Rating: 
Summary: Extremely well written and entertaining.
Review: A "hacker" book that appeals to the computer fan and the
espionage fan alike. Stoll has a talent for writing not
seen lately. This is the first "computer/internet" book that I've ever heard described as "Exciting" and "A Page-Turner". Highly Recommended, to all.
Rating:
Summary: The best computer book I've met so far!
Review: Okay, so it's not *exactly* a computer book. But it definitely is the nearest thing to a computer book that's both readable and enjoyable. It is, actually, one of the best books I've read -- and I've been doing some heavy reading, believe me. Go for it
Rating: 
Summary: The Case of the Hannover Hacker
Review: This tells of Cliff Stoll's involvement in reconciling a 75 cent bookkeeping discrepancy that led to an intruder who broke into the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in order to break into classified military systems. Cliff writes with a 'stream of consciousness' style that used over 350 pages where maybe 86 pages would be used in a more concise style. [Is using many pages a mark of bureaucratic style?] Cliff describes his lifestyle as a university serf: eating a lot of pizza, bicycling around, living with friends, sewing quilts. His big event of the year is dressing up for a Halloween parade in San Francisco. This book lacks a Table of Contents and an Index (not intended for reference?). I don't expect a sequel.This is worth reading as a slow-paced detective or mystery story. But it is unlike a Hammett or Chandler or other detective authors. One lesson is the care needed when talking over a phone line (the "F" entity). Cliff's comments on an uncaring Federal bureaucracy were echoed in the aftermath of 9/11/2001. The personal activities of Cliff and his friends show them to be dedicated followers of fashion who imagine themselves to be radically original. American telephones are computer controlled so they are easy to trace. Cliff is asked about the "adiabatic lapse rate on Jupiter". This wasn't "by chance", but a test of his bona fides (Chapter 45). Chapter 47 explains how to decrypt Unix passwords from words. Plodding through this book is like running on a dry sandy beach. He could have been more specific. Cliff claims the problem with viruses is they destroy trust (naive?). My advice is: trust no one.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: I have read Shimomura's "TakeDown" and I like Stoll's way of presenting the case a bit "down to earth" than Shimomura.
This book is a fairly easy read and can be finished on a long flight.
I particulary felt the pain he went through when he tried to contact government agencies about computer theft before it was deemed a crime. Red tape is prevalent all over the world.
A must-read if you are interested in hacking, computer networks, phone networks. It reads like a "who-dun-it".
Rating:
Summary: Excellent For the Right Audience
Review: The Cuckoo's Egg is an exciting look at how computer hackers were originally traced before the world of Windows, firewall and antivirus software, and public concern for computer privacy really came of age. Clifford Stoll recounts his work in tracking down a computer hacker that was breaking into the computer systems at the University of California - Berkeley and several other locations. The book delivers t in technical detail, but the social aspects of chasing a computer hacker are where I found the value and where I think you will too.
Clifford Stoll is the typical liberal student-turned-citizen of the Berkeley, California area. Working at the college he originally sets out to work on astronomy (a true passion of his) and ends up finding a glitch in a Unix accounting log and chasing a hacker across the world (from the safety of his desk). Cliff cannot do it alone though; he must meet and become friends with people that he at first refers to as "spooks", the NSA, FBI, and CIA. This comes as much surprise to his girlfriend and housemate, who think Cliff is going insane. Stoll also has to deal with telephone companies and military contractors, convincing big businesses that this computer hacker is causing real damage on supposedly "secure" systems. Stoll details his hunt that lasted almost a year and delivers a great true story that should be required for anyone interested in joining the world of computer security.
I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in the Unix operating system, modern "computer geeks" using Linux or Windows, a former Berkeley student, technology enthusiast, or longs for the "old" days of computing before the World Wide Web came around. It's not the words on the page that really matter, it's what Clifford Stoll makes you think about your computer networks security that gives the book it's true value. If you fall into the recommended categories, definitely read the book.
Rating:
Summary: The Cukoo's Egg
Review: I bought this book because it was refenced in a book I was using for a computer course in college. The idea of the story sparked some interest, so I purchesed it. I read the entire book in a day, and I never read. I could not put it down. The story isn't necesarilly so perfectly written that I could not pull myself from it, rather it was the fact that everything was real. It amazed me that "hackers" were up to the tricks and methods that are still used today. I say "hackers" because really they (or the media) have hijaked the term.
Anyway, I don't want to give out too much about the story, but if you think you would like this story, you will. Especially if you have knowledge of Unix or VAC systems. Ah, nostalgia. And even if you don't know about those systems, it will give you a good idea of where computers have come from.
I give it 5 stars due to its very nature: a true story that has step-by-step documentation to back everything up.
Rating:
Summary: The Case of the Hannover Hacker
Review: This tells of the reconciling of a 75 cent bookkeeping discrepancy that ultimately led to an intruder who broke into the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in order to break into classified military systems. Cliff writes with a 'stream of consciousness' style that would be faster reading with a more concise style. [Is this a bureaucratic style?] The book describes the lifestyle of University serfs: eating a lot of pizza, bicycling around, living with friends, and sewing quilts. The big event of the year seems to be dressing up for a Halloween parade in San Francisco.
This book lacks a Table of Contents and an Index. This is worth reading as a slow-paced real detective story; it is unlike fictional detective stories. One lesson is the care needed when talking over a phone line (the "F" entity). Were his comments on an uncaring Federal bureaucracy echoed in the aftermath reports of 9/11/? The personal activities of Cliff and his friends show them to be 'dedicated followers of fashion' who imagine themselves to be radically original. [Some of this was done decades earlier.] American telephones are computer controlled so they are easy to trace.
Cliff was asked about the "adiabatic lapse rate on Jupiter". This wasn't "by chance", but a test of his bona fides (Chapter 45). Chapter 47 explains how to decrypt Unix passwords from dictionary words. Plodding through this book was tedious to me; he could have been more concise. Cliff claims the problem with viruses is they destroy trust, as he was later questioned about a virus. That was a sort of left-hand compliment, or hidden jealousy IMO. My advice is: trust no one.
Rating:
Summary: WARNING !!!
Review: This book can hook you and don't loose you and make you skip activities, better begin it in the weekend.
I started to read it on Tuesday , now it's friday and I skiped other things just to read it :p
It's well written and it shows you that the lose in not only measured on the informatic side, but lose on the personal life too, this book tell you how.
Waking in the night, losing weekends with your girlfriend and friends...
Rating:
Summary: Wow!!! I Couldn't Put it Down!!!
Review: I recently bought this book in a small English-language bookstore in Casablanca, Morocco, where it was erroneously filed under "fiction." I began reading it, and then realized it was a TRUE story! I literally could not put it down.
Cliff Stoll, an astronomer, writes well for the layman, explaining complicated computer terminology so that we can understand everything he is doing to catch a cyberpunk from Germany (he eventually finds out), who is breaking into his company's private computers.
This chase consumes his life for more than a year. We are led through every part, problem, and frustration of the chase. Meanwhile, we see the ups and downs of Cliff's private life, which I am glad to say, has a happy ending as well.
This is one of the most fascinating true accounts I have ever read, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers, true stories, biographies, science, or computers.
Rating:
Summary: Dated but great
Review: I read this after reading Kevin Mitnicks books.
This is dated, but is a thriller of a book.
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