Author Paul A. Taylor writes about the issues of security breaching between the hacker and the computer security industry in his book Hackers: Crime in the Digital Sublime. Taylor begins the first half of the book giving the definition of a hacker, walking the reader through the evolution of hacking and describing the Hacking culture. His point being, to look past the stereotypical label of hackers being criminals. Using interviews of well-known hackers, in the hacking community, and elite hackers, Taylor provides his audience with a perspective of the positive moral and ethical values most hackers inhibit. This reinforcement helps balance the arguments between the computer underground (hackers) and the computer security industry.
The issues that Taylor concentrates on are about hackers' intrusion on big business systems opposed to an individual's personal records. The main argument that consistently appears throughout the book is whether hackers who intrude on big business systems should be punished and how society can determine how they should be punished. Although Taylor leans toward the side of the computer underground, he mediates the arguments throughout the book with a balanced amount of interviews from both sides of the argument.
In today's society, Taylor states that cyberspace laws are compared to those that exist in a physical space, the "real world". By providing the point of view of the hacker, Taylor is able to contend that in order to develop a more legitimate law against the intrusion of secured computer systems, society will have to define whether cyberspace is comparable to the real world or if a new set of rules should be developed to aid the regulation of cyberspace.
The way in which Taylor structures his book, Hackers: Crime in the Digital Sublime, is comparable to the structure of the MSNBC news program, Hardball with Chris Matthews. During the show Chris Matthews proposes an issue or argument and brings in specialists from each side to debate it. Taylor follows this structure by interviewing people from the computer underground and people from the computer security industry about where laws should be placed or not be placed in cyberspace. Of course, many books have been written giving both sides of an argument, but what separates Taylor's writing from the rest is how the interviews are separated structurally from Taylor's own opinions. The book reminds me of a TV news program transcription. For instance, the interviews are always separated from Taylor's writing by a line space and indented from the left side by five spaces. This structure gave me the feeling that he was not confident enough in writing his argument in his own words or maybe he did not have that much to say about it. Only half of the 176 pages were actually written in his own words. I was very interested to learn about hackers through the eyes of someone who knows some of them personally and favors their point of view, but given his lack of interpretation on the arguments between the underground and security industry, I find him not very convincing.
It is apparent that Taylor favors the side of the hackers. Although Taylor equally balances the time spent on each viewpoint, he sometimes uses quotes that make the other side, the computer security industry, seem hostile and unintelligent. For example, Taylor argues about how hackers violate laws and professional codes of ethics but he does not believe that hackers are liars, cheaters, or stealers. His reason being that there are no allegations held against them. After stating that all of the hackers he has met seem to be decent people, he then strings five quotes together about how deviant the computer security industry thinks hackers are. For instance, one quote read, "Somewhere near vermin i.e. possibly unavoidable, maybe even necessary pests that can be destructive and disruptive if not mentioned." (107). This quote is taken out of its original context and put into one of which would persuade his audience to believe his opinion. Taylor does not give the information about what kind of argument the person was having when that statement was made. For all we know this could have been a CEO speaking about a hacker who infiltrated the company's system and did so much damage that it to cost the company millions of dollars to repair.
Despite the lack of trust I have for the author, Taylor put together a great understanding of the hacker, the history of hacking, the hacker culture and their motivations. I now denounce the stereotypical negative connotation that the word hacker possesses. The similarities between the book and Hardball would be effective if both parties were given an equal opportunity to share legitimate information about their viewpoint. Unfortunately, since both parties were not presented in the exact space and time like a news show, Taylor is able to edit the information he collected and skew it to benefit his own opinion.

This is the first serious study I have seen of a generally media sensationalised area. Being straight from the hackers' mouths, the source material gives a more balanced view than those given by previous authors who tend to be overly moralistic and prejudiced in their approach to the subject. True impartiality is on display as well as meticulous research. Well done Dr. Taylor. I found the grammatically ludicrous, error strewn review of Mr. Yamane particularly unhelpful and inaccurate. People in grass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Taylor's Hackers is anextended and rigorous analyses of hacking as illicit computer intrusion (or cracking as some insist it should be called. Taylor explores in detail the nature of hacking from every angle. His book is based on over 60 in-depth interviews and is written sympathetically, treating hackers as human rather than as pathological teenagers. It is essential reading for anyone interested in Hackers. There are only two extended, academic pieces on hacking, this book and the complementary statistical analysis by John Howard (available at http://www.cert.org/research/JHThesis/index.html).Hackers also has the advantage of being accessible and well-written. Perhaps the best way to look at this book is as an encyclopaedia of hacking, because it provides extended quotes from hackers, computer security personnel and interested others (journalists, academics, etc.) on all relevant topics. An excellent piece of work.

this book helps me understand everything about internet marketing

     Today there are millions of people from around the world who have jumped aboard the information superhighway. The numbers are growing every day. They represent a potential marketing goldmine for anyone willing and ready to capitalize on the opportunity to reach them. Dowling, Kuegler, Taylor, and Testerman (not a law firm), have written Web Advertising and Marketing to offer readers the information they need to get online and to increase their bottom line!

     This World Wide Web business guide offers a broad range of essential Web marketing strategies, business principles, Website design concepts, and loads of other helpful information. For instance, readers will have to consider what is actually involved in operating an online business. There is much more involved than simply setting up an account and having someone design a Website. A lot of detailed planning and work goes into establishing a productive online presence. The authors provide plenty of online examples and resources to help their readers get the ball rolling. Their sound advice will help readers avoid the mistakes others have made!

     The authors include information concerning a variety of topics, including Internet censorship, privacy, jurisdictional matters, copyright infringement, online security, netiquette, and more. Readers may interested to read up on the plight of Philip Zimmerman who landed himself in hot water with the US government by releasing his PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption software program online. An excellent treatment is provided to demonstrate the degree to which the government is willing to get involved in the lives of people.

     This is an extremely detailed Web business resource. It is ideally suited for those Website designers and online business persons who are comfortably prepared to go online and who will commit themselves to reading through this 540-page, information-packed book. This is one of the most thorough Web business books available today. From cover to cover readers will be kept busy digesting a wealth of information. If you're looking for a lot of reading material on operating an online business, this is the right book for you! Highly recommended!

I came into this book thinking I new a lot about building a Web Page for my company. What I learned from this book showed me that didn't know anything. This book is written in a way that gives you real life direction with real life examples, yet was fun to read. I highly recommend it.

Michael Hickey's book has been promoted as being an in-depth analysis of the death of outlaw John Ringo which provides a final answer to who killed him. In my opinion, this massive book fails utterly to do this. The "analysis" seems little more than speculation and the evidence presented is absurdly thin, especially considering Hickey's reliance upon the discredited memoirs of Josephine Earp as "edited" by Glenn Boyer. Some of the maps and photographs are marginally interesting, but the authenticity of some of the latter must be questioned in light of the minimal information given their provenance. Students of Tombstone know that phony photographs have long bedeviled this topic.

The first half of Hickey's book is written in what can only be called a "novelistic" form, and it seems that this really should have been published as a novel rather than history. Many of the details given have no possible real source, and the rest are built upon very shaky ground.

I cannot recommend this book to anyone who expects to learn who (if anyone rather than Ringo himself) killed John Ringo.

A Treasure Chest of Earpiana

"John Ringo: The Final Hours" is yet another superb volume on Earpiana from Michael M. Hickey and a must for all true enthusiasts. Like his earlier book which delved into the mystery surrounding the killing of Warren Earp, this work centres on another controversial death, that of John Ringo. Also, like the other book, it is as big as the great outdoors, exhibiting a remarkable generosity in the vast amount of information it has to offer pertaining to the Earp saga. In fact, basically, here is yet another Hickey treasure chest of Earp lore for those of us who just cannot get enough of the doings of Wyatt and Co.

The book is well written and immensely readable. Hickey has the knack of keeping the reader enthralled, never quite sure along which trail he is going to be taken next. His writing style reminds me of the classic whodunit crime writers who always loved to surprise their readers. Such a style is particularly appropriate here for Mr. Hickey is, as he says, telling a "Tale of the Old West", and the first third of the book is a vivid dramatisation of the events immediately leading up to Ringo's assassination as the author sees it.

Michael Hickey has not been afraid to use contemporary hearsay and local legend as a starting point for his theories but he is always determined to find documentary evidence to back it up if at all possible. This is clearly proved by reading the final two thirds of the book which is described as the "Author's Working Notes and Documentation". Here the reader will revel in a veritable cornucopia of reference material: maps (including Wyatt's own map of the Ringo killing), documents of all kinds, letters, newspaper reports, excerpts from other authors' work and, of course, a myriad of photos, each with a detailed caption. Even here, in the "documentary" part of the book, Hickey keeps us guessing, keeps the tension going for the reader as, little by little, he feeds us more and more information about that time and that place.

For this book is far more than just the story of how one notorious outlaw came to meet his end. It is a detailed analysis, told with extraordinary insight, of how Wyatt Earp and his posse put an end to the Cowboy depredations in Cochise County with the backing of Wells Fargo, the Pinkertons, various national and local government agencies and even the U.S. and Mexican governments.

As an author, Michael M. Hickey combines an imaginative and intellectual grasp of the Arizona milieu of the late nineteenth century, the intellectual fervour of a detective determined to ferret out the truth, together with a vivid and most entertaining writing style. Long may he continue to give us these treasures of Earpiana.

The information, footnotes and research contained in Michael Hickey's book, "John Ringo - The Final Hours" are compelling evidence that Ringo did not commit suicide. It is indeed the "story behind the story."

This is a collection of essays which compare [homosexuals] in the US with those in Latin America. It looks at male homosexuality from a historical, pre-colombian, and tribal perspective as well. Murray is an erudite anthropologist and therefore does not fall into the loopholes in scholarship that many white men who "study" homosexuality in Latin America have. The author is a bit of an essentialist and that may rub constructionists the wrong way. Of his books on international male homosexuality, this is the best one buy far. I think every [homosexual] Latino who wants to know their own [homosexual] Latino history should own a copy.

There are some excellent books on male homosexuality in particular sites (Hector Carrillo and Joseph Carrier on Guadalajara, Mexico; Richard Parker on (Rio) Brazil; Manuel Fernandez on (San Pedro, Honduras)) but this collection ranges much more widely, including material on indigenous cultures as well as the dominant machista one that varies only slightly from Texas to Tierra del Fuego, and incipient "modern gay" homosexuality.

About half the chapters are by Stephen Murray, who has considered reports from many societies and done fieldwork in Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru. He is very critical of the romantic view of "tolerance" ("anything goes"/ "there's no sin south of the border") but includes chapters by the two main purveyors of that view (Paul Kutsche and Richard Parker). The book contains a multiplicity of scholarly views and data ranging from the usual literary texts to ethnography and survey research on sexual behavior of males who have sex with males in Latin America.

This is an awsome story, because it has a good DRAMA... and I personal recommend this book for all the teen agers... it's a book that's about a guy like us.. i'm serious.. you'll like it... Who reads this book will like it..

This is an awsome story, because it has a good DRAMA... and I personal recommend this book for all the teen agers... it's a book that's about a guy like us.. i'm serious.. you'll like it... Who reads this book will like it..

According to the author this book stands to help novice and experienced NT administrators. I don't think even novice admins would find this book useful, nothing new at all even for me. I also tried it preparing for 70-067 exam and can't recommend it as a study guide ( that's for sure ). Interesting style but I didn't like it. For a conclusion, you can try it .

The NT 4.0 Administrator is a great, easy book to use to gain practical understanding of both NT Server and NT Workstation Operating Systems. It includes outstanding hands-on practical exercises in almost every aspect of administering NT 4.0. I taught the subject using this as my Textbook and the ability of the students to work with the software as they read proved invaluable to their gaining the necessary understanding of the subject.

HTML, as a language, is platform independent, so even though this book is put together by Macworld - a magazine for Macintosh users, there's a lot to learn from this book. The only problem is that the floppy disk that comes along with it is of no use to PC users, which means you'll miss out on the software and example files on the floppy.

Having spent over 15 years on the Internet, and designed hundreds of web pages himself, Dave Taylor goes beyond teaching you the nuts and bolts of HTML to show you how to design and create useful, attractive webpages, and then publicise these pages.

After the customary introduction to the Web and HTML, the book slowly slips in HTML tags, organised very logically (unlike the Dummies book that forced them all together). Learning HTML in this step-by-step manner is less overwhelming, and a pleasant learning experience. Each of the chapters introducing different HTML tags has an easy-to-refer summary table to help you refresh your memory.

When you're sufficiently comfortable creating bare-bone text-only pages, the book helps you spruce up your pages with graphics, photographs, audio, and video. All this, while reminding you (and showing you how to) keep those pages shell-account-friendly.

There's an entire chapter dedicated to discussing search engines, and teaching you how to register with some of them, so that you'll be able to use that knowledge to your advantage when you start publicising your pages. This is followed by other ways and means to announce your site to the world.

The book briefly touches upon the more advanced elements of webpages - forms, imagemaps, and CGI scripting. And for those who plan to design full - blown sites instead of just arbit. webpages, the book ends with a very useful step-by-step guide to planning the entire site. Dave has also put together a list of common HTML mistakes that he's committed or been victim to, and has shown how to avoid those mistakes.

Now if only this book was available with software for the PC...

If you don't feel like reading Simom Schama's 600+ page EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES, or Israel's 1100+ page THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, Simon Zumthor's DAILY LIFE IN REMBRANDT'S HOLLAND may be the book for you. Zumthor's book was written in French, and first published in English the early 1960s. My paperback copy was published in 1994 by Standford University as part of the "Daily Life" series.

If you're not particularly interested in the politics of the 17th Century, or the military action that took place during the various wars (which Schama and Israel cover in more detail), and you want to delve right into the everyday lives of the people, Zumthor's book allows you to do so. Zumthor covers everything from clothing to food to employment to housing to you name it--all those things all of us do that make up our daily lives.

The section on the artistic elements of Dutch society is relatively short, and Rembrandt is really only mentioned in passing, but you do get an impression of what he, and Vermeer, and other painters probably experienced as they went about their business. Rembrandt and the other painters were not seen as "artists" but rather as "painters" and as such were members of guilds--Medieval organizations that were organized by various occupational groups and still thrived in the first part of the 17th Century in the Netherlands. Zumthor spends some time discussing how the guilds worked and how they were regulated by not only their members but the towns and villages.

Zumthor also provides much interesting information about Dutch church life, community life, and home life and the obsession of the people with cleaning -- stoops, linens, clothes, but according to Zumthor, not always bodies. The Dutch in the 17th Century were a complicted folk, and although I have read Schama and Israel, I enjoyed this book. It's great background reading, especially if you wonder how your own ancestors lived. Read it with Poortvliet's illustrated books, however, as it lacks illustrations (my paperback copy did).

This book is for lighthouse lovers that are living in or interested in lighthouses of Florida. The book lists all the lighthouses and gives a brief history. Each lighthouse has a fact list and there are also directions on how to get there. Fees for entering the lighthouses and museums are also listed. This is a great book if you are planning a trip such as we are this summer. The only thing lacking is a good map of Florida showing the locations of the lighthouses. There is a map in the front of the book but it is too small and needs to be larger.

Holland Taylor, the likeable P.I. in this new series, is a former St. Paul, MN Homicide detective. He quit the force after his wife and daughter were killed by a drunk driver. Now that driver is out of prison and when he's found dead, Taylor is a logical suspect. Then when he sets out to clear his name he uncovers an elaborate series of plots and counter plots, involving Minnesotta politics, police wrong doing, bookies & bettors, lesbians, etc. It all gets to be a little much, but a first time novelist can surely be forgiven for pulling out all the stops; after all, who knows if there'll be a second book in which to use leftover plotlines.

The characterization of Taylor is a little uneven, as Housewright struggles with balancing hard-boiled conventions with totally unnecessary 90's political correctness, but I enjoyed the book, especially the unusual Twin Cities setting and I look forward to more from Mr. Housewright.

GRADE: B-

Private investigator Holland Taylor finds himself drawn into the campaign of a ditsy gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota. Anyone can be governor of Minnesota, especially when their opponents have scandals in their personal lives. The murder of an ex-con who had served time for killing Taylor's wife and child while the man was driving drunk puts some suspicion on Taylor. His own investigation of the murder leads into the gubernatorial campaign.

When he is hired to recover a video tape, supposedly being used for blackmail, Taylor stumbles into a string of dead bodies. The tape has some surprising (or should I say revealing) details of the candidate. There are some side comments or inferences about how some women worked their way through college. Some people want the tape revealed, and others want it destroyed.

The story concludes with some surprising revelations. Along the way there are some digressions into a problem Taylor's bookie is having with a card sharp. Taylor has his own ways of dispensing justice when evidence will not support criminal prosecution.

"Penance" is the first Holland Taylor novel by David Housewright. This book won the Edgar Award for the Best First Novel. PI Holland Taylor has lost his wife and daughter to a drunk driver. When the driver of the car, John Brown, is found murdered, the police think Holland is the prime suspect. To clear his name, he begins to search for the real killer. Every avenue he looks into leads to C. C. Monroe, a candidate for the governor of Minnesota. The plot is rather complex, but I really liked the novel and the character of Holland Taylor who has some personal demons that he struggles to deal with. I especially enjoyed the parts with Ogilvy, his pet rabbit, because we own a male lop-eared rabbit. This is an excellent debut novel, and I look forward to reading the next 2 Holland Taylor novels.