The cuckoos egg by clifford stoll was fascinating the first time i read it in 1989, and when i saw it on one of the books to read lists on goodreads, i eagerly reexamined it. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading cuckoo s egg. The technology has changed, but the crime and the chase have remained the same. The cuckoos egg has long been acknowledged as mandatory reading for anyone interested in cybersecurity, especially those on the technical side of the field. It is still compelling today, just in a different manner. A sentimental favorite, the cuckoo s egg seems to have inspired a whole category of books exploring the quest to. Clifford stoll published it in 1989, and the first time i read it, i devoured it over a weekend when i should have been writing my grad school thesis. In 1986, astronomer turned computer scientist clifford stoll had just started working on a computer system at the lawrence berkeley laboratory. Signin to download and listen to this audiobook today. Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive. The cuckoo s egg by cliff stoll the cuckoo s egg page 1 of 254. The kgb, the computer, and me clifford stoll, the cuckoos egg. Clifford stoll s first book, the cuckoo s egg, is both a gripping spy thriller and an intriguing introduction to the futuristic world of international computer networking. It was nominated for the hugo award and longlisted the locus award for best novel.
The story, broken in 1989, quickly gathered headlines across the nation and stoll. Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive us citizen recognized its. Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive us citizen recognized its ominous potential. Cuckoo s egg is a science fiction novel by american writer c. Actually, that off target 1995 antiinternet column was amazingly ontarget clifford stoll. Cuckoos egg ebook by clifford stoll 9780307819420 rakuten. Clifford stoll, an msnbc commentator, a lecturer, and a berkeley astronomer, is the author of the new york times bestseller the cuckoo s egg, silicon snake oil, and hightech heretic. The cuckoos egg is a story of persistence, love for ones work and is just plain funny.
A cuckoo bird will lay its egg in another birds nest letting that bird raise the offspring as her own. I read the cuckoo s egg when i was in high school i think and came away with the impression that stoll wasis a buffoon. His crystal ball was a lot clearer than hes given credit for. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage is a 1989 book written by clifford stoll. Like a detective, davies and his colleagues studied adult cuckoo behavior, cuckoo egg markings, and cuckoo chick begging calls to discover exactly how cuckoos trick their hosts. The technology has changed, but the crime and the chase. Cuckoo s egg is a novel by science fiction and fantasy author c. If you find computers interesting this book is for you. The cuckoos egg by cliff stoll before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive u. Coming from a unix background it was fun to see a system i recognized. The cuckoos egg book by cliff stoll official publisher page. Do they leave their systems open to free communication, or. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage reissue by stoll, cliff isbn. Clifford stoll booklist clifford stoll message board.
A sentimental favorite, the cuckoos egg seems to have inspired a whole category of books exploring the quest to capture computer criminals. Clifford stoll clifford stoll tells the story of his discovery, tracking, and eventual capture of a. Read cuckoos egg by clifford stoll available from rakuten kobo. Cliff, as he is affectionately called, is a longhaired exhippie that works at lawrence berkeley lab. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage paperback september, 2005 by cliff stoll author. When, to the delight of the baffled fbi, cia, and nsa, cliff stoll nailed his spy, he wound up on the front page of the new york times. Stoll wasnt even a computing pro he was an astronomer that used the computer to run programs. Actually, that off target 1995 antiinternet column was. It is his firstperson account of the hunt for a computer hacker who broke into a computer at the lawrence berkeley national laboratory lbnl. Still, even several years after its initial publication and after much imitation, the book remains a good read with an engaging story line and a critical outlook, as clifford stoll.
In 1986, having recently lost his research grant, astronomer clifford stoll was made a computer system admin with the wave of a hand by the. The story starts out with clifford stoll being recycled to a computer. Written by cliff stoll, audiobook narrated by will damron. The cuckoo s egg by cliff stoll before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive u. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage, stoll details the story involving markus hess, who sold the stolen information from u. Report video issue javascript must be enabled in order to access cspan videos. Im a scientist, once i do something, i want to do something else. I saw the tv program on this story before reading the book. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Acknowledgments how do you spread the word when a computer has a security hole. Stoll is also the same person who was doing thoughts at the end of the site. Clifford stoll author clifford stoll, an msnbc commentator, a lecturer, and a berkeley astronomer, is the author of the new york times bestseller the cuckoos egg, silicon snake oil, and hightech heretic.
In my own opinion it shows how difficult it is to be heard when you are asking for help in solving a. Cliff stoll is a seemingly scatterbrained astronomer. A sentimental favorite, the cuckoo s egg seems to have inspired a whole category of books exploring the quest to capture computer criminals. Tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage. When the accounting staff of stoll s university employer discovered 75 cents worth of time used with which no user was associated, they called him and demanded that he locate the phantom user. It could have been titled the story of ping oops that title has been taken. Before the internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive u. The book was published by daw books in 1985, and there was also a limited hardcover printing by phantasia press in the same year. The cuckoos egg audiobook by cliff stoll 9781977300478.
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