The Cuckoo's Egg
The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stollby Cliff Stoll
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 152 nonfiction books
Readers recommend this gripping, fun true story of tracking a hacker, often named as the book that sparked their interest in computing and security.
Readers recommend this gripping, fun true story of tracking a hacker, often named as the book that sparked their interest in computing and security.
40 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 40
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 40 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Sparked interest in computing careers
“I could probably put down Cuckoo's Egg too as an "inspiration" for me ultimately getting interested in computers and networking”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore” “Your book the Cuckoo's Egg got me both (more) into IT, as well as helped my English proficiency go from basic to proficient.”
Comment from 8 May 2026 in “Rumors of my death are slightly exaggerated” “He and his book are the cause of my switching from a very young PhD in thermodynamics career to going back to school for CS”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]” - Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]”
- Comment from 8 May 2026 in “Rumors of my death are slightly exaggerated”
- Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]”
Fun, gripping, well-written page-turner
“The only paperback book I've ever sat down and read in one sitting. Highly recommended if you've not read it.”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]” “it was such a fun read. They really have a way with words”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]” “Such a fantastically well-written book!”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]” - Comment from 10 May 2026 in “AWS says data center overheating in North Virginia disrupts services”
- Comment from 8 May 2026 in “Rumors of my death are slightly exaggerated”
Favorite book, reread often
“The only paperback book I've ever sat down and read in one sitting. Highly recommended if you've not read it.”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]” “One of my favorite books is "The Cuckoo's Egg". I read it at least yearly.”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]” “Your book is one of my favourite books I've read, ever.”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]” - Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
- Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “The Billable Usage API: programmatic cost visibility for Cloudflare”
Formative reading when young
“You captured my imagination as a teenager when I read The Cuckoo's Egg”
Comment from 8 May 2026 in “Rumors of my death are slightly exaggerated” “was formative for me when I was a kid getting into computers”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]” “I also read your book as a child in the early 90s.”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]” - Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Cliff StollThis page | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Enshittificationby Cory Doctorow | 19 | 1 | 95% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
35 of the 41 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Oh, this predates Internet. It happened as soon as we started connecting computer networks together. See "The Cuckoo's Egg" by Cliff Stoll”
“you have the formative reading of my career”
“My top three are Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll”
“I also read your book as a child in the early 90s.”
“Such a fantastically well-written book!”
“It's the first book I read about computer history and made me interested in tech”
“I read your book when I was ten years old!”
“It's a real time-portal to a pre-security internet.”
“I conducted security awareness training for all, and gave each one a copy of Cuckoo’s Egg.”
“It's a fun story, but not particularly well-told in my opinion.”
“still one of the best security books ever written”
“Cliff Stoll is a treasure, I knew vaguely about this story, but not about the book. Looking forward to it.”
“Your book is one of my favourite books I've read, ever.”
“half the protagonists in hacker fiction can't hold a candle to him”
“One of my favorite books is "The Cuckoo's Egg". I read it at least yearly.”
“the story really comes full circle for me now”
“The only paperback book I've ever sat down and read in one sitting. Highly recommended if you've not read it.”
“it was such a fun read. They really have a way with words”
“He and his book are the cause of my switching from a very young PhD in thermodynamics career to going back to school for CS”
“was formative for me when I was a kid getting into computers”
“His book The Cuckoo's Egg is great!”
“I could probably put down Cuckoo's Egg too as an "inspiration" for me ultimately getting interested in computers and networking”
“was a great read and had a lot of this”
“reading it and learning about unix systems and teletypes and worms made me feel like I was part of some secret nerdy club”
“It for sure played its part in steering me towards a CompSci education.”
“You captured my imagination as a teenager when I read The Cuckoo's Egg”
“there's a significant overlap between readers of "The Cuckoo's Egg" and HN folk”
“Your book the Cuckoo's Egg got me both (more) into IT, as well as helped my English proficiency go from basic to proficient.”
“your book was formative for me at multiple different points in my life”
“I enjoyed your book greatly, back when you were alive.”
“It is a page turner, a great story.”
“You made me order The Cuckoo's Egg.”
“the attitude speaking from that text was interesting and inspiring”
“If you like this topic, read”
“If you like this then you will probably like”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.