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Netsurfer Recommendations

Fixing Intelligence: For a More Secure America
William E. Odom
Yale Univ Pr; ISBN: 0300099762

William Odom was director of the National Security Agency and assistant chief of staff for intelligence in the US Army, which is to say that he knows whereof he speaks when he talks about possible reforms to the American intelligence establishment. The flashy undercover and high-tech aspects of spy work may get all the hot press, but few people lend any attention to the equally daunting problems of managing the huge and complex organizations that are the US intelligence agencies. Odom's book is based on a study he wrote for congressional committees several years ago, updated with the lessons of the post-Sept. 11 world. This is at heart a book about managing bureaucracy - go elsewhere for thrilling spy chase stories - but bureaucracy and management science are key to understanding the agencies' problems. Odom tackles issues such as inefficient division of responsibilities, lack of continuing education for managers, the problems of research, lack of emphasis on counter-intelligence, and even the personality problems of field agents - apparently, the best are con-men at heart, which leads to problems when they are later promoted to management. Call this book a review of organizational science for spooks and a glimpse of an under-appreciated aspect of intelligence. It's educational, to say the least.

The Best Time Travel Stories of All Time
Barry N. Malzberg (Editor)
I Books; ISBN: 0743458141

Everybody who wants to go back in time and sell when Yahoo was at $400 per share, raise their hand. We thought so. Time travel is one of those perennial human dreams, fuelled by equal parts noble curiosity, crass avarice, and a practical desire to change the world. This collection of 14 stories by some of SF's best writers is all about time travel - backward, forward, and even sideways. It's escapist reading, sure enough, and lots of fun at that - and that's all you really have to know.

802.11 Security
Bruce Potter, Bob Fleck (Editor)
O'Reilly & Associates; ISBN: 0596002904

Let's state right off the bat that this is not an introduction to wireless security for novices. The book assumes a certain level of competence as a system administrator. It is aimed primarily at people who manage the Unix systems Linux, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD. There are sections on Mac OS X and Windows, but they would not be of much use to the casual wireless user. On the other hand, if you have to set up a wireless network of even a moderate complexity, then this book will guide you through the many security considerations that entails. It covers topics such as authentication, configuration, firewalling, and auditing your setup with security in mind. Given the notoriously bad security of wireless devices, this book is a timely compendium of information on the topic for more sophisticated sysadmins.

Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy
Simon Louvish (Author)
Thomas Dunne Books; ISBN: 0312266510

By the time they paired up in 1926, Arthur Stanley Jefferson and Norvell Hardy were already in their 30s and had carved out reasonably successful solo careers on stage and screen. But it was the pairing between the rubber-faced skinny English comic and the corpulent Georgian (US) master of the slow burn that made comedy history. Laurel and Hardy are arguably the premier comedy team of history, a duo whose comedy transcends language and culture. This new dual biography tracks their lives, careers, and friendship from cradle to grave. Louvish carefully chronicles the ups and downs of their multimedia careers, and the mostly downs of their personal lives - both were plagued by multiple unhappy marriages. What emerges is an affectionate portrait of two archetypically funny characters whose genuine off-screen friendship only enhanced their marvelous on-screen chemistry.