Confessions of a Recovering Preppie: A Memoir [Paperback]

Michael de Mare (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 11, 2007

Michael de Mare's new book, Confessions of a Recovering Preppie, is a witty and yet thought-provoking autobiographical account of the author's life while he studied computer science at SUNY Institute of Technology in New York. Combining a research-level understanding of cryptography garnered from extensive research and academic training, as well as his knowledge and exploits in software engineering gained from 10 years in the field, Michael de Mare is well-known and respected within the shadowy world of cryptology. But what was not known, until the publication of this intriguing book, were his many adventures while he was working towards a master's degree at SUNY Institute of Technology -- including romantic adventures, spirited friendships, ambitious goals, and the sort of brilliant scheming that one would expect from a top-notch cryptography and computer science expert. Confessions of a Recovering Preppie is a compelling and well-written book, filled with wit and intelligence, that is sure to give outsiders a unique view into the mind and life of one of the nation's elite in the field of cryptography.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael de Mare (rhymes with star) was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1969. His early instruction took place at prep schools in New Jersey, until he was 14 years old, when he began attending public school after moving to his grandmother's dairy farm in rural upstate New York in 1984. His undergraduate and postgraduate training well prepared him for a career in cryptology. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Clarkson University, in Computer Science, and a Master of Science from State University of New York Institute of Technology, in Computer Science. In terms of his professional experience, he has worked in systems analysis and software engineering at several firms: Giordano Automation, Ikos Systems, Technoproductions, and LSI Logic -- winning an Engineering Excellence Award at LSI Logic. He is well-known for his work in cryptography, and is credited with several publications, including Efficient Broadcast Timestamping, One-Way Accumulators: A Decentralized Approach to Digital Signatures, Secure Set Membership Using 3SAT, and his master's thesis, An Analysis of Certain Cryptosystems and Related Mathematics. Currently unmarried, he is a doctoral candidate in Computer Science at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (April 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419663275
• ISBN-13: 978-1419663277
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,970,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor book gets astroturfed reviews, August 25, 2008

By 

CogDissident "Cog" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Confessions of a Recovering Preppie: A Memoir (Paperback)

The book follows a meandering, unfocused style of writing with no real plot or overarching story to speak of.

Also, note that 3 (at the time of this writing) other reviewers are one-off reviews by profiles who did nothing other than rate this book highly. Be warned.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Woeful, August 25, 2008

By 

D. Carson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Confessions of a Recovering Preppie: A Memoir (Paperback)

Vanity presses exist for a reason, and that reason is that most people cannot write anything that anyone would be interested in reading, and thus will never, ever get a traditional publisher to blow their money publishing them.

But hey! As long as we have vanity presses like BookSurge, horrible writers like Michael de Mare can waste their own money publishing a book that nobody will ever read except for book reviewers. And they'll be sorry they did.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars On The Road, August 27, 2008

By 

David Knaack (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Confessions of a Recovering Preppie: A Memoir (Paperback)

If you liked Jack Kerouac's _On the Road_, but thought it would have been better if Jack had had less talent as a writer, you may like _Confessions_.

No plot, no theme, no style.

Judge this book by the cover, the contents are as inspiring as the art on the front.

You might want to read this book so that at parties you can talk about how bad it was and how only your intense aversion to never quitting, no matter how bad things get, stopped you from quitting in the middle.