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freshtoastandcoffee's review against another edition
5.0
A humbling and chilling history lesson of our current world. Some of the later chapters repeat stuff he already taught you. But overall this book is clear cut and to the point. This is a fantastic book to understand the sudden and quick rise of cyber war. If you have any interest in cyber security. Read this. If you have any interest in American politics. Read this.
machaith's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book on the Cyber war and it's complete history, with interesting details, recommended to anyone interested in the Cyber War.
skitch41's review
5.0
Six years ago I read the book [bc:Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century|6098718|Wired for War The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century|P.W. Singer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1427166989s/6098718.jpg|6275882][b:Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century|6098718|Wired for War The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century|P.W. Singer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1427166989s/6098718.jpg|6275882] by [ai:P.W. Singer|4773028|P.W. Singer|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1366682908p2/4773028.jpg][a:P.W. Singer|4773028|P.W. Singer|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1366682908p2/4773028.jpg], which changed my views on robotics in warfare, a new field of combat that was just being implemented in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time robotics was, and still is, changing the way America fights on the battlefield, America was beginning to grapple with a completely new battlefield: cyberspace. Much like Wired for War, this book has opened my eyes to the opportunities and perils of the internet, how America is putting its might behind dominating this arena in the same way it currently dominates the land, sea, air, and space domains, and how America is not the only nation-state looking to dominate this new frontier. China and other nations, but mostly China, seem to be going to the mattresses on this hoping to gain a first-mover advantage in both military and economic spheres through domination of cyberspace. But nation-states like China and the U.S. aren't the only players either. Hackers, "hacktivists," and hacking groups, whether white hats or black hats (just a couple of the terms you will learn by reading this book), are also a threat as well as a recruiting pool for the military and law enforcement. Even private corporations appear to stockpiling "cyber arms" with only U.S. law preventing them from launching their own private cyber wars. Though the author never makes the analogy in these pages, cyber space has a lot of similarities with the Wild West: the government may have more of the toys, but private businesses and individuals have a huge incentive to take up arms and defend themselves and it is only the law that is preventing them from doing so at this point. But once the first business crosses the line from cyber defense to cyber offense, which is already a pretty gray area, then there may be nothing that can stop an all out cyberwar. It's a chilling prospect when you think about it. The author does make the analogy between the military-industrial complex from Pres. Eisenhower's famous farewell address in 1961 and what he calls the military-internet complex and with the revolving door between the military and private sectors in this field, it is hard not to see his point. However, as the author points out in his concluding chapter, Pres. Obama doesn't seem to have any problems with this growing industry. Indeed, after the Snowden revelations it appears the administration is backing it to the hilt with only some cosmetic changes to appease the public's concerns. The only thing that keeps me from putting this on my favorites shelf is the structure of the book. The author bounces around a lot from one subject to another with an arbitrary splitting of the book into two parts that doesn't really signify anything. A little more thought on this would have been nice. Still, the author has written a fascinating book on the greatest challenge to America's national security and economic security of our times. It's a relatively short, quick book that most people will find easy to read and there is hardly a dull moment in it. I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in cyber security and the future of the internet.
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