Hacker Cracker: A Journey from the Mean Streets of Brooklyn to the Frontiers of Cyberspace [Paperback]

David Chanoff (Author), Ejovi Nuwere (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Like other kids in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, Ejovi Nuwere grew up among thugs and drug dealers. When he was eleven, he helped form a gang; at twelve, he attempted suicide. In his large, extended family, one uncle was a career criminal, one a graduate student with his own computer. By the time Ejovi was fourteen, he was spending as much time on the computer as his uncle was. Within a year he was well on his way to a hacking career that would lead him to one of the most audacious and potentially dangerous computer break-ins of all time, secret until now.

Before he finished high school he had created a hidden life in the hacker underground and an increasingly prominent career as a computer security consultant. At the age of twenty-two, he was a top security specialist for one of the world's largest financial houses.

Hacker Cracker is at once the most candid revelation to date of the dark secrets of cyberspace and the simple, unaffected story of an inner-city child's triumph over shattering odds to achieve unparalleled success.

About the Author

David Chanoff has written about literary history, education, foreign policy, and other subjects for such publications as the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post, and The New Republic. His thirteen books include collaborations with former surgeon general Joycelyn Elders, former chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William Crowe Jr, and Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (December 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060935812
• ISBN-13: 978-0060935818
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #135,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #57 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Business & Culture > Hacking
  #19 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Business & Culture > Biographies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I think even my mother would like this book!, June 17, 2005

By	A. Helsby "Absoblogginlutely" (Dublin, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hacker Cracker: A Journey from the Mean Streets of Brooklyn to the Frontiers of Cyberspace (Paperback)

The first part of the book deals entirely with the authors plight of growing up in a very rough area of town and the struggles that he faces with on a day to day basis. Apart from the first 4 or 5 pages, which contained a fast moving account of what happens when a rogue Chief Technology Officer gets sacked, for the first 71 pages I was wondering whether a differnet book had been slipped inside the jacket of hacker cracker as there was no mention of computers at all. The story was still pretty interesting though. Eventually he gets round to his first experience with computers and his encounters with hacking and the addictiveness of it all. Eventually the story ends up with a moving account of being at the site of the twin towers on 9/11 and a very touching part about a strange whistling noise (which I won't explain as it is a bit of a spoiler). An easy read and not really the usual hacker biography type book. I think this is partly due to the fact that the author is assuming his readers are not technical as some of the explanations (IRC for example) are very basic and some are almost "media stereotypical assumptions" of what really goes on.
As the theme of the book is the struggle to overcome and make life a lot better for his family, the target audience for this book is increased beyond the geek and I think even my mother would like this book!

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read but more about martial arts and personal development than about computers and hackers., May 30, 2009

By	David of Crystal Bay - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Hacker Cracker (Kindle Edition)

A decent read but the author labors over his martial arts experience than computers and hacking. Worth reading but not as substantive as 'The Cuckoo's Egg' by Clifford Stoll.

5.0 out of 5 stars The modern day mentor, February 27, 2008

By	Alexander Fernandez-gatti (Rochester Hills, MI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hacker Cracker (Kindle Edition)

Hacker Cracker is a technological thriller for all us geeks, hackers, and security students/professionals in the world. Ejovi details his rise from a dangerous neighborhood where drugs, murder, and gangs ran rampent tothe discovery of a whole new world where it didn`t matter what color you were, only how smart you were. At times I felt as though I was reading parts of my past, the beauty of the baud, discovering warez chatrooms on AOL, and doing things to explore and find more out about this world of cyberspace. Definitly a great read for anyone who has seen the underside of the computer world.