a family newspaper—one rooted in community service and local identity—eventually succumbed to external pressures, financial strain, and internal conflicts. It’s personal and raw: he doesn’t shy away from loss, betrayal, or the emotional cost of watching something once vital be dismantled.
Key Themes & Highlights
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Local Journalism vs. Corporate Forces: The struggle to maintain editorial independence, local relevance, and financial sustainability when big money enters the equation.
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Identity & Place: How the newspaper was more than a business—it was a symbol of community and belonging.
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Personal Cost: Crivellone shares internal family tension, emotional burden, and the feeling of helplessness in the face of structural forces.
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Lessons for Entrepreneurs & Journalists: What to guard against, how to stay nimble, and where local media may still hold value.
Why it matters
In an era where local newspapers are disappearing, Ink on Your Hands gives a human face to those losses. It’s not just about business failure—it’s about heritage, community voice, and the fragility of institutions meant to hold power accountable.
2. Big Brother’s Watching
What it’s about
This is a serious, probing investigation into how surveillance is now woven into everyday life. Crivellone doesn’t just look at big government secrets—he traces how our smartphones, city cameras, biometric systems, IoT devices, and corporate tracking all collaborate in a less visible web of observation.
Key Themes & Highlights
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Interconnected Surveillance Systems: How disparate systems—traffic cams, face recognition, phone metadata—are integrated, often behind the scenes.
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Transparency & Accountability: Questions about who monitors the watchers, and how oversight often fails.
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Behavioral Control & Nudges: How data is used not just to watch us, but to influence decisions, shape norms, and guide behavior.
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Resistance & Awareness: Practical steps, conceptual frameworks, and civic action to reclaim some degree of control or at least awareness.
Why it matters
For readers who feel uneasy about their devices but don’t know where to start, Big Brother’s Watching is a readable, evidence-based guide. It connects technocratic systems to everyday life and makes the invisible visible.
3. The American Bubble (Coming Soon)
Though not yet fully published, The American Bubble is billed as Crivellone’s next major offering into political critique and systemic structures. It’s expected to explore:
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The illusions of democracy and public participation
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Hidden power dynamics behind institutions
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The “performance” of politics—how narratives are staged
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Potential reforms or awakenings necessary for real change
Because it’s forthcoming, we don’t yet have detailed chapters or reviews, but the promise aligns well with the trajectory of his prior work: merging personal narrative, institutional critique, and public consciousness.
Common Threads & Signature Strengths
Reading across Crivellone’s books, some recurring patterns and strengths emerge:
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Insider Perspective
Because of Crivellone’s real-world investigative role, he is not writing from abstract distance. He has hands-on experience with surveillance systems, defense mechanisms, and institutional procedures. This gives his claims credibility and specificity. -
Narrative + Analysis
He does not merely present data or expose wrongdoing. He weaves personal stories, emotional truth, and reflection into the factual base. This makes his books accessible to both the lay reader and the technically or policy minded. -
Focus on Lived Impact
Rather than just describing how systems function, he reveals how people are affected—how privacy erodes, trust falters, and institutions that once served communities degrade. -
Call to Awareness & Action
His works are not passive critiques—they often end with implicit or explicit calls for vigilance, reform, and the reclaiming of agency. -
Bridge Between Micro & Macro
Local stories (the family newspaper) link to national or global phenomena (surveillance, corporate power). He uses the small scale as a lens into larger structural dynamics.
Reading Suggestions & Best Order
If you’re new to Crivellone’s work, here’s a recommended path:
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Start with Ink on Your Hands — It’s personal, emotional, and sets the tone for how institutions can falter. It also helps you see his human side before plumbing systems.
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Then read Big Brother’s Watching — Move into his critique of systems, now grounded in his worldview.
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When The American Bubble is released, read it last — It likely builds from the earlier works and offers a broader synthesis.
If you’re more drawn to systems and surveillance, you could skip straight to Big Brother’s Watching, but the impact may be stronger if you’ve walked the personal journey first.
Strengths, Critiques & What to Watch
Strengths
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Credibility: His background gives weight to his claims.
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Clarity: He writes with clarity—not dumbing down, but making complex systems understandable.
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Emotional resonance: The personal narrative helps the reader care, not just intellectually agree.
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Timeliness: Surveillance, tech, privacy—these are urgent issues today.
Potential Critiques or Limitations
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Scope vs Depth: In writing for general readers, some technical depth might be glossed. For specialist audiences (e.g. technologists or privacy law scholars), further reading may still be needed.
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Future Proofing: Surveillance tech evolves quickly—some arguments may age as systems evolve.
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Balance / Pushback: Critics might ask: Does he sometimes overstate centralized control? Are there contexts where surveillance is beneficial or justifiable (e.g. public safety, health)? The balance of critique to nuance is a challenge in this field.
Why John Crivellone’s Work Matters (Especially Now)
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Privacy is no longer optional: With smart devices, ubiquitous sensors, and integrated systems, few places are outside the reach of surveillance. Crivellone helps us see how deep that reach is.
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Local narratives reveal macro truths: By grounding his arguments in lived experience (newspaper loss, community decline), he shows that systems are not distant abstractions—they touch people daily.
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Civic awakening is urgent: Public awareness, legal reform, and civic engagement must catch up to technological pace—or risk being forever reactive.
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A roadmap for resistance: Understanding how surveillance works is a first step toward limiting its harms—through choices in device usage, policy advocacy, or institutional design.
Final Thoughts & Call to Read
John Crivellone (aka Jack Crivalle) may not yet be a household name, but his writing taps into some of the most urgent issues of our time. His books combine heart, grit, insight, and experience—and offer a path for readers who want more than noise or fear: a way to see clearly, to question intelligently, and to act intentionally.
If you’re curious about local media, privacy, surveillance, or the forces reshaping public life behind the scenes, start with Ink on Your Hands, then read Big Brother’s Watching, and circle back when The American Bubble arrives.
Let me know if you’d like chapter-by-chapter summaries, discussions of specific claims he makes, or interviews and quotes from John Crivellone himself. I’d be happy to dig further.
