HACKER CULTURE
Douglas Thomas, . . Univ. of Minnesota, $25.95 (266pp) ISBN 978-0-8166-3345-6
Silently navigating the virtual corridors of the global telecom networks, peeking into restricted files and generally causing mischief, hackers are the tricksters of the digital age. But although Hollywood and the publishing industry have long been fascinated by these technosneaks, they've nearly always overestimated hackers' malicious intents and technical abilities, argues Thomas, a professor at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication. He attempts to set things right, steering a middle course between the alarmists, who perceive hackers as suburban terrorists of the new century, and the apologists, who want to see them as brave revolutionaries against a corporate/government assault on personal liberties. With a real affinity for his subject, Thomas uses hacker publications like
Reviewed on: 03/04/2002
Genre: Nonfiction
Paperback - 296 pages - 978-0-8166-3346-3