A Beginner's Guide to the Internet

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Network Working Group J. Quarterman Request for Comments: 1432 MIDS March 1993 Recent Internet Books Status of this Memo This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify an Internet standard. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Abstract This article originally appeared in Volume 2 Number 12, (December 1992) of Matrix News, the monthly newsletter of Matrix Information and Directory Services, Inc. (MIDS). 1. Which Books Here is a list of books related to using the Internet, which is the global and exponentially growing network of more than a million computers that communicate by interactive use of the TCP/IP protocols, for the use of millions of users. This article was prompted by the recent publication of nine or ten books on the Internet in the space of a year (some are so new they aren't even published yet). I have also included some books that have been around for quite a long time (as long ago as the dim past of 1984). I think all of them contain useful information for people new to the Internet. Some of the books included here are about more than the Internet. Some of them are about the Matrix, which is the set of all computer networks worldwide that exchange electronic mail. The Matrix includes FidoNet, UUCP, BITNET, USENET, the Internet, and many others, but is not limited to any one of those networks. This particular bibliographic collection is oriented around the largest computer network in the world, the Internet, because of all the recent books about that network. Matrix News continues to publish information about the Matrix, including but not limited to the Internet. Quarterman [Page 1] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 Author Pp. Price Audience Type Other Networks LaQuey & Ryer 208 $10.95 public user guide some Kehoe 112 $22 technical user guide minimal Krol 376 $24.95 researchers guide, catalog minimal Kochmer 450 $39.95 researchers guide, catalog some Marine, et al. 380 $39 administrative contacts, some context Dern ? ? new users user guide chapters Lane & 200 $37.50 information primer ? Summerhill professionals Malamud 376 $26.95 varied travelog some Quarterman & 448 $42.50 varied standards minimal Wilhelm Lynch, Rose 822 $40 technical standards minimal Tennant, et al. 142 $45 professionals textbook ? Benedikt 444 $15.95 varied anthology some Kahin 446 $34.95 faculty scholarly variable Parkhurst 86 $10.50 librarians scholarly some McClure, et al. 746 $45 varied scholarly some Levy 473 $4.95 public history some Raymond 453 $10.95 varied dictionary some Stoll 332 $19.95 public spy story some Hafner & 368 $22.95 public journalism some Markoff Denning 574 $23.95 public scholarly some Sterling 352 $23 public documentary some IRG 240 $15 technical catalog minimal NorthWestNet 297 $20 technical catalog minimal Frey & Adams 436 $26.95 varied desk ref. many LaQuey (UDCN) 645 $34.95 varied directory several Quarterman 746 $50 varied context all Table 1. Network Books Summarized Quarterman [Page 2] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 I have excluded from this article books that are solely about technical aspects of technology, such as the TCP/IP protocols. Instead, I have included books about the resources and users of the Internet. I have grouped them in rough classifications for convenience of presentation. Several of these books fit several classifications. For that reason and others, the classifications should be taken as illustrative, not definitive. Table 1 summarizes some features of all the books described. Thanks to various people for input; especially David Bridge. Much of the detailed bibliographic information came from the Library of Congress catalog server supported by Digital Research Associates, Inc., accessed via gopher and Telnet over the Internet. Please note that prices may change, as may electronic mail addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and postal addresses. The price you pay, in particular, may be less because of a discount, or more because of shipping, or because you buy the book outside of the United States. The information included here is accurate to the best of my knowledge, but your mileage may vary. Use at your own risk. But please do report errors, changes, and additions to mids@tic.com. Some bibliographic citations end in a line of the form domain.name:path/name This means you can retrieve further information by connecting to domain.name with FTP, logging in as user anonymous, using your electronic mail address as a password, and changing to path/name as a directory, or retrieving it as a file, whichever works. Some citations end in a line of the form local@domain This is a domain address for further email inquiries. Quarterman [Page 3] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 2. Introductions New user guides and information on getting connected fill most of the new books about the Internet. LaQuey & Ryer: Tracy LaQuey, and Jeanne C. Ryer, The Internet Companion: A Beginner's Guide to Global Networking, p. 208, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, October 1992. $10.95. ISBN 0-201-62224-6. Book Review: Internet Society News, 1(3):34. Summer 1992. Book Review: Link Letter, 5(3):4. Nov. 1992. Book Review: Matrix News, 2(9):8-9. Sept. 1992. companion@world.std.com This is the least expensive introductory guide for new users of the Internet, and perhaps the only one aimed at the general public. It is also being made available online by anonymous FTP from world.std.com, two chapters a month. Kehoe: Brendan P. Kehoe, Zen and the Art of the Internet: A Beginner's Guide, p. 112, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, July 1992. $22.00. ISBN 0-13-010778-6. Book Review: Link Letter, 5(3):3. Nov. 1992. Book Review: MicroTimes, 102:3, Nov. 23, 1992. simsc.si.edu:networks/zen.ad The first edition of this book was and is available only online, from various anonymous FTP servers. This second edition is somewhat enlarged and updated, yet is still the shortest introductory Internet book. Quarterman [Page 4] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 Krol: Ed Krol, The Whole Internet User's Guide & Catalog, p. 376, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., Sebastopol, CA, 13 September 1992. $24.95. ISBN 1-56592-025-2. Book Review: Internet Society News, 1(3):33. Summer 1992. Book Review: Link Letter, 5(3):3. Nov. 1992. Book Review: Matrix News, 2(11). Nov. 1992. Book Review: MicroTimes, 102:3, Nov. 23, 1992. Perhaps the most ambitious of the new crop of books, this one is both a user's guide and a catalog of resources in one. It is aimed at graduate students who want to use the Internet for research. Kochmer: Jonathan Kochmer, and NorthWestNet, The Internet Passport: NorthWestNet's Guide to Our World Online, 4th ed., p. 450, NorthWestNet, Bellevue, WA, 1993. $39.95. ISBN 0-9635281-0-6. info@nwnet.net A forthcoming guide and catalog, not yet seen. It is paradoxically both the fourth edition of and the successor to the other NorthWestNet book listed later. Marine: April Marine, ed., Internet: Getting Started, p. 380, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, September 1992. $39.00. ISBN [none]. Book Review: Internet Society News, 1(3):33. Summer 1992. Book Review: Link Letter, 5(3):4. Nov. 1992. Book Review: Matrix News, 2(12). Dec. 1992. ftp.nisc.sri.com:netinfo/internet-getting- started-contents How to join the Internet, and some context so you will know why. This book is not a guide, and not a catalog, but it does contain numerous contact listings. Quarterman [Page 5] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 Dern: Daniel P. Dern, The New User's Guide to the Internet, McGraw-Hill, New York, forthcoming in 1993. ISBN 0-07-016510-6 (hc). ISBN 0-07-16511-4 (pbk). A forthcoming new user guide, not yet seen. Lane & Summerhill: Elizabeth S. Lane, and Craig A. Summerhill, An Internet Primer for Information Professionals: A Basic Guide to Networking Technology, p. 200, Meckler Corp., Westport, CT, forthcoming in 1992. $37.50. ISBN 0-88736-831-X. This book, not yet seen, is apparently aimed at information professionals, presumably meaning librarians and others. 3. Travelogs This category has only one book in it so far. Malamud: Carl Malamud, Exploring the Internet: A Technical Travelogue, p. 376, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, August 1992. $26.95. ISBN 0-13-296898-3. Book Review: Internet Society News, 1(3):34. Summer 1992. Book Review: Network Computing, 3(11):46. October 15, 1992. Book Review: Matrix News, 2(9):9,11. Sept. 1992. Many fine lunches and dinners with users, administrators, and developers of the Internet in many countries around the world, with accurate technical background. Certainly the most wickedly funny of all the books about the Internet. Contains a subplot about how and why ITU and ISO do not publish their standards online. Quarterman [Page 6] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 4. Standards The seemingly obscure topic of standards is actually illuminating when the subject is Internet Standards, because the processes that produce them reflect how the whole network works: by the efforts of its users and engineers. Quarterman & Wilhelm: John S. Quarterman, and Susanne Wilhelm, UNIX, POSIX, and Open Systems: The Open Standards Puzzle, p. 446, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1993. $42.50. ISBN 0-201-52772-3. Book Review: Internet Society News, 1(3):34. Summer 1992. Context about open systems standards. Includes a very brief history of the Internet, comments on the effects of networks on standards and the reverse, commentary on the benefits of publishing standards online, and an in-depth examination of the IETF standards process used to produce Internet Standards. Also includes an Internet growth graph. Lynch & Rose: Daniel C. Lynch and Marshall T. Rose, eds., The Internet System Handbook, p. 822, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1993. $40, ISBN 0-201-56741-5. A description of the process that produces Internet Standards, and some other user level material in addition to protocol material. 5. Textbooks This category includes a textbook on using the Internet, and some other books that could be used as textbooks for sociology or policy. Tennant: Roy Tennant, John Ober, Anne G. Lipow, and Foreword by Clifford Lynch, Crossing the Internet Threshold: an Instructional Handbook, p. 142 pages, 1993. $45.00. ISBN 1-882208-01-3. simsc.si.edu:networks/crossing.ad A short textbook on using the Internet, by two librarians at the University of California at Berkeley. Quarterman [Page 7] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 Benedikt: Michael Benedikt, ed., Cyberspace: First Steps, p. 444, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1991. $15.95. ISBN 0-262-02327-X. An anthology of sociological examinations of networks and related topics, by writers, scholars, and public figures. Edited by a professor of Architecture at the University of Texas. Kahin: Brian Kahin, ed., Building Information Infrastructure: Issues in the Development of the National Research and Education Network, p. 446, McGraw-Hill Primis, New York, 1992. $34.95, ISBN: 0-390-03083-X. Book Review: Matrix News, 2(5). May 1992. Includes the entire text of the High Performance Computing Act (HPCA) of 1991 that authorized the forthcoming National Research and Education Network (NREN), as well as numerous examinations of what it does and should mean. Papers from a workshop at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Tough sledding in spots, but very rewarding in others. Parkhurst: Carol A. Parkhurst, ed., Library Perspectives on NREN: The National Research and Education Network, p. 86, LITA, Chicago, 1990. $10.50. ISBN 0-8389-7477-5. Book Review: Matrix News, 1(7). Oct. 1991. Another NREN policy anthology; this one oriented towards library uses. Quarterman [Page 8] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 McClure: Charles McClure, Ann Bishop, Philip Doty, and Howard Rosenbaum, The National Research And Education Network (NREN): Research and Policy Perspectives, p. 746, Ablex Press, Norwood, NJ, 1991. $45 personal; $95 institutional. ISBN 0-89391-813-X. Book Review: Matrix News, 1(6). Sep. 1991. Book Review: Electronic Networking: Research, Applications and Policy 2(1). Spring 1992. Masses of information on NREN, and examination of its potential effects on research. 6. Hacking and Cracking Hacking is skillful programming. Cracking is breaking and entering. If you don't know the difference, read the first two books below. If you don't think it matters, read the last book below, which examines how law enforcement agencies confused about computers and networks did some very strange things. Levy: Steven Levy, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, p. 473, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City, NY, 1984. $17.95. ISBN 0-385-19195-2 (hc). $4.95 ISBN 0-440-13405-6 (pbk). Tales of the real hackers who invented the modern computer industry. Some of these people are still quite active on the nets today. Raymond & Steele: Eric S. Raymond, ed., Guy Steele, The New Hacker's Dictionary, p. 453, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1991. ISBN 0-262-18145-2 (hc). $10.95 ISBN 0-262-68069-6 (pbk). The authority on hacker jargon, and a very amusing book. Look it up in here when you doubt a definition in the press. Quarterman [Page 9] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 Stoll: Clifford Stoll, The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage, p. 332, Doubleday, New York, 1989. $19.95. ISBN 0-385-24946-2 (alk. paper). A spy novel, except it's true: a first person account by a down- on-his-luck Berkeley astronomer who with others tracked down a KGB network spy. Despite its necessary concentration on cracking, still a readable introduction to what the Internet is about. Hafner & Markoff: Katie Hafner, and John Markoff, Cyberpunk, p. 368, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1991. $22.95. ISBN 0-671-68322-5. Interviews with some of the crackers who have appeared conspicuously in the press in the past few years. One of the co- authors is the New York Times reporter who broke the Stoll story to the public. Denning: Peter J. Denning, ed., Computers Under Attack: Intruders, Worms, and Viruses, p. 574, ACM Press/Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1990. $23.95, ISBN 0-201-53067-8. Details of celebrated network security cases, including those described in the previous two books. Includes Stoll's original article about the Wiley Hacker, and responses and articles by others on the same subject. Has extensive coverage of the 1988 Internet Worm. Also includes information on viruses. Has quite a bit of material on the cultures of the networks, and on social, legal, and ethical matters. Starts with the standard historical network papers, including "Notable Computer Networks" by Quarterman and Hoskins. Quarterman [Page 10] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 Sterling: Bruce Sterling, The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the electronic frontier, p. 352, Bantam, New York, 1992. $23. ISBN 0-553-08058-X. An in-depth examination of the forces of law who try to deal with computer crime, and of the issues involved, written by one of the science fiction writers who invented cyberpunk. The real story behind Operation Sundevil and the Legion of Doom. Readable, informative, amusing, and necessary. 7. Resource Guides These have always been available online. NorthWestNet: NorthWestNet, NorthWestNet User Services Internet Resource Guide, p. 297, NorthWestNet, Bellevue, WA, 1992. $20. ISBN [none]. Book Review: Matrix News, 2(1). Jan. 1992. ftphost.nwnet.net:nic/nwnet/user- guide/README.nusirg NorthWestNet's Resource Guide. IRG: NNSC, Internet Resource Guide, p. 240, NSF Network Service Center (NNSC), BBN, Cambridge, MA, 1991. $15. ISBN [none]. nnsc.nsf.net:resource-guide/README. The original Internet Resource Guide. Quarterman [Page 11] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 8. Also About Other Networks The network service most people use is electronic mail, which is carried over many networks other than the Internet, throughout the worldwide Matrix of interconnected computer networks that exchange mail. These are books about networks that cover more networks than the Internet alone. Frey & Adams: Donnalyn Frey, and Rick Adams, !%@: A Directory of Electronic Mail Addressing and Networks, p. 436, O'Reilly & Associates, Sebastopol, CA, January 1991. $26.95. ISBN 0-937-17515-3 (pbk.). A quick desk reference to many networks, with two pages on each one. LaQuey (UDCN): Tracy Lynn LaQuey, Users' Directory of Computer Networks, p. 645, Digital Press, Bedford, MA, 1989. $34.95 Digital Part Number EY-C200E-DP; Digital Press ISBN 1-555-58047-5; Prentice-Hall ISBN 0-13-950262-9. A directory of users, domains, etc. of the Internet, BITNET, UUCP, etc. Quarterman: John S. Quarterman, The Matrix: Computer Networks and Conferencing Systems Worldwide, p. 746, Digital Press, Bedford, MA, 1990. $50. Digital order number EY-C176E-DP-SS, Digital Press ISBN 155558-033-5, Prentice-Hall ISBN 0-13-565607-9. A context book about all computer networks worldwide, including UUCP, FidoNet, BITNET, USENET, and the Internet. The longest of all the books listed, and the most comprehensive. Quarterman [Page 12] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 9. Publishers These are in alphabetical order. Most of the telephone and fax numbers are only for orders, not for other kinds of communications. Ablex Publishing Corp. Doubleday, a division of 201-767-8450 Bantam Doubleday Dell fax: 201-767-6717 Publishing Group, Inc. 355 Chestnut St. 212-765-6500 Norwood, NJ 07648 800-223-6834 fax: 212-765-3869 666 Fifth Avenue Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. New York, NY 10103 74230.3622@CompuServe.com 617-944-3700 800-447-2226 Library Solution Press 1 Jacob Way 510-841-2636 Reading, MA 01867 fax: 415-594-0411 1100 Industrial Road, Suite 9 San Carlos, CA 94070 Bantam, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc. LITA Publications 212-765-6500 ALANET ALA0085 800-223-6834 800-545-2433 fax: 212-765-3869 312-280-4270 666 Fifth Avenue fax: + 312-440-9374 New York, NY 10103 50 East Huron Street Chicago, IL 60602 Digital Press buddenhagen@cecv01.enet.dec.com McGraw-Hill 617-276-1498 212-512-2000 fax: 617-276-4314 1221 Ave. of the Americas Digital Equipment Corporation New York, NY 10020 12 Crosby Drive BUO/E94 Bedford, MA 01730 Meckler Corporation Simon & Schuster (203) 226-6967 212-698-7000 Fax: (203) 545-5840 800-223-2336 11 Ferry Lane West fax: 212-698-7007 Westport, CT 06880 Subsidiary of Paramount Communications Inc. the Simon & Schuster Bldg. 1230 Ave. of the Americas New York, NY 10020 Quarterman [Page 13] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 SRI International MIT Press nisc@nisc.sri.com Massachusetts Institute 415-859-6387 of Technology 415-859-6387 Cambridge, MA 02142 fax: 415-859-6028 Network Information Systems NorthWestNet Center nusirg-orders@nwnet.net 333 Ravenswood Avenue, 206-562-3000 Room EJ29 fax: 206-562-4822 Menlo Park, CA 9402 NUSIRG Orders 15400 SE 30th Place, Suite 202 Bellevue, WA 98007 NSFNET Network Service Center nnsc@nnsc.nsf.net 617-873-3400 Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. 10 Moulton Street Cambridge, MA 02138 O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. nuts@ora.com 707-829-0515 800-998-9938 7am to 5pm PST fax: 707-829-0104 103 Morris Street, Suite A Sebastopol, CA 95472 Prentice-Hall info@prenhall.com 515-284-6751 fax: 515-284-2607 Route 9W Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Security Considerations Security issues are not discussed in this memo. Quarterman [Page 14] RFC 1432 Recent Internet Books March 1993 Author's Address John S. Quarterman Matrix Information and Directory Services, Inc. (MIDS) 1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 500W Austin, TX 78723 U.S.A. EMail: jsq@tic.com Phone: +1-512-451-7602 Fax: +1-512-450-1436 For further information on MIDS, contact: Matrix News Matrix Information & Directory Services, Inc. (MIDS) 1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 500W Austin, TX 78723 U.S.A. EMail: mids@tic.com Phone: +1-512-451-7602 Fax: +1-512-450-1436 Quarterman [Page 15]