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Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw - By the Man Who Did It Mass Market Paperback – December 1, 1996

by Tsutomo Shimomura (Author), John Markoff (Author)

105 customer reviews

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The dramatic true story of the capture of the world's most wanted cyberthief by brilliant computer expert Tsutomu Shimomura, describes Kevin Mitnick's long computer crime spree, which involved millions of dollars in credit card numbers and corporate trade secrets. Reprint. NYT.

Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw - By the Man Who Did It

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

On Christmas Day 1995, a daring cybercriminal used a new, dangerous, and clever method to gain access to the home computer of the world's greatest computer security expert. The hero, as a matter of honor, set out to find the devious mastermind who violated his privacy and discovered that it was none other than cyberspace's Public Enemy Number One.

That's the classic version at least. Given all of the hype surrounding the capture of Kevin Mitnick (much of it created and sustained by the authors of this book), one would at least expect the version provided by "The Man Who Did It" to be entertaining. But Tsutomu Shimomura's writing (apparently not assisted enough by John Markoff) is somewhat dull. The details of Shimomura's personal life are probed in depth while technical, legal, and ethical questions are brushed over without commentary, such as the supposed proof of Mitnick's involvement in the break-in or Markoff's involvement in the capture. There may be some material of interest to the enthusiast, and those who read Jonathan Littman's The Fugitive Game should at least check out Takedown to see what all of the fuss is about.

From Publishers Weekly

Shimomura with John Markoff. Hyperion, $5.99 ISBN 0-7868-8913-6. A computer security expert tells how he hunted down a notorious hacker.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product details

Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Voice; First Thus edition (December 1, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0786889136
ISBN-13: 978-0786889136
Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
Average Customer Review: 105 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #656,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #225 in Books > Computers & Technology > History & Culture > History
- #454 in Books > Computers & Technology > Internet & Social Media > Hacking
- #466 in Books > Business & Money > Industries > Computers & Technology

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Customer reviews

105

2.5 out of 5 stars

5 star		16%
4 star		12%
3 star		9%
2 star		16%
1 star		47%

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Read it in 3 days

ByA customeron April 14, 1999

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

Ok, Ok. I've read all the other reviews and maybe the expectation from some folks was a little too high. I'm not a hacker, I'm not a techno geek, and I wasn't looking for a "how to" book. I was curious about how this supposed brilliant Mitnick character got caught and how. With the press hoopla about the story several years ago and the on-line defense of Mitnick (at various web sites and even these reviews) I wanted to know the background. I don't disagree that the book has some flaws (was anyone expecting Grisham?) as stated in the other reviews. The ego problems readers should have been concerned about were those of the FBI and other related agencies. What an embarrassment! Mitnick wouldn't have been caught without Shimomura and I wanted to know how. I found the story very intriguing and couldn't put it down. I was sorry when the story ended. Kevin didn't seem quite the savvy operator and escapist the press made him out to be. He vomitted when he got caught? And if Mitnick himself was somewhat in awe of Shimomura (his comments at the courthouse) why can't I be too?

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

out of date

Bytsengon May 21, 2011

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

i heard about this from ny times, so exciting and all...will it may be when it came out 15 years ago but now quaint, like watching jar head, the movie about the first iraq war.

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Takedown cannot be brought down

ByA customeron April 23, 2001

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

First thing I would like to admit that this book is not excellently written but the story behind it is very interesting and if you have a day to ... or something I highly recommend this book.
Very good and a quick read. ....

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Had this book before and lost it. I am a bit of a tomboy, techie, nerdie female.

Bymrs pon July 9, 2013

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

Fascinating story. Have read before. Great almost free price on Amazon! Of Course! Really enjoyed all the personal details Shimomura included - the romance, his work life, his academic qualifications, studies. Totally interesting and entertaining. LOVE TRUE LIFE STORIES - especially High Tech. Very entertaining comparing todays technology with his & Mitnicks at the time. Those differences AREN'T boring - only amusing and amazing realizing how far Tech has come and how FAST!

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Great book!

ByC. V. Karayiannison April 12, 2011

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

I am sorry that I almost missed this out of print book (I finally managed to buy it from Amazon marketplace) because I took in regard the opinion of some reviewers.

Christos Karayiannis

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

An insufferable jerk ... on the side of the angels

ByLingoSlingeron January 16, 2002

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Shimomura comes off as a completely annoying egomaniac who downplays the contributions of others and inflates his own achievements. Why he's considered an "elite security expert" when he was hacked by old, known techniques, and boasts that he doesn't use a firewall, is beyond me. However, Shimomura did the world a favor in helping catch and stop Kevin Mitnick. In Jonathan Littman's fascinating book The Fugitive Game, Mitnick's best friend Lewis De Payne is quoted as calling Mitnick "a sociopath." If the choice is between rooting for a bratty diva or rooting for a sociopath, I'll pull for the bratty diva. The self-obsessed Shimomura allows co-author Markoff to treat us to WAY more personal details than we want to know about him, but the second half of the book delivers a few useful insights into backtracing hackers. This is a slog of a read, recommended only if you are a security professional or hackers are your favorite topic. To make it more fun, try reading it side by side with the superior yet conflicting account in Littman's The Fugitive Game -- and decide for yourself who you believe.

0Comment 21 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Tsutomu, Don't Quit Your Day Job...

ByBruce Gillizon July 20, 2004

Format: Hardcover

It took me but two days to read this terrible book from cover to cover, and it seemed to me that each page became more of a drag to flip over. Each chapter seemed to focus on the trivial irrelevance of the author's life rather than on the real reason anyone would bother to buy this book - Kevin Mitnick. I mean, who cares about Shimomura's goofy friends and his obsession with skiing and skating (Be ready, readers, because half of the book is filled with it.).

The impression I got from the Shimomura was that he couldn't contain his resentment toward Mitnick, who was able to successfully break into the author's computers both at home and at work with relative ease. Shimomura tries to counter this fact by stating that he doesn't believe that firewalls are efficacious and prefers to augment the potential of his online connection by not installing barriers around it (I suppose computer security gurus can get away with that sort of thing....aaaah, no.).

John Markoff coauthors this book with Shimomura and both do a terrible job of presenting unbiased information about "the pursuit and capture of Kevin Mitnick". Throughout the book, Shimomura insults the incompetents around him: fellow computer security personnel, the feds, even the whole system as we know it. Well, maybe some of his whining was justified throughout the ordeal of trying to pin down Mitnick, but I doubt others involved in the "takedown" were nearly as condescending as Shimomura.

To summarize my thoughts about the book, I feel that that the entire 300+ pages were devoted to the main author's ego massage. He obviously thinks that he is some sort of Internet hero worthy of a medal, while the barrage of professionals who helped this man caputre Mitnick don't even deserve honourable mention. Please don't quit your day job, Tsutomu.