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READ THIS BEFORE YOU READ THE BOOK
This text treats a number of topics, many harmless, others extremely dangerous, at least to carry
out, not to read about, and that meets the author's intent: to provide something lively to read. He
states here, and repeats throughout, that he recommends absolutely no hazardous or illegal activity
to anyone.
Human nature includes in its repertoire the capacity for vicarious experience. We may read a
murder-mystery laced with killings, robbery, torture, kinky sex, and pigging out on chocolate-and
relish every page. Yet no sane person would actually wallow in those perversions, especially not
thick indulgence in dark candy.
The same point applies to surveillance, lock-picking, strange weapons, illegal fireworks, and a host
of spooklore this book treats as casually as talk of cross-stitch. The author intends it as no more
than vicarious adventure for the reader.
Reading about it and doing it tap different sides of human nature. Age does nothing to dull our
fascination with risk, but brings with it an appreciation of our frailty and mortality. The text speaks
easily of gray-zone projects now fading from memory, but would no more endorse them today than it
would condone child-molesting.
The book relates the step-by-step of things because they happened that way, at least those of
which the author was a part some years back. Journalistic credibility demands that frankness.
People read tech studies to glean hard detail. Books that o Read more...