The NEW "Steel Bolt Hacking" Book Review.

[Varjeal]

Well...it finally arrived today, my fresh copy of the revised "Steel Bolt Hacking" guide by Mr. Douglas Chick. As some of you may recall, I had a rather scathing opinion of Mr. Chick's book the last time around.

Well, after contacting each other, and settling many of our differences, Mr. Chick asked for my assistance (which I gratefully agreed to) in revising the book.

What arrived at my door first appeared to be the same book....that is until I opened it up and started reading.

What you will now get in your hands is truly what the author has subtitled, "The computerman's guide to Lock Picking"

The book itself is fairly well organized and laid out. The author has gone to some length to check on the accuracy of most of his information, and has come up with a friendly, non-technical method of presenting and promoting the fine art of lock picking. I may differ with him on some of the things he says in his book, but really, so what??? The main theme of the book is to present lockpicking as an interesting and exciting hobby, and he does so very well.

It explains the basics, teases ya with some more advanced info, and generally leaves the reader (at least me) with the desire to pick (pun intended) up a lock and some tools and have some fun, which really is what lock picking should be about.

Anyways, if you haven't already picked up a copy, and you're new to the art, you really should grab a copy just for the inspiration value alone. I should mention that it also gives a fair selection of links and websites to visit to learn more, and I sincerely appreciate the acknowledgements given in the book.

Enjoy.

[Hak]

Hmm, i've thought of purchasing that book, but i wasnt sure if it was any good. When i read a different review of it, it said that it was to introduce computer hackers into 'lock hacking'. And im not much of a computer hacker (was once interested, but im more devoted to 'lock hacking'), so i thought that the book wasnt for me. Your review has cleared up a few questions i had, and i guess i probably will buy it..but still not sure

[Chucklz]

The book is definately geared for a beginner though. If you have reasonable experience, you probably will be better saving for a copy of LSS. But, if you are looking for a good reference work, somehting printed and tangible, this book will be a good, and inexpensive, addition to your library.

[WhiteHat]

Recently reviewed on slashdot:
http://books.slashdot.org/article.pl?si ... =126&tid=6

[forrest]

Amazon finally sent me "Steel Bolt Hacking"... for some reason they really took a long time to get it to me, so I've been using the internet scronging for information. Here is my early review of the book. This review is for people who are thinking of buying the book and are still early in the process of learning how to pick locks (my pov)

For reference am a new to this (getting better but still practising on padlocks w/o security pins and crappy Kwikset cylinders).

--$/physical--
It's a smaller book than you expect for $20. But hey, it's priced to be a bit of a niche book (although I hope Chick and others are getting WHOPPING royalty checks since this made #7 on the Amazon bestseller list). It's also not a "good quality" paperback it looks more like a pamphlet quality. HOWEVER - we ought to be after Information not beauty. Maybe future revisions (or the Advanced Lock Hacking book I'm waiting for --hint --hint) will be better

--writing style--
Well look Douglas isn't Proust - and neither are you (or me) . But it's a very friendly introduction - from a beginners view it's extremely friendly and approachable. I imagine this is very important for some readers who aren't familiar or don't like technical manuals. The graphics are ok looking, but more importantly I felt they were VERY clear on depicting exactly the concepts which you need to get *as a beginner*. Chick has a habit of being very redundant, it's pretty annoying and a waste of space. Maybe it's filler, maybe it was to help each description be stand-alone. I dunno.

--information--
This is really the key to why you should buy this book.

The basic concepts and lock types are well presented.
The tone is easy even for a non-technical person IMHO.
The Diagrams are clean and obvious.
If you are curious about this hobby or just started then read the book and you will find it very worthwhile.

I think it's worth the $20(us). Go get it.

DISCLAIMER - if you don't want to spend $20 for some reason.
Like I said Amazon kept me waiting on this one. During that time I bought picks, scounged some padlocks a few door cylinders, and *scoured the internet for information*. There is plenty of information out there. The FAQs on this site point to a great deal. Some of the videos are fantastic (others just great entertainment). The MIT guide is very helpful for beginners. You don't need to buy this book. (Personally, I think you ought to support people who try and write valuable guides like this for curious people like myself). But if that $20 means a lot to you, or you're going to resent the purchase if the minor flaws I mentioned bug you, or if you are already well advanced in the craft, use free resources. The internet has a LOT of free information, friendly people with even more information to share, and let's face it, the basic concepts are trivial compared to the practice.