[iandioch]

I am just on the final few pages of The Cuckoo's Egg, and was planning on finishing it tonight. I too would say that it is a fantastically written page-turner, and it has taught me a lot about the old-school networking scene.

How do the other two books you mentioned compare?

[qwertyuiop924]

Ghost in the Wires compares favorably, also being a personal memoir, although from the other side of hacking.

Exploding the Phone takes an ousider's perspective, having been written by a relative outsider, and the information having been gathered from interviews with those involved. However, I would say it's better than Ghost in the Wires, being a better told story overall. It's also pretty much the definitive history of the phone phreaking scene, AFAICT. Phil Lapsley put a lot of work into getting his interviews, and reading up on the tech. Read it, if only so that you'll stop believing people when they tell you how awesome John Draper is.

[endgame]

I found The Cuckoo's Egg second-hand for 50c. Easily the greatest enjoyment:price ratio of anything I own. Exploding the Phone is also phreaking awesome. I devoured that book over the space of a few hours.

[qwertyuiop924]

Yeah, The cuckoo's egg would be the greatest price:enjoyment ratio, but then I bought Half-Life, Blud Shift, Opposing Force, Day of Defeat, Counterstrike, Riccochet, and TF Classic for $5. And I got the cuckoo's egg for $7...