# Takedown by Tsutomu Shimomura and John Markoff

3 Hacker News commenters recommended Takedown by Tsutomu Shimomura and John Markoff and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its look at the mindset behind social engineering. One critic felt it gives Kevin Mitnick more attention than is warranted.

## Why people recommend it

- Shows social engineering mindset (1 comments): "I think it still shows a lot of mindset around social engineering" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48659043))

## What people warn about

- Focuses too much on Mitnick (1 comments): "makes a much bigger deal out of Mitnick than is reasonable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45815753))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cuckoo-s-egg.md): 40 recommend
- [Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amusing-ourselves-to-death.md): 36 recommend
- [The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/anxious-generation.md): 24 recommend
- [Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bullshit-jobs.md): 20 recommend
- [Enshittification by Cory Doctorow](https://hackerapproved.com/p/enshittification.md): 19 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786862106?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780786862108) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Takedown by Tsutomu Shimomura and John Markoff", https://hackerapproved.com/p/takedown/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).