Review of _Hackers: Crime in the Digital Sublime_

[mea culpa <jericho () DIMENSIONAL COM>]

From: Mich Kabay <mkabay () compuserve com>

DAILY TELEGRAPH 02/12/1999 P14
CONNECTED - REVIEW - POINTLESS WANDER.
By MIKE MCCORMACK.

Hackers: Crime in the Digital Sublime
by Paul A Taylor
Rutledge
#14.95

A subject as lively and intriguing as hacking, full of shady characters,
outrageous stunts and dubious morality, seems ideal fodder for producing a
book of close-up observations and relentless analytical drive, salted with
tales of high-stakes brushes with the law and memories of electronic
pirate glory.

Instead, Paul Taylor has added to the mounting evidence that one academic
- suitably motivated - can take the fun out of anything.  Reviewers are
taught to be as specific as possible in their criticisms, if only to
convince the author that he's had a fair hearing. But for Hackers: Crime
in the Digital Sublime, no other words than "dull, dull, dull" will do.

The book is a structureless wander through those areas of hacking in which
soul-patch-sporting, cargo-pant-wearing Modern Studies lecturers delight:
the alienating force of technology, the construction of alternative
ethical systems, the rebel's role in an unbounded e-space. But even
academia's fashion victims will be disappointed at the thin gruel Taylor
serves up on each of these topics - a mishmash of cultural and
psychological theory loosely entwined with the musings of hackers seeking
agendas.

There are substantial difficulties that confront any author trying to
write about hackers: the good ones won't talk until they've been "off the
scene" long enough to escape prosecution;  the talkative ones usually have
an agenda - either their own fame or a naive interest in promoting
hacking's alleged benefits; and the majority live lives free of
introspection or critical moral reasoning.

None of these obstacles helps a book that steadfastly refuses to apply any
critical, moral or structural theory to its subject.  However, allowing
every hacker in the underground phone book his 12 lines of text serves one
purpose: it reminds us how distant the relationship is between hacking
skill and clear communication.

According to the cover blurb, Taylor uses the findings from his
"astonishingly frank" interviews to argue that "a new middle way must be
found if we are to make the most of society's high-tech meddlers". Full
marks for his publicists, who may be the only ones to suss his intent.
More neutral than a beige cardigan, Taylor has disguised his
recommendations so successfully that in three readings of his conclusions
I failed to spot one.

If you're looking for a good overview of hacking, its moods and its mores,
look elsewhere. If you want a valuable addition to your existing library
of hacking tomes, wait for some other author's next attempt on the
subject. If your Modern Studies lecturer has listed Hackers as a core text
for your course, perhaps it's not too late to apply for a transfer.

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