Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. An excellent primer on technology, security, abuse of power, and a fun coming-of-age story. I think it does a decent job of introducing folks to open source and, cryptography.
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Little Brother
Cory Doctorow
Science fiction · A BOOKTypographic jacket · original cover not fetched
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Little Brother
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Cory Doctorow's Little Brother. I could not put it down, and read it in one sitting.
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, and it's sequel, Homeland. Actually more of a "what if" set in the US at present time but still shows how there is a very narrow gap between current times and the time predicted in the book!
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All of Cory Doctorow's books are free online: http://craphound.com/ I enjoyed Little Brother and its sequel Homeland quite a lot.
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Diamond Age is recommended. You might also like Little Brother by Doctorow. I would recommend anything by China Mieville. Take a look http://blog.kaipakartik.com you might find something you want to read.
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Currently reading Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - an OK book - and keeping Starting Strength by my side as a reference. Starting Strength is a great introduction to weightlifting and getting stronger, I highly recommend it.
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Little Brother has a special place in my heart, but mostly because I started reading it a few weeks after being chased around by riot police at the Pittsburgh G20, which made the effect that much more real. Little Brother is a subversive nerd's porn.
I'd highly recommend Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. I read it last weekend and simply couldn't put it down. It's along the lines of 1984 but less extreme and thus more believable. The (free) ebook can be found at http://www.craphound.com/littlebrother/download/. The author offers the ebook for free and asks that you donate a copy (explained on the site) instead of emailing him and offering to pay him directly for it (or anything of the sort).
If you want to read some eye opening fiction then I would recommend cory doctorows three books, Little Brother, Makers and For The Win. I know it is stacked in the young adult fiction section but it still is good read for anybody. <something irrelevant> I am shocked that in 26 comments till now nobody has mentioned Godel Escher Bach by Douglas Hofstater. Apart from everything else it has accomplished it is always the best seller in the "Nobody reads but everybody recommends" category, or at least the close second or draw to Art Of Programming by Knuth. </something irrelevant>
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The Machinery of Freedom (David Friedman) -- Great book on a potential anarcho-capitalist society and how we could push the US government in that direction. The Game (Neil Strauss) -- See nopassrecover's response; he explained it well. Little Brother (Cory Doctorow) -- A fantastic novel about freedom and technology. Makers (Cory Doctorow) -- A great novel about people who create, whether technology or business models. Perhaps the best book I read this year. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (Cory Doctorow) -- The story of a man working in Disney World, which is now part of the Bitchun Society (a post-scarcity, post-death society). A story of love, betrayal, and death; how can you go wrong? Worth it for the concept of Whuffie (you'll need to read it to really get it) alone. Diamond Age (Neal Stephenson) -- The evolution of a society towards post-scarcity, written around the story of a young girl's growth into an adult. Best post-cyberpunk book written thus far, IMO.
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Here are some similar threads on recommended books for hackers: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=135185 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=348019 If you would rather relax with some fiction, try Little Brother by Cory Doctorow.