Continue without accepting

Select Your Cookie Preferences

We use cookies and similar tools that are necessary to enable you to make purchases, to enhance your shopping experiences and to provide our services, as detailed in our Cookie Notice. We also use these cookies to understand how customers use our services (for example, by measuring site visits) so we can make improvements.

If you agree, we’ll also use cookies to complement your shopping experience across the Amazon stores as described in our Cookie Notice. This includes using first- and third-party cookies, which store or access standard device information such as a unique identifier. Third parties use cookies for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalised ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. Click ‘Customise Cookies’ to decline these cookies, make more detailed choices, or learn more. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie Preferences, as described in the Cookie Notice. To learn more about how and for what purposes Amazon uses personal information (such as Amazon Store order history), please visit our Privacy Notice.

Sorry, there was a problem saving your cookie preferences. Try again.

Customise Cookies

Jacked: The unauthorized behind-the-scenes story of Grand Theft Auto : David Kushner: Amazon.co.uk: Books

RRP: £12.99 Details

Save: £1.49 (11%)

£13.03 delivery Tuesday, February 14. Details

Or fastest delivery Monday, February 13. Order within 13 hrs 24 mins. Details

Deliver to Finland

Only 3 left in stock.

As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app.

[{"displayPrice":"£11.50","priceAmount":11.50,"currencySymbol":"£","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"50","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"FAblBEJVgqwuZ2cKr1AXv%2FXE412ef4Tx8qOis2sd7%2FftM%2BPK2dMZWLJCyhHgdWES1MmZlXs7TNg%2F8ekuWGJ3wBnANpsBytlTJHUx7L8y8Fkk3RW1zQn4Wkworw%2F8%2BiBYCz%2BGC6JCvet7V1woWaG1U9ZyXA3sr%2FnxWnXpsMOMG5KhI60NCET0CQ%3D%3D","locale":"en-GB","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"£5.25","priceAmount":5.25,"currencySymbol":"£","integerValue":"5","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"25","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"o40yXAKCo6f29X1SuW48a8BuTki0gDWwJH54MyWRfwrV0YDH5kg3e9DO9CsA8D1qudmFmy2X0sVr%2B%2F3A3DlRJo8jbeKT3KJM5UL1JDqts%2FAI2LkMHczGyuBy%2FHu%2BH%2BpjgYd%2FZRTKUJJsSW6gxmsaMjG8AOveRQsqSFdtgNBF8fPrM4pjH6gSQw%3D%3D","locale":"en-GB","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

££11.50 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Dispatches from

Amazon

Sold by

The UK Book Warehouse

Details

Dispatches from

Amazon

Sold by

The UK Book Warehouse

Return policy: Returnable within 30 days of receipt

£3.70 delivery February 13 - 18. Details

Deliver to Finland

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by World of Books Ltd

Have one to sell?

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

Follow the author

Jacked: The unauthorized behind-the-scenes story of Grand Theft Auto Paperback – 15 Mar. 2012

by David Kushner (Author)

192 ratings

See all formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

"Please retry"

—

—

"Please retry"

£23.22

£12.98

Paperback

"Please retry"

£11.50

£9.95

£5.25

Audio CD, Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

£28.80

—

Kindle Edition
£6.49 Read with Our Free App
Hardcover
£23.22

3 Used from £12.98 1 New from £23.22
Paperback
£11.50

9 Used from £5.25 16 New from £9.95 1 Collectible from £12.50
Audio CD
£28.80

1 New from £28.80

Purchase options and add-ons

The behind-the-scenes story of the world s most notorious and controversial video games company - Rockstar Games.

Jacked is the incredible story behind the phenomenon that changed video games for ever Grand Theft Auto.

Powerful politicians tried to stop it, parents and activists vigorously campaigned against it, but they couldn t stop GTA breaking records. GTA IV became the biggest entertainment product launch of all time, eclipsing all other books, films and music, and went on to become the most controversial video game in history.

Now, after 10 years of research, David Kushner reveals how Sam Houser s company, Rockstar Games, made it all possible. He lifts the veil of secrecy around the team to show how a blend of creative genius, daring PR campaigns, big egos and an obsessive work ethic all came together to create a monster with a tendency to spiral out of control. Including the full story behind Hot Coffee the hidden sex minigame that nearly killed the game and the company Jacked gets right to the heart of what it takes to make a classic computer game...

ISBN-10

0007434855
ISBN-13

978-0007434855
Publisher

Collins
Publication date

15 Mar. 2012
Language

English
Dimensions

13.5 x 2.2 x 21.6 cm
Print length

304 pages
See all details

Frequently bought together

+
+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your basket.

Some of these items are dispatched sooner than the others.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

by David Kushner Paperback
£11.50
Only 3 left in stock.
Sold by The UK Book Warehouse and sent from Amazon Fulfillment.
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Feb 14
by David Kushner Paperback
£10.11
In stock.
Sent from and sold by Amazon.
by Jason Schreier Paperback
£10.49
In stock.
Sent from and sold by Amazon.

David Kushner
1,921
Paperback
£10.11
£12.89 delivery
Jason Schreier
1,620
Paperback
£13.28
£12.94 delivery
Jason Schreier
2,408
Paperback
£10.49
£12.10 delivery
Pete Etchells
100
Paperback
£8.02
£12.28 delivery
Only 10 left in stock (more on the way).
Steven L. Kent
134
Paperback
£16.99
£15.88 delivery
Only 8 left in stock (more on the way).
Jane McGonigal
753
Paperback
£10.11
£12.89 delivery

Product description

About the Author

David Kushner is an award-winning journalist and author. His books include Levittown: Two Families, One Tycoon, and the Fight for Civil Rights in America's Legendary Suburb, Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids: How a Gang of Geeks Beat the Odds and Stormed Las Vegas, and Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture.

Kushner is a contributing editor of Wired, Rolling Stone, and Spectrum. He has also written for publications including the New York Times Magazine, New York, GQ, and Details. A frequent guest on TV and radio, he is the digital culture commentator for National Public Radio Weekend Edition Sunday.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Collins (15 Mar. 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0007434855
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007434855
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.5 x 2.2 x 21.6 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 396,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 267 in Computer Scientist Biographies
- 290 in Sports & Entertainment Industry
- 398 in Games Programming

Customer reviews:
192 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

David Kushner

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

David Kushner is an award-winning journalist and author. His books include Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture, Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids: How a Gang of Geeks Beat the Odds, Stormed Las Vegas, Levittown: Two Families, One Tycoon, and the Fight for Civil Rights in America’s Legendary Suburb, Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto, Alligator Candy: A Memoir, and The Players Ball: A Genius, a Con Man, and the Secret History of the Internet's Rise.

Kushner is also author of the graphic novel Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D, illustrated by Koren Shadmi, and the ebook, The Bones of Marianna: A Reform School, a Terrible Secret, and a Hundred-Year Fight for Justice. Two collections of his magazine stories are available as audiobooks, The World’s Most Dangerous Geek: And More True Hacking Stories and Prepare to Meet Thy Doom: And More True Gaming Stories.

A contributing editor of Rolling Stone, Kushner has written for publications including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Wired, New York Times Magazine, New York, and GQ, and has been an essayist for National Public Radio. His work is featured in several “best of” anthologies: The Best American Crime Reporting, The Columbia Journalism Review’s Best Business Writing, The Best Music Writing, and The Best American Travel Writing. He is the winner of the New York Press Club award for Best Feature Reporting. His ebook The Bones of Marianna was selected by Amazon as a Best Digital Single of 2013. NPR named his memoir Alligator Candy one of the best books of 2016. He has taught as a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University, and an adjunct professor of journalism at New York University.

For articles and info, visit his website www.davidkushner.com.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

192 global ratings

5 star		56%
4 star		24%
3 star		13%
2 star		5%
1 star		1%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all customer images

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Great and captivating writing, with some inaccuracies. Understanding the American society.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 July 2021

Verified Purchase

As a massive fun of the GTA series and having played each PC title, I confirm that this book provided a very interesting read.

Obviously the author and this book get highly rated because the story is naturally captivating and massively popular with fans of the franchise.
The writing could have been done better. A few clumsy inaccuracies however. The author is obviously ignorant of the difference between England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, saying that Jones had the most advanced equipment in the whole of England, while he was based in Dundee, Scotland. Another inaccuracy was when the author said that GTA 4 was taking place across 3 cities, 12 towns and woodlands separating each.

All and all it provides a nice background behind the whole Thompson story and shows how conservative but at the same time loud-mouthed the American society can be. Always funny (and a bit scary) reading these from a European point of view.

Great story on the rise and fall of video game gangland

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2012

Verified Purchase

I bought this book after reading Master of Doom by the same author and found it to be just as good! I'd played a lot of Dave Jones games growing up from Bloody Money on the ATARI ST to Lemmings on the PC and when GTA 1 came out in 1997 it was a fun little game I enjoyed. I stopped gaming as much so didnt get GTA 3/4 and all the add on and side projects but knew of the mark it was making on the entertainment industry. This book takes the reader from the humble beginnings in Dundee, Scotland to the high roller times in America when the guys making these games told Burt Reynolds to sit down and shut up because the last game they produced made more money than all of his movies combined. Even if you arent a hardcore gamer or really played GTA in any of its guises this is a page turner that explains how the video game industry came from nowhere to take the entertainment crown. Highly recommended.

6 people found this helpful

Book arrived in poor condition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 September 2021

Verified Purchase

Just arrived today and i'm sure the book will be great which is why i am.nkt downgrading the rating. However the condition of the book was very poor. Very disappointed

Customer image

Customer image

Customer image

An insight into the world of Rockstar and its origins.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 May 2015

Verified Purchase

Jacked is not as good a book as I'd hoped for. After reading some reviews and having purchased all rockstar games, I wanted to see more into the scenes behind GTA and what made it so great. True it has shown me an insight into how Rockstar was born and the different types of prejudice it has faced over the year from die hard protesters of the franchise but it just lacked that connection that made me feel anything for the people who built Rockstar from nothing.

In fact in more ways than one it made me feel more disconnected by giving the impression that someone like Sam Houser who is a genius of business, went from wanting to build this amazing game/world where anyone could be anything, it shows how someone can turn quite power hungry and forget their roots when they hit the big time.

The story depicts the rise of one character, Sam Houser, from an idealistic youth, to captain of the Rockstar fleet and its rise from a tiny game design crew to the mighty organisation it is now, and the protests of Jack Thompson, a man obsessed with righting the world and making it a perfect place to live in, whilst having the delusion that video games, or one in particular, is corrupting the youth of society.

It does make an interesting read to see both sides of the story, and two sides that I personally can relate to. Whether that be the gamer in me, or the father in me.

Its worth having a read if you have some spare change and time, but once you have read it once it will either remain on the bookshelf for a long time or end up at a boot sale.

Verdict: Its ok!

One person found this helpful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2013

Verified Purchase

It is as it says - a detailed look at the story behind Grand Theft Auto.
That said, I find it to be a little less technical than Masters of Doom, which I also thoroughly enjoyed - but if you want to feel like you were there, a fly on the wall, during the deals and trials occurring throughout the birth of the Grand Theft Auto series, it's definitely worth a read. If you were looking for a more objective look and technical details involved, it is lacking on that front.

2 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 June 2019

Verified Purchase

In depth detailed book covering the inception of GTA and how it be ame such a phenomenon.
worth a read for nonfans and fans alike

not quite what I'd hoped for

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 January 2013

Verified Purchase

Had been waiting for a book like this for a while. self-confessed gta-addict. Always wanted to read a book which gave a good history of the franchise. The earlier sections of the book detailing DMA, Dave Jones and the beginning of Rockstar are really interesting, but there are long sections later on which didn't grab me as much. GTA4 was also not a large part of the book either. Even San Andreas, which I thought would be an amazing section to cover was boiled down to hot coffee and the sex minigames which, to me at least, seemed to be only a small part of the game.

Maybe I'll write it instead lol

3 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 May 2012

Verified Purchase

A really interesting book on the GTA franchise from start to finish. A must read for big Rockstar and Grand Theft Auto fans. But be warned this book will make you want to play the games so badly!! Even if it means buying then again haha.

3 people found this helpful

Get to Know Us

Make Money with Us

Amazon Payment Methods

Let Us Help You

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs		AbeBooks Books, art & collectables		ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy		Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Download Audiobooks		Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide		DPReview Digital Photography		Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations

Amazon Home Services Experienced pros Happiness Guarantee		IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities		Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy		Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands

Amazon Warehouse Deep Discounts Open-Box Products		Amazon Business Service for business customers		Whole Foods Market We Believe in Real Food

© 1996-2022, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates