Addiction, dysfunction, obsession and their outcome are all portrayed in a fascinating manner. Including interviews with members of several notable hacking groups, Underground appears to make the case that hardcore computer hackers are obsessive-compulsive, with an addiction to the thrill of hacking. Now two years old, the book is a fascinating piece of investigative journalism that creates a disturbing psychological profile of malicious hackers. Dreyfus is an able narrator. She has the wisdom to realise that the best way to tell a colourful story is in the plainest language possible.
Underground does offer some excellent journalism.
At least one bank computer spits out credit card numbers as willingly as a dog currenders a ball. Time and time again, administrators have to turn to pen and paper because it's the only secure and indelible means of recording information. Computers have led to an even greater fall in permanent written records in the last 20 years. Which is just one reason why Suelette Dreyfus' Underground is such a valuable work. The true stories of Underground are simply compelling.