Andrew
On the one hand, this was an interesting story from the Wild West days of computer networking, before the concept of cybersecurity existed. As someone who spent my whole career in IT I enjoyed reading about the case where methods still in use today like packet capturing, audit trails, and honeypots were essentially invented on the fly. It was also enlightening to read about the philosophical standpoint of the network admins that were explicitly opposed to basic security practices because they believed in free and open collaboration and data sharing. What a happier, simpler time...
On the other hand, the book is too long by half and the middle section is so...damn...repetitive. Stoll pads the book with page after page of "On Sunday, I detected the hacker trying to break into military systems. I called the FBI but they said they couldn't get involved. Little did I know this case would last another 6 months...on Monday, the hacker was up to his old tricks. I called the NSA, but, as they had told me every day for the last 6 weeks, technically no crime had been committed. How much longer could this go on? The answer turned out to be 5 months, 3 weeks, and 6 days...on Wednesday, I was shocked to discover that..." and I can't express how much I am not exaggerating.
There are some merits to the book but at this point, 40 years after the fact, it's only of interest to aging computer nerds like myself who want to reminicise about olden times. There's no mass appeal here anymore.
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My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.
On the one hand, this was an interesting story from the Wild West days of computer networking, before the concept of cybersecurity existed. As someone who spent my whole career in IT I enjoyed reading about the case where methods still in use today like packet capturing, audit trails, and honeypots were essentially invented on the fly. It was also enlightening to read about the philosophical standpoint of the network admins that were explicitly opposed to basic security practices because they believed in free and open collaboration and data sharing. What a happier, simpler time...
On the other hand, the book is too long by half and the middle section is so...damn...repetitive. Stoll pads the book with page after page of "On Sunday, I detected the hacker trying to break into military systems. I called the FBI but they said they couldn't get involved. Little did I know this case would last another 6 months...on Monday, the hacker was up to his old tricks. I called the NSA, but, as they had told me every day for the last 6 weeks, technically no crime had been committed. How much longer could this go on? The answer turned out to be 5 months, 3 weeks, and 6 days...on Wednesday, I was shocked to discover that..." and I can't express how much I am not exaggerating.
There are some merits to the book but at this point, 40 years after the fact, it's only of interest to aging computer nerds like myself who want to reminicise about olden times. There's no mass appeal here anymore.
_____
My Rating Scale
5 stars - An all-time classic, a book that fundamentally changed or enriched my life. Would recommend to any and all readers.
4 stars - An excellent book that stands out in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or subject matter.
3 stars - A perfectly serviceable book that may be entertaining or informative but does not push the envelope or linger long in the memory. Would recommend to pre-existing fans of the genre or author.
2 stars - A book that falls short in one or more areas of writing style, characterization, making a point, etc. Would only recommend with reservations or would not recommend at all.
1 star - A book that has nothing to say, or says it so poorly it isn't worth reading. Would not recommend and would actively warn away from.