- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; First Edition First Printing edition (31 Mar 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0316528579
- ISBN-13: 978-0316528573
- Product Dimensions: 2.4 x 1.6 x 0.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 971,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
Written like a California noir thriller by way of William Gibson, The Watchman brings to life the wildest, most audacious crime spree in the history of cyberspace. Busted as a teenager for hacking into Pac Bell phone networks, Kevin Poulsen would find his punishment was a job with a Silicon Valley defense contractor. By day he seemed to have gone straight, toiling on systems for computer-aided war. But by night he burglarized telephone switching offices, adopting the personae and aliases of his favorite comic-book anti heroes - the Watchmen. When authorities found a locker crammed with swiped telecommunications equipment, Poulsen became a fugitive from the FBI, living the life of a cyberpunk in a neon Hollywood underground. Soon he made the front pages of the New York Times and became the first hacker charged with espionage. Littman takes us behind the headlines and into the world of Poulsen and his rogues' gallery of cyberthieves. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews with Poulsen, his confederates, and the authorities, he spins a thrilling chase story on the electronic frontier. The nation's phone network was Poulsen's playground. On Los Angeles's lucrative radio giveaways, Poulsen worked his magic, winning Porsches and tens of thousands of dollars. He secretly switched on the numbers of defunct Yellow Pages escort ads and took his cut of the profits. And he could wiretap or electronically stalk whomever he pleased, his childhood love or movie stars. The FBI seemed no match for Poulsen. But as Unsolved Mysteries prepared a broadcast on the hacker's crimes, LAPD vice stumbled onto his trail, and an undercover operation began on Sunset Strip.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
An interesting read even if viewed as fiction- entertaining, twisting plot and good character development.
Also valuable if looking for a case study of cyber criminals for academic reasons.
I read it on both levels, couldn't put it down, finished it within two days.Buy it!
Also valuable if looking for a case study of cyber criminals for academic reasons.
I read it on both levels, couldn't put it down, finished it within two days.Buy it!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
John Littman does an excellent job of telling how the story came to be. I didn't know that much about "hackers" personal lives. This story breaks the hacker stereotype. This book was so good that I used it in a presentation. Try the book "The Fugitive Game: Online with Kevin Mitnick" another one of John Markoff's books.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is one of the best books I read about
hacking, phreaking and breaking the LAW.
That also shows that the other side is doing
the same (FBI, NSA, CIA & etc).
This a true story (the books says so...) and
its written in a persons' view, that of
Kevin (the anti-hero).
This is a very recommanded book! for computer
phreaks and wanna-be-phreaks :)
hacking, phreaking and breaking the LAW.
That also shows that the other side is doing
the same (FBI, NSA, CIA & etc).
This a true story (the books says so...) and
its written in a persons' view, that of
Kevin (the anti-hero).
This is a very recommanded book! for computer
phreaks and wanna-be-phreaks :)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
very interesting character, and a well written book.
This book kept me interested till the end. The book was well written, and I suggest U 2 read this book. bla-bla-read it ok...
Published on 11 Aug 1999
Good book at all
A good book at all, while it can be take as a precise decsription of KP actions it shows very much of the 3l33t hacking in California. Read more
Published on 9 Feb 1999
Good read, that's why i gave it four stars. However.....
The book was a great read.. However Kevin Poulsen claims that Littman never checked any of the facts with him, and that Littman is just trying to cash in. Read more
Published on 20 Sep 1998
This book should only be read by people who really care.
This book, although very well written, should only be read the people that really care hackers or high computer technology. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 1998
Facts distorted
The book was entertaining, but just after the release Kevin Poulsen did several interviews about the book. During those interviews Kevin P. Read more
Published on 14 May 1998
This book had potential, but ended up being "fluff."
This book had some good potential, but the author instead decide to write a tabloid story. Any technical details that made it into the final edit seem to be there purely by... Read more
Published on 9 Aug 1997
Littman is Great
This is one of the best books by Littman I have ever read.Kevin Poulsen is however I think one of the least recognized hackers/phreaks of our time. Read more
Published on 25 Jun 1997
An unfocussed confusing read
In The Watchman's concluding 'Author's Note', Littman, underlines that his book is a journalistic work This is an amusing comment considering his gross speculation and character... Read more
Published on 19 May 1997
wow!
a classic thriller-for-suburbans! while bordering on science-
fiction, it still manages somehow to stay a fair (or perhaps not so fair)
amount of time inside the bounds... Read more
fiction, it still manages somehow to stay a fair (or perhaps not so fair)
amount of time inside the bounds... Read more
Published on 12 April 1997
A chilling look at the vulnerability & capability of PacBell
I found this book interesting on several levels. It's about
our telecommunications system, about a few people's ethics
abusing the power of that system, and about the... Read more
our telecommunications system, about a few people's ethics
abusing the power of that system, and about the... Read more
Published on 21 Mar 1997
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