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Summary: INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!
Review: This true story reads like a spy novel. Where's the movie? Great book even if you're not into technology.
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Summary: This is what hacking is all about
Review: Some of the technical details are out of date in this 1989 account of a lone academic's attempts to capture a cybervandal, yet Cuckoo's Egg does more than most "current" books at depicting the true spirit of hacking. To me, "hacking" means thinking beyond the obvious, using tools to do things they shouldn't be able to do, and even validating your existence by showing your creative uniqueness. By this definition, the self-effacing Cliff Stoll is more of a hacker than his elusive quarry. Before most of us had ever heard of "the Internet," he had the daunting task of trying to awaken the military, the intelligence community, the university system, and law enforcement to the fact that attackers roaming freely through US military and science lab computer files is Bad. His story plays out as high comedy and a lesson in persistence (not to mention, networking). Ignore the appallingly uninformed review by Shiva Kaul, who doesn't understand that this is not a novel, it is real life. Cuckoo's Egg belongs on the short list of all-time hacking classics.
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Summary: A woeful waste of opportunity
Review: The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through a Maze of Computer Espionage. The very title smacks of suspense and excitement, and the story has all the right ingredients for success: An astronomer's detection of a 75-cent accounting flaw takes him on an electronic chase spanning multiple continents and computer networks, in which the secrets of our government are open to compromise by a menacing, calculating hacker! A passionate intellectual duel over an electronic battlefield is what the reader (gleefully) envisions. Unfortunately, all we get is a man bent over a computer terminal at 3:00 in the morning. The story's pace is as belabored as the hacker's dull attempts at breaking computer systems. It takes more than exciting subject matter to write a compelling novel, and unfortunately the story's promise is left unfulfilled.Having heard of its universal acclaim, I picked up Cuckoo's Egg. I didn't expect a masterpiece, only an enjoyable read. Even at this level, Cuckoo's Egg fails to deliver. My initial excitement wore off roughly 70 pages into the book, at which point the plot begins to drag. 'Hacker' is a misnomer for the antagonist invader - basically all he does is sit guessing common passwords and bugs for hours on end. (Stoll informs us that it did not take very much to crack computer systems back then). But a story like this needs a more dynamic antagonist. We never see any sign of life or display of wit coming from the hacker - in fact, Stoll himself questions whether or not the hacker is a real person, or just a persistent computer program. Stoll's solitary struggle against the invader never grows into a passionate, personal quest. Yes, he gets out of bed a couple of times and bikes to the computer center, but he is never in danger and never truly motivated. As a result, finding the hacker means just as much to us as it does to him: absolutely nothing. Stoll tries to break this monotonous cycle by bringing us back to his 'normal' life, which isn't much of an improvement. He's hip because he belongs to the radical Berkeley political front, which we never hear much about; his roommate is interesting because she plays the violin; he is in love with his girlfriend because they make strawberry shakes on Sunday. One expects more from a novel over 400 pages long. The end fails to redeem or give purpose to the story; when the hacker is busted, we're not on the edge of our seats as the cops kick down the door, but instead slumped back thinking "It's been years, it had to happen some time." Perhaps I'm being unfair to Stoll; after all, this is a story based on real life, and he's a college techno-astronomer, not Hemingway. But, after reading this novel, we painfully realize that exciting life experiences do not always translate into enjoyable novels. Of course there are more options for those who seek a breezy novel with cyberpunk flair; Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash isn't nearly as disappointing.
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Summary: Excellent Read.....
Review: I picked the book up after surfing for books on hacking, and learning more about it. I thought it would make an interesting complement to a technical book I also bought. It was great. I read the whole thing in 3 days.....and put it down only when i was forced too!
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Summary: What is a seventy-five cents worth?
Review: Cliff Stoll was an astronomer, but he became the systems manager at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. When he took the position, he discovered a 75-cent accounting error that indicated there was either (1) a bug within the code of the accounting program, or (2) unauthorized users on his system. Science is precise, and therefore Stoll began an investigation that ended up changing the intelligence community. His extensive testing and experiments revealed not only unauthorized access, but also the flaws of computer security. He studied the methods, the data path, and the signals (both false and true) through an electronic maze that eventually led him to "Hunter." Early in his exploration, he discovered a six-second-time delay between transmission and receipt. It took three seconds for the data link from New York to reach Berkeley. What happened to the extra three seconds? Stoll reevaluated his findings, and eventually found the three missing seconds. It was the transmission time from Europe to New York. The Cuckoo's Egg is Stoll's incredible story that eventually led to Hunter, a group of computer hackers and spies who were connected with the KGB and operating out of Germany. They had used our own services to piggyback onto valid signals. They jumped from system to system randomly to meet their goal. They obtained entrance to highly classified government sites. This is the suspenseful, true story of one scientist's ingenious methods that brought down a spy ring. I read this book when it was first released and treasure my copy. Clifford Stoll had included his e-mail address, and graciously responded to my questions. This book is not out-of-date. It opened the door to the world of computer investigations. The story is fascinating, and the writing is excellent. Five stars. Victoria Tarrani
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Summary: Totally Unexpected
Review: Totally Unexpected Ever imagine to catch a thief in the act?
Ever imagine to catch a thief red handed?
Ever imagine that You would that person to not only catch the culprit, but to figure it all out and save...well, everyone? Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. While Cliff Stoll doesn't save the entire world of a dangerous hacker, he does save countless network services and users of potential dangerous and serious problem: hacking. It all starts out with an accounting error of 75 cents. That missing 75 cents leads to an unbelievable doorway to a world of computers and the art of hacking. From covert military basis to overt universities all over the world, Stoll takes us on a ride into a world where a password and a user name through a hole in major, well used computer system can lead you. Where the hacker becomes the hunted and Stoll, the ever so patient scientist, becomes dedicated to find it all out, even with or without the help of the 3 letter agencies. It's hard to believe that it all happened. Stoll is able to artfully tell the story and his perspective in an objective view of the whole situation, you see both sides of the coin. His story telling is clever and smart with just enough humor and sarcasm to make you chuckle. He explains enough for the reader to understand computer language through analogy and examples and you don't get bored. I didn't put the book down until the end of the last page. I don't know if I was just in the mood or what, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book; I wasn't expecting too. It wasn't like reading a regular non-fiction novel. Mind you, it's not for all just on that basis of non-fiction story. The ending is spectacular, it's a real ending. As I said, it was Totally Unexpected, a real find. Give it a chance and it might surprise you. All I ask is just to give it a chance.
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Summary: surprisingly well told story
Review: This is a highly entertaining story that is told in a gripping manner. I found I had to pull myself away from it to do other activities, and completed it in only 3 days. Though the technology is somewhat dated, any self-respecting techie/nerd will find Cuckoo's Egg an amusing read. And possibly informative, too - while operating systems and security exploits may change, the social and geopolitical aspects of hacking do not; if anything the story is even more germane in today's world than it was in the mid 1980s. Stoll wisely places some emphasis on character development, and explains details of computer security, so that non-technical readers can profit from reading it, too.
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Summary: Easy To Read, If Nothing Else
Review: As a computer security case story, it is a pleasantly easy read, and Stoll generally succeeds at making a fairly dry and abstract matter readable to Joe Bloggs (i. e. me). Unfortunately this book is written along the lines of the American school of easy - to - read - yet - voluminous - enough - to - look - good - on - my - bookshelf writing, which means that two thirds are actually made up of inane stories of Clifford's personal life in which he essentially tries to sucker up to his readership -- "check it out, I'm just such a whacky hippy". Unfortunately, though not for lack of trying, he fails to concile his flower - power stance with his eager cooperation with some decidedly unmellow intelligence agencies. Which one is it going to be, Clifford -- snitch or freak? You can't have it both ways.
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Summary: A lively read
Review: Being a friend of some characters I shouldn't be reviewing this. But it's difficult to resist: this is more than a novel, it is an excellent narrative account of a classic hacker hunt over the Internet. As valid today as when it was written, it makes for and entertaining, easy reading and interesting description of this computer-age man hunt over the Net.
It became a cult item for Computer Security folks in its time, and is still as appealing as the first day.
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Summary: One of the few books I read twice
Review: I can relate to Cliff Stoll in this wonderfully written account of his search for "The Hacker". Cliff took on a project, and through a huge amount of disbelief and discouragement he went to extreme lengths of personal resources to find the cause of a 75 cent accounting error!! Its not the end of the story that finds the most satisfaction....its the chase, the lurking, the teasing, the frustration that keeps your interest. Cliff digresses, just enough, from tracking the prey to telling about his personal life for a couple minutes here and there. This book has the story. This book has enough technical details to appease the geeks like me, but they are revealed so clearly that anyone with the slightest interest in computers will also be intrigued....no experience necessary!!!! I will read this one at least once a year. Number two on my all time list. After over 70 reviews, its still a 5 star book!!
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