-
Exploding the Phone
- The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws Who Hacked Ma Bell
- Narrated by: Johann North
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

pick 2 free titles with trial.
Buy for $26.05
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers - those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers.
-
-
Remember Why You Got Into Computing
- By Dan Collins on 07-01-16
By: Steven Levy
-
Ghost in the Wires
- My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker
- By: Kevin Mitnick, William L. Simon
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kevin Mitnick was the most elusive computer break-in artist in history. He accessed computers and networks at the world’s biggest companies—and however fast the authorities were, Mitnick was faster, sprinting through phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks. He spent years skipping through cyberspace, always three steps ahead and labeled unstoppable.
-
-
For a smart guy, Mitnick was an idiot
- By Joshua on 09-17-14
By: Kevin Mitnick, and others
-
Where Wizards Stay Up Late
- The Origins of the Internet
- By: Katie Hafner, Matthew Lyon
- Narrated by: Mark Douglas Nelson
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty-five years ago, it didn't exist. Today, 20 million people worldwide are surfing the Net. Where Wizards Stay Up Late is the exciting story of the pioneers responsible for creating the most talked about, most influential, and most far-reaching communications breakthrough since the invention of the telephone. In the 1960s, when computers where regarded as mere giant calculators, J.C.R. Licklider at MIT saw them as the ultimate communications devices.
-
-
Absolutely fascinating and we'll researched
- By Elsa Braun on 10-01-16
By: Katie Hafner, and others
-
CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised
- By: Katie Hafner, John Markoff
- Narrated by: CB Droege
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using the exploits of three international hackers, Cyberpunk provides a fascinating tour of a bizarre subculture populated by outlaws who penetrate even the most sensitive computer networks and wreak havoc on the information they find - everything from bank accounts to military secrets. In a book filled with as much adventure as any Ludlum novel, the authors show what motivates these young hackers to access systems, how they learn to break in, and how little can be done to stop them.
-
-
same old stories
- By FRANK on 10-12-15
By: Katie Hafner, and others
-
The Cuckoo's Egg
- Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
- By: Cliff Stoll
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive US citizen recognized its ominous potential. Armed with clear evidence of computer espionage, he began a highly personal quest to expose a hidden network of spies that threatened national security. But would the authorities back him up? Cliff Stoll's dramatic firsthand account is "a computer-age detective story, instantly fascinating [and] astonishingly gripping" - Smithsonian.
-
-
A story that stands the test of time
- By Todd on 08-11-20
By: Cliff Stoll
-
The Dream Machine
- By: M. Mitchell Waldrop
- Narrated by: Jamie Renell
- Length: 27 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Behind every great revolution is a vision, and behind perhaps the greatest revolution of our time, personal computing, is the vision of J.C.R. Licklider. In a simultaneously compelling personal narrative and comprehensive historical exposition, Waldrop tells the story of the man who not only instigated the work that led to the internet, but also shifted our understanding of what computers were and could be.
-
-
Biographies, not technical
- By D. Garber on 01-16-20
-
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers - those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers.
-
-
Remember Why You Got Into Computing
- By Dan Collins on 07-01-16
By: Steven Levy
-
Ghost in the Wires
- My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker
- By: Kevin Mitnick, William L. Simon
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kevin Mitnick was the most elusive computer break-in artist in history. He accessed computers and networks at the world’s biggest companies—and however fast the authorities were, Mitnick was faster, sprinting through phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks. He spent years skipping through cyberspace, always three steps ahead and labeled unstoppable.
-
-
For a smart guy, Mitnick was an idiot
- By Joshua on 09-17-14
By: Kevin Mitnick, and others
-
Where Wizards Stay Up Late
- The Origins of the Internet
- By: Katie Hafner, Matthew Lyon
- Narrated by: Mark Douglas Nelson
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty-five years ago, it didn't exist. Today, 20 million people worldwide are surfing the Net. Where Wizards Stay Up Late is the exciting story of the pioneers responsible for creating the most talked about, most influential, and most far-reaching communications breakthrough since the invention of the telephone. In the 1960s, when computers where regarded as mere giant calculators, J.C.R. Licklider at MIT saw them as the ultimate communications devices.
-
-
Absolutely fascinating and we'll researched
- By Elsa Braun on 10-01-16
By: Katie Hafner, and others
-
CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised
- By: Katie Hafner, John Markoff
- Narrated by: CB Droege
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using the exploits of three international hackers, Cyberpunk provides a fascinating tour of a bizarre subculture populated by outlaws who penetrate even the most sensitive computer networks and wreak havoc on the information they find - everything from bank accounts to military secrets. In a book filled with as much adventure as any Ludlum novel, the authors show what motivates these young hackers to access systems, how they learn to break in, and how little can be done to stop them.
-
-
same old stories
- By FRANK on 10-12-15
By: Katie Hafner, and others
-
The Cuckoo's Egg
- Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
- By: Cliff Stoll
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive US citizen recognized its ominous potential. Armed with clear evidence of computer espionage, he began a highly personal quest to expose a hidden network of spies that threatened national security. But would the authorities back him up? Cliff Stoll's dramatic firsthand account is "a computer-age detective story, instantly fascinating [and] astonishingly gripping" - Smithsonian.
-
-
A story that stands the test of time
- By Todd on 08-11-20
By: Cliff Stoll
-
The Dream Machine
- By: M. Mitchell Waldrop
- Narrated by: Jamie Renell
- Length: 27 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Behind every great revolution is a vision, and behind perhaps the greatest revolution of our time, personal computing, is the vision of J.C.R. Licklider. In a simultaneously compelling personal narrative and comprehensive historical exposition, Waldrop tells the story of the man who not only instigated the work that led to the internet, but also shifted our understanding of what computers were and could be.
-
-
Biographies, not technical
- By D. Garber on 01-16-20
-
Kingpin
- How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground
- By: Kevin Poulsen
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The word spread through the hacking underground like some unstoppable new virus: Someone - some brilliant, audacious crook - had just staged a hostile takeover of an online criminal network that siphoned billions of dollars from the U.S. economy. The FBI rushed to launch an ambitious undercover operation aimed at tracking down this new kingpin. Other agencies around the world deployed dozens of moles and double agents.
-
-
This should be a movie
- By Hijenks on 05-19-15
By: Kevin Poulsen
-
We Are Anonymous
- Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency
- By: Parmy Olson
- Narrated by: Abby Craden
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In late 2010, thousands of hacktivists joined a mass digital assault by Anonymous on the websites of VISA, MasterCard, and PayPal to protest their treatment of WikiLeaks. Splinter groups then infiltrated the networks of totalitarian governments in Libya and Tunisia, and an elite team of six people calling themselves LulzSec attacked the FBI, CIA, and Sony. They were flippant and taunting, grabbed headlines, and amassed more than a quarter of a million Twitter followers.
-
-
Interesting book, AWFUL narration
- By Jen on 11-11-14
By: Parmy Olson
-
Cult of the Dead Cow
- How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World
- By: Joseph Menn
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cult of the Dead Cow is the tale of the oldest, most respected, and most famous American hacking group of all time. Though until now it has remained mostly anonymous, its members invented the concept of hacktivism. Today, the group and its followers are battling electoral misinformation, making personal data safer, and battling to keep technology a force for good instead of for surveillance and oppression. Cult of the Dead Cow shows how governments, corporations, and criminals came to hold immense power over individuals and how we can fight back against them.
-
-
Liberal Bias Rife and Unchecked
- By Sam Kopp on 12-18-19
By: Joseph Menn
-
Sandworm
- A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers
- By: Andy Greenberg
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Wired senior writer Andy Greenberg comes the true story of the most devastating cyberattack in history and the desperate hunt to identify and track the elite Russian agents behind it. In 2014, the world witnessed the start of a mysterious series of cyberattacks. Targeting American utility companies, NATO, and electric grids in Eastern Europe, the strikes grew ever more brazen.
-
-
Thru the eyes of the Sandworm's hunters and prey
- By ndru1 on 11-12-19
By: Andy Greenberg
-
The Art of Invisibility
- The World's Most Famous Hacker Teaches You How to Be Safe in the Age of Big Brother and Big Data
- By: Kevin Mitnick
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like it or not, your every move is being watched and analyzed. Consumers' identities are being stolen, and a person's every step is being tracked and stored. What once might have been dismissed as paranoia is now a hard truth, and privacy is a luxury few can afford or understand. In this explosive yet practical book, Kevin Mitnick illustrates what is happening without your knowledge - and he teaches you "the art of invisibility".
-
-
Limited value for the average person
- By James C on 10-14-17
By: Kevin Mitnick
-
The Source
- A Novel
- By: James A. Michener
- Narrated by: Larry McKeever
- Length: 54 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the grand storytelling style that is his signature, James Michener sweeps us back through time to the very beginnings of the Jewish faith, thousands of years ago. Through the predecessors of four modern men and women, we experience the entire colorful history of the Jews, including the life of the early Hebrews and their persecutions, the impact of Christianity, the Crusades, and the Spanish Inquisition, all the way to the founding of present-day Israel and the Middle East conflict.
-
-
Unlistenable
- By GGS Engineering on 09-11-15
-
The Innovators
- How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, The Innovators is Walter Isaacson’s revealing story of the people who created the computer and the Internet. It is destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution and an indispensable guide to how innovation really happens. What were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into disruptive realities? What led to their creative leaps? Why did some succeed and others fail?
-
-
A History of the Ancient Geeks
- By Mark on 10-21-14
By: Walter Isaacson
-
The Idea Factory
- Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
- By: Jon Gertner
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Idea Factory, New York Times Magazine writer Jon Gertner reveals how Bell Labs served as an incubator for scientific innovation from the 1920s through the1980s. In its heyday, Bell Labs boasted nearly 15,000 employees, 1200 of whom held PhDs and 13 of whom won Nobel Prizes. Thriving in a work environment that embraced new ideas, Bell Labs scientists introduced concepts that still propel many of today’s most exciting technologies.
-
-
Great story -- horrible pauses
- By Rodney on 01-29-13
By: Jon Gertner
-
iWoz
- How I Invented the Personal Computer and Had Fun Along the Way
- By: Steve Wozniak, Gina Smith
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before cell phones that fit in the palm of your hand and slim laptops that fit snugly into briefcases, computers were like strange, alien vending machines. They had cryptic switches, punch cards, and pages of encoded output. But in 1975, a young engineering wizard named Steve Wozniak had an idea: What if you combined computer circuitry with a regular typewriter keyboard and a video screen?
-
-
iWOZ...apparently the best at everything!
- By Karen on 06-12-07
By: Steve Wozniak, and others
-
Console Wars
- Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation
- By: Blake J. Harris
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the video-game industry. In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video-game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But all that would change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a former Mattel executive who knew nothing about video games and everything about fighting uphill battles.
-
-
Was hoping for so much more...
- By Rob G. on 11-17-14
By: Blake J. Harris
-
Tracers in the Dark
- The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency
- By: Andy Greenberg
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the last decade, a single innovation has massively fueled digital black markets: cryptocurrency. Crime lords inhabiting lawless corners of the internet have operated more freely—whether in drug dealing, money laundering, or human trafficking—than their analog counterparts could have ever dreamed of. By transacting not in dollars or pounds but in currencies with anonymous ledgers, overseen by no government, beholden to no bankers, these black marketeers have sought to rob law enforcement of their chief method of cracking down on illicit finance: following the money.
-
-
Great read.
- By J. T. Schreiner on 01-02-23
By: Andy Greenberg
-
Bad Blood
- Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
- By: John Carreyrou
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose start-up “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood testing significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fund-raising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’ worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn’t work.
-
-
Extreme retaliation against former employees
- By MP on 05-29-18
By: John Carreyrou
Publisher's Summary
Before smartphones, back even before the Internet and personal computer, a misfit group of technophiles, blind teenagers, hippies, and outlaws figured out how to hack the world’s largest machine: the telephone system. Starting with Alexander Graham Bell’s revolutionary "harmonic telegraph", by the middle of the 20th century the phone system had grown into something extraordinary, a web of cutting-edge switching machines and human operators that linked together millions of people like never before. But the network had a billion-dollar flaw, and once people discovered it, things would never be the same.
Exploding the Phone tells this story in full for the first time. It traces the birth of long-distance communication and the telephone, the rise of AT&T’s monopoly, the creation of the sophisticated machines that made it all work, and the discovery of Ma Bell’s Achilles’ heel. Phil Lapsley expertly weaves together the clandestine underground of "phone phreaks" who turned the network into their electronic playground, the mobsters who exploited its flaws to avoid the feds, the explosion of telephone hacking in the counterculture, and the war between the phreaks, the phone company, and the FBI.
The product of extensive original research, Exploding the Phone is a groundbreaking, captivating book.
What listeners say about Exploding the Phone
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Elsa Braun
- 04-25-16
Great Story along with Great Technical Research
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes. A great book for anyone interested in technology and/or geek culture. This book does a great job of covering the phone network in the age of phone phreaking. The topic of network hacking with all its issues is well researched and expertly woven into the various story lines.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Exploding the Phone?
Finding out from many of the cases how proprietary technical details of the phone network were easily available to anyone
What does Johann North bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The narrator was competent with technical terminology, both with respect to pronounciation and voice inflection.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No
Any additional comments?
This remains one of my favorite books, in large part due to how well the author blends together research, technical material and a great story. I'm from this era and a lot of this information was new to me.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Concerned Alumni
- 10-08-15
Phreaker 4 Lyfe
I'm a VoIP admin, and I firmly believe that you can't know where you're going without understanding your history.
This book illustrates the phreaker scene and telephone system vividly. I couldn't stop listening, and now I have to catch up on my podcasts.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Howard_a
- 07-16-17
A total blast!!!!
What I like about this book is that the author explains enough technical information, in a way that anyone can enjoy it. The stories of the people involved are detailed and fun. The history of telecommunications is really fun, going from the optical telegraph to the ESS (Electronic Switching System) of the late 1970’s. Although AT&T wasn’t the nicest kid on the block, I love hearing about the sneaky things they did to maintain monopolistic control of the phone system. Really fun book on the history of the phone system and the hackers who had fun with it!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Michael
- 03-04-17
Must Listen for Computer Enthusiasts
The narrator pronounces some words strangely and the book gets a little boring about two-thirds through, but it is really a must listen for any technology enthusiast.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Masonc
- 12-09-16
absolutely astonished
listening to the history of phreaking gave me a newfound respect for those who were able to identify and explore a wired landscape.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joseph Norton
- 04-18-14
Phonetastic! Great story of how the phone was!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, I would recommend this book to any of my friends who are technically inclined because it is fascinating history
What did you like best about this story?
The author covered the subject well and even did justice to the people he interviewed.
What about Johann North’s performance did you like?
Johann North is a former phone phreak who is familiar with the concepts discussed in this book, and, his narration reflects this very well.
Any additional comments?
This book discusses the telephone as it was when I, and, many of my contemporaries were growing up. As a blind person, I was fascinated with the phone and the various sounds it made. I would have loved to read this book back when I was a kid. Anyway, it brings back memories of the way I felt about the phone back then. There were so many cool things that could be done with the phone at the time.Great book, and, great narration.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr.
- 10-06-13
Average book... yawn :0
I got through most of this book but it was a real push. It was just on and on. I would recommend Ghost in the Wires if you like this kind of topic. It is much better.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- bsracing1
- 02-16-23
Difficult Listen
It's a great book with a lot of great information. Worth listening to it you can get past the narrator. Very robotic sounding, makes it's difficult to just sit and listen. Highly recommend "Ghost In The Wires" if you enjoy these types of books.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mark
- 12-06-22
Phone History and Network Discovery in one book
Great book, giving phone history from telegraph to ma bells monopoly. A look into those who started phone freaking and their exploring of the network to finally exploiting of the system. With an emphasis on the how to technical look at phone system and the various colored boxes.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 09-25-22
Down the rabbit hole…
Do you think you’ll like this book? Did you listen to it liked it? Do you know who the narrator is? If you don’t know, google ‘evan doorbell’ and, by all means, do find out. The rabbit hole will suddenly become much deeper for you. Chances are, you’ll be sucked in for years.
Thanks to the Author of this excellent book, the Publishers and Mr. North himself for offering us this surprise. It really made my day.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 05-29-17
a really interesting and curious book
I'm partially sighted and grew up knowing geeky kids like the ones written about here so i totally got that. I'm somewhat geeky too so learning about the developement of the US phone network and the ways that curious people found to circumvent it was just so interesting. I've no interest in legal back and forth though it's a necessary part of the story being told. It's just not something i care for.
Johan North is outstanding and should do loads of books. His calming delivery is not without a hint of mischievousness and would be perfect for reading something like a Bill Bryson book.
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Where Wizards Stay Up Late
- The Origins of the Internet
- By: Katie Hafner, Matthew Lyon
- Narrated by: Mark Douglas Nelson
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty-five years ago, it didn't exist. Today, 20 million people worldwide are surfing the Net. Where Wizards Stay Up Late is the exciting story of the pioneers responsible for creating the most talked about, most influential, and most far-reaching communications breakthrough since the invention of the telephone. In the 1960s, when computers where regarded as mere giant calculators, J.C.R. Licklider at MIT saw them as the ultimate communications devices.
-
-
Absolutely fascinating and we'll researched
- By Elsa Braun on 10-01-16
By: Katie Hafner, and others
-
Kingpin
- How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground
- By: Kevin Poulsen
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The word spread through the hacking underground like some unstoppable new virus: Someone - some brilliant, audacious crook - had just staged a hostile takeover of an online criminal network that siphoned billions of dollars from the U.S. economy. The FBI rushed to launch an ambitious undercover operation aimed at tracking down this new kingpin. Other agencies around the world deployed dozens of moles and double agents.
-
-
This should be a movie
- By Hijenks on 05-19-15
By: Kevin Poulsen
-
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers - those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers.
-
-
Remember Why You Got Into Computing
- By Dan Collins on 07-01-16
By: Steven Levy
-
Ghost in the Wires
- My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker
- By: Kevin Mitnick, William L. Simon
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kevin Mitnick was the most elusive computer break-in artist in history. He accessed computers and networks at the world’s biggest companies—and however fast the authorities were, Mitnick was faster, sprinting through phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks. He spent years skipping through cyberspace, always three steps ahead and labeled unstoppable.
-
-
For a smart guy, Mitnick was an idiot
- By Joshua on 09-17-14
By: Kevin Mitnick, and others
-
The Cuckoo's Egg
- Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
- By: Cliff Stoll
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive US citizen recognized its ominous potential. Armed with clear evidence of computer espionage, he began a highly personal quest to expose a hidden network of spies that threatened national security. But would the authorities back him up? Cliff Stoll's dramatic firsthand account is "a computer-age detective story, instantly fascinating [and] astonishingly gripping" - Smithsonian.
-
-
A story that stands the test of time
- By Todd on 08-11-20
By: Cliff Stoll
-
We Are Anonymous
- Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency
- By: Parmy Olson
- Narrated by: Abby Craden
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In late 2010, thousands of hacktivists joined a mass digital assault by Anonymous on the websites of VISA, MasterCard, and PayPal to protest their treatment of WikiLeaks. Splinter groups then infiltrated the networks of totalitarian governments in Libya and Tunisia, and an elite team of six people calling themselves LulzSec attacked the FBI, CIA, and Sony. They were flippant and taunting, grabbed headlines, and amassed more than a quarter of a million Twitter followers.
-
-
Interesting book, AWFUL narration
- By Jen on 11-11-14
By: Parmy Olson
-
Where Wizards Stay Up Late
- The Origins of the Internet
- By: Katie Hafner, Matthew Lyon
- Narrated by: Mark Douglas Nelson
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty-five years ago, it didn't exist. Today, 20 million people worldwide are surfing the Net. Where Wizards Stay Up Late is the exciting story of the pioneers responsible for creating the most talked about, most influential, and most far-reaching communications breakthrough since the invention of the telephone. In the 1960s, when computers where regarded as mere giant calculators, J.C.R. Licklider at MIT saw them as the ultimate communications devices.
-
-
Absolutely fascinating and we'll researched
- By Elsa Braun on 10-01-16
By: Katie Hafner, and others
-
Kingpin
- How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground
- By: Kevin Poulsen
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The word spread through the hacking underground like some unstoppable new virus: Someone - some brilliant, audacious crook - had just staged a hostile takeover of an online criminal network that siphoned billions of dollars from the U.S. economy. The FBI rushed to launch an ambitious undercover operation aimed at tracking down this new kingpin. Other agencies around the world deployed dozens of moles and double agents.
-
-
This should be a movie
- By Hijenks on 05-19-15
By: Kevin Poulsen
-
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers - those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers.
-
-
Remember Why You Got Into Computing
- By Dan Collins on 07-01-16
By: Steven Levy
-
Ghost in the Wires
- My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker
- By: Kevin Mitnick, William L. Simon
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kevin Mitnick was the most elusive computer break-in artist in history. He accessed computers and networks at the world’s biggest companies—and however fast the authorities were, Mitnick was faster, sprinting through phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks. He spent years skipping through cyberspace, always three steps ahead and labeled unstoppable.
-
-
For a smart guy, Mitnick was an idiot
- By Joshua on 09-17-14
By: Kevin Mitnick, and others
-
The Cuckoo's Egg
- Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
- By: Cliff Stoll
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive US citizen recognized its ominous potential. Armed with clear evidence of computer espionage, he began a highly personal quest to expose a hidden network of spies that threatened national security. But would the authorities back him up? Cliff Stoll's dramatic firsthand account is "a computer-age detective story, instantly fascinating [and] astonishingly gripping" - Smithsonian.
-
-
A story that stands the test of time
- By Todd on 08-11-20
By: Cliff Stoll
-
We Are Anonymous
- Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency
- By: Parmy Olson
- Narrated by: Abby Craden
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In late 2010, thousands of hacktivists joined a mass digital assault by Anonymous on the websites of VISA, MasterCard, and PayPal to protest their treatment of WikiLeaks. Splinter groups then infiltrated the networks of totalitarian governments in Libya and Tunisia, and an elite team of six people calling themselves LulzSec attacked the FBI, CIA, and Sony. They were flippant and taunting, grabbed headlines, and amassed more than a quarter of a million Twitter followers.
-
-
Interesting book, AWFUL narration
- By Jen on 11-11-14
By: Parmy Olson
-
Cult of the Dead Cow
- How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World
- By: Joseph Menn
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cult of the Dead Cow is the tale of the oldest, most respected, and most famous American hacking group of all time. Though until now it has remained mostly anonymous, its members invented the concept of hacktivism. Today, the group and its followers are battling electoral misinformation, making personal data safer, and battling to keep technology a force for good instead of for surveillance and oppression. Cult of the Dead Cow shows how governments, corporations, and criminals came to hold immense power over individuals and how we can fight back against them.
-
-
Liberal Bias Rife and Unchecked
- By Sam Kopp on 12-18-19
By: Joseph Menn
-
The Soul of a New Machine
- By: Tracy Kidder
- Narrated by: Ben Sullivan
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Computers have changed since 1981, when Tracy Kidder memorably recorded the drama, comedy, and excitement of one company's efforts to bring a new microcomputer to market. What has not changed is the feverish pace of the high-tech industry, the go-for-broke approach to business that has caused so many computer companies to win big (or go belly up), and the cult of pursuing mind-bending technological innovations.
-
-
Reading this book changed my life
- By Timothy Knox on 08-12-16
By: Tracy Kidder
-
The Art of Invisibility
- The World's Most Famous Hacker Teaches You How to Be Safe in the Age of Big Brother and Big Data
- By: Kevin Mitnick
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like it or not, your every move is being watched and analyzed. Consumers' identities are being stolen, and a person's every step is being tracked and stored. What once might have been dismissed as paranoia is now a hard truth, and privacy is a luxury few can afford or understand. In this explosive yet practical book, Kevin Mitnick illustrates what is happening without your knowledge - and he teaches you "the art of invisibility".
-
-
Limited value for the average person
- By James C on 10-14-17
By: Kevin Mitnick
-
CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised
- By: Katie Hafner, John Markoff
- Narrated by: CB Droege
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using the exploits of three international hackers, Cyberpunk provides a fascinating tour of a bizarre subculture populated by outlaws who penetrate even the most sensitive computer networks and wreak havoc on the information they find - everything from bank accounts to military secrets. In a book filled with as much adventure as any Ludlum novel, the authors show what motivates these young hackers to access systems, how they learn to break in, and how little can be done to stop them.
-
-
same old stories
- By FRANK on 10-12-15
By: Katie Hafner, and others
-
The Idea Factory
- Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
- By: Jon Gertner
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Idea Factory, New York Times Magazine writer Jon Gertner reveals how Bell Labs served as an incubator for scientific innovation from the 1920s through the1980s. In its heyday, Bell Labs boasted nearly 15,000 employees, 1200 of whom held PhDs and 13 of whom won Nobel Prizes. Thriving in a work environment that embraced new ideas, Bell Labs scientists introduced concepts that still propel many of today’s most exciting technologies.
-
-
Great story -- horrible pauses
- By Rodney on 01-29-13
By: Jon Gertner