Image via WikipediaFound this in a used bookstore, and found it to be interesting on the technical aspects, but comes across as a self-congratulatory (i.e. pat your own back) kind of book.The story is about how Shimomura, one of the best computer security experts of the time, had his personal server hacked by some body. He was able to track down the perp, who turned out to be Kevin Mitnick, the infamous hacker, and in a few months, Mitnick was tracked down and arrested by FBI, with Shimomura's help on the tracker. The book covers both Shimomura's short biography, as well as details of the hack, his deconstruction, the trace through multiple ISPs, the phone network, and finally, to Mitnick himself.
Again, the book sounds like a self-promo book basically describe how great Shimomura is. I have no doubt Shimomura is a brilliant guy, but there's tremendous ego involved... the entire prose comes across as one big ego trip. The technical details were somewhat simplified, and while readable, will likely drive non-techies to tears as they are quite dry. I found them readable, but then I'm a geek (a cranky geek, but still a geek).
You may want to read this books counterpart... The Fugitive Game, the book from Mitnick's perspective.
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