Bad Dirt

Author: Annie Proulx
Series: Wyoming Stories, Book 2
Paperback: 219 pages
ISBN: 0007198876


Proulx's vision of Wyoming is of vast open spaces populated by a host of weird characters. This book of eleven short stories gives us a glimpse of wildlife rangers, talking badgers, a magic kettle, burning hay and talking badgers. A fascinating collection of stories with something for everyone.

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Snow Crash

Author: Neal Stephenson
Paperback: 440 pages
ISBN: 9780140232929


According to his business card Hiro Protagonist is the last of the freelance hackers, the greatest sword fighter in the world and a stringer for the Central Intelligence Corporation. Recently 'resigned' from his job as a pizza delivery driver he has returned to freelance hacking. When he is offered a cyber-drug which appears to have real world effects he knows that something is wrong with the world, but what and who can he trust to help him find out?

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Brute Force

Author: Matt Curtin
Hardback: 281 pages
ISBN: 0387201092


We all take for granted that appropriately strong encryption is used to safe guard our bank transactions, medical records and private information. During the late 1990's it was, however, far from clear that the encryption standard mandated by the US government, DES, was fit for purpose. In 1997 RSA Data Security launched a contest aimed at proving that DES was vulnerable to determined hackers. This book tells the inside story of the group that won the challenge and forced the government to change it's policies on encryption. Written by a member of the winning group this book documents a fascinating time in the growth of the Internet.

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