cover image Ghost in the Wires: 
My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker

Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker

Kevin Mitnick with William L. Simon, read by Ray Porter. Blackstone Audio, unabridged, library edition, 11 CDs, 14 hrs., $109 ISBN 978-1-4417-9373-7

One of the most renowned hackers in history, Kevin Mitnick retraces his life’s course, from how he got into hacking to his feud with law enforcement and his eventual conversion into a computer security specialist. Ray Porter’s narration is direct and has a determined edge that captures Mitnick’s mindset as he hacks into computer systems despite the consequences. Porter’s narration also contains a slight nasal tone that—for good or for ill—recalls the cliché of a nerdy computer hacker. Throughout this audio edition, Porter keeps the story moving at an engaging pace, even during technical passages that may be unclear to a computer-hacking neophyte. However, each chapter in print begins with a ciphered sentence that readers can attempt to decode, which when spoken by the narrator proves incomprehensible and frustrating to listeners. A Little, Brown hardcover. (Aug.)