Misha GlennyRecensioni

In his very reader-friendly manner Misha Glenny ( of McMafia and Brazilian underworld fame to name the few books by the same author) guides us through Internet underworld and introduces creators of sites for enticing and (this is something I found very interesting) support and mediation for various criminal activities.

Along the way we also meet law enforcement agencies who are chasing down criminals but don't cooperate, intelligence agencies utilizing same criminals for their own purposes, police officers blocked by bureaucracy and forced to act on their own [as they say in some cases it is better to ask forgiveness than permission] and security people that get chased down by their own agencies because you cannot trust anyone on the net and rumor can put the person in prison in no time.

Very interesting chapters linked to Turkey were a little bit down-played by the author. Considering entire schizophrenia and complete paranoia that rules the Internet [and especially shady parts of network] it is sometimes very difficult to discern lies and outright fantasies from the actual facts. And then I guess it is better to keep tone down.

Some readers said that writing style was condescending and/or long-winded. I did not have that experience. Everything presented is not given from the expert point of view. Misha Glenny is investigative journalist and it shows [in a good way], he knows a lot about a lot of things but does not use buzz words to let everyone know how smart he is. He lets experts speak through interviews and builds his story from there while making materiel understandable and available to everyone.

Highly recommended to all interested in current politics, crime-fighting and in general how technology changes our lives in not always good ways.

This one is a good book on organized crime that looks like it lost its direction somewhere in the middle of the story. Or maybe author just did not know how to present all of the information he came across.

Author tells a very frightening story of Rio's favelas, how they came to be and how they evolved into ghetto's used by politicians of Rio as nothing more than voting sources. As such they proved to be a very suitable areas for gangsters of all kinds - due to high turn over rate of various criminal kingpins it is expected that some of them would be socially aware, something like Robin-Hood-look-a-likes. And true some of them actually had social plans and assisted their own comunities. Of course they continue selling guns, drugs etc to other favelas and parts of Rio but not in their own. State has no footprint here and what presence is there it is heavily corrupted - they basically act as just another gang.

But then author loses a story direction a bit. By telling the story of Antonio, Nem of Rocinha favela, he tries to tell the story of a man who becomes gangster by turn of events and not by his own choice. He is the kingpin of Rocinha favela, one that helps his people but as story goes on it gets lost that he is for all intents and purposes a gangster, cartel kingpin heavily involved in drug and gun trade. And this is where book loses the momentum. If humane side of Nem could have been given differently with point on social effect favelas have on their inhabitants - due both the internal (basically wild west environment without presence of [true] law enforcement, extremely poor communities) and external factors (treatment by other, richer, parts of city as something to be destroyed and removed to get access to the land for building and expansion and left at mercy of corrupted state officials) - this would be a much better book.

In any case for anyone interested in urban crime, urban development and social seggregation in modern metropolis this is highly recommended.

3 and a half stars. Badly needs pictures.

Bună și în general la nivelul istoric optim între entry level (popularizare simplistă) și academic-universitar. Adică fix potrivită pentru a fi citită cu plăcere (nu stil curs) dar și interes (suficientă noutate și profunzime). Foarte bine echilibrată și ca "judecată morală", ceva extrem de greu într-un spațiu unde întotdeauna eroii unora sunt criminalii altora.
Cantitate mare de informații bine structurate, bine echilibrate între istoria mică (indivizi) și cea mare (curente naționale și regionale).
Ca minusuri: inerent e și uneori plictisitoare pe termen lung (are 800 pag); e dezechilibrată între popoare (e de fapt o istorie a sârbilor; secundar turci bulgari, mult mai puțin albanezi, români, greci) și secole (e de fapt o istorie a sec. XIX până la ww1, sec. XX fiind mult mai fugar tratat , cu ww2 de-a dreptul pe fugă, iar războaiele iugoslave mai deloc).
Per total recomandabilă, dar de citit cu pauze.

DarkMarket: Cyberthieves, Cybercops and You follows the story of the now-defunct cybercrime forum DarkMarket.

Based on the description my local library provided, I thought this book would be more like [b:American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road|31920777|American Kingpin The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road|Nick Bilton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578216397l/31920777._SY75_.jpg|52573415] by Nick Bilton - an exploration of the people behind a criminal enterprise and the impacts of the site itself on average people. In other words, I was expecting a book that was more focused on DarkMarket and the case itself, and this book did not meet my expectations.

Glenny writes a fair amount about global cybersecurity practises in this book. I found this to be somewhat tangent to what I thought the focus of the book was: the DarkMarket investigation. For example, an interlude is dedicated to discussing Estonia's cybersecurity practises. I'm still not sure how this is relevant to DarkMarket.

On top of that, Glenny also has a more dry writing style, which made this book even more difficult to read for me.

As to be expected with the subject matter of this book, there is a lot of technical lingo being used. I get the feeling that it's already less technical than similar books and Glenny did a decent job of explaining the concepts. But, the trouble with too much detail is that it can make the book difficult to follow, particularly for the lay reader.

I acknowledge that as a true crime fan who knows nothing about cybersecurity, I'm probably not the right reader for this book. However, if you're more interested and knowledgeable about the technical aspects of cybersecurity, you might want to consider giving this one a read.

For more of my reviews, please visit:

Trying to understand politics today, it helps to read up on organized crime. In Misha Glenny's mob survey, told in breezy British vernacular, the underworld is truly global, bound up with politics and business. The mob rushes in as the rule of law breaks down, either to take advantage or take over.

This syndicate survey is particularly enlightening about the tandem post-Soviet rise of the Russian mafia, the oligarchy and global finance. But Eastern Europe has no monopoly on brutality, illicit deals and money laundering. There's always someone willing to cut corners or get government out of the way. Ten years after publication, with a British crime drama based on the book, not much has changed.

Intense and extremely hard to read at times. Nevertheless an important overview of the Balkan conflict during the ‘90s. Hard not to see the parallels between the Nationalism of that conflict and the one unfortunately simmering in our country today.

The iron men are always looking for some foreign influence to blame [...] identify one or two groups and use them as scapegoats.

This is a series by Misha Glenny, looking at the rise of populist leaders around the world. Also looks at how Covid-19 affected their power.

2/6 listened to thus far.

The first part, Public Enemy No. 1, focuses on Viktor Orbán's rise to power, from student activist to radical right-wing leader.

The section part, Duterte Harry, focuses on Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines.

This is so inaccurate it's criminal. The author is so out of his depth this reads like some spoof.

Now let me get back to phishing my hacker trojan on my alienware laptop (a must have hacker accessory) so I can worm a pdf reader app into a shell and download a cracker onto my dark site through an encrypted ICQ channel.

If you read this sentence without choking (the alienware comment is a genuine line from the book, it made me giggle, so did "buffer overload") then it might be safe for you to read this book but why? There are dozens of better books: Fatal System Error, Countdown to Zero Day, Future Crimes, Spam Nation. Short of this book being some elaborate joke I don't understand how the publisher let this through. It's the reportage equivalent of a CSI: Miami episode. I also really dislike the dramatisation (i.e. fabrication) of the details that are patently unknowable.

If there was a technology consultant proofreading this I assume his head exploded and they just assumed that since he didn't get back it meant the book was flawless.

There are many interesting stories of tracking cyberthieves in Estonia and other Eastern Bloc countries. It explains why it is so hard to track them down and find what they have done as the internet is such a fluid medium creating so many new forms of crime.

A broad, detailed overview of 200 years of Balkan history, this is an excellent examination of the [very rational] interests, identities, and competing ideas that have animated conflict and cooperation alike in the region. The book is a bit dry to begin with, given the rural nature of much of the early nineteenth century narrative, but Glenny sprinkles enough anecdotes throughout to keep things lively.

The period from roughly 1895 to the Second World War is treated with a nice amount of detail, lending insight into the great power machinations (and weaknesses) that determined much of the peninsula's history.

I found the postwar history - primarily that of Yugoslavia - fascinating, but felt that Glenny moved quickly through it, giving decades of 20th century history the same page count as a few years of the 19th. I suspect this is due to the availability of archival material, given the book's release before a definitive conclusion to the Balkan Wars at the dawn of the 21st century. I've learned that Glenny has a second edition of this book out, covering events up to 2010 - I'm reasonably sure that this might well deserve a full five stars!

This was a very interesting read. It was a good combination of in-depth on certain regional subjects and general overview. I will say, it did suffer from the "floating name" issue I occasionally see in history writing; that is, a new leader introduced as a last name only in the middle of a sentence with no context or previous background. This issue got worse towards the end of the book. I do have some background in Balkan history and was able to follow (or Google) names that I didn't know, but it was somewhat annoying. A good editor would have rooted those out. I suspect that this book was at one time much longer and then cut down to meet the standard 500-700 page limit for most mainstream histories. I wouldn't let it deter you from picking this up. Totally recommend this read.

Written like a thriller. More scary though as it is true! Well worth a read if you are interested in internet stories and crime.

The BBC's Central European correspondent provides this memoir of the first stage of the "Third Balkan War." Or, if you prefer, the collapse of the federal Yugoslav state. You do need a scorecard to keep the players straight in this account -- no doubt the participants did, as well. Glenny does a pretty good job of showing how things went rapidly to hell; again, it's the sheer confusion of the narrative that may give you pause. It also doesn't tell the full story, because of course the book cuts off at the point when the BBC pulled him from the area.

This unique and lively history of Balkan geopolitics since the early nineteenth century gives readers the essential historical background to recent events in this war-torn area. No other book covers the entire region, or offers such profound insights into the roots of Balkan violence, or explains so vividly the origins of modern Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Albania. Misha Glenny presents a lucid and fair-minded account of each national group in the Balkans and its struggle for statehood. The narrative is studded with sharply observed portraits of kings, guerrillas, bandits, generals, and politicians. Glenny also explores the often-catastrophic relationship between the Balkans and the Great Powers, raising some disturbing questions about Western intervention.

Lot of things I didn't know about. ( IAACA : International Association for the Advancement of Criminal Activity ... )

Stephanie Nolen's review of this book was a bit harsh, but I have to agree that it is somewhat disjointed and hard to make sense of who all the players are. I also read the reviews in The Telegraph and The Guardian, which are generally favourable or at least neutral. Having spent some time in Ipanema, Leblon and Copacabana, in hindsight, it is scary how close this all is to every day life.

Excellent rendering of a city and the genesis of a criminal - at once an examination of Rio's favela and the soul of one of its citizens. Through extensive research and many hours of interviews, Glenny manages to get us the inside story on a major player in Rio's underground and makes the story into an almost visually cinematic miniseries. A fascinating story.

Nem ends up as Don of the Rocinha favela in Rio. In Misha Glenny's telling, Nem is more of a businessman than a criminal, and a provider of peace and prosperity, at least compared to other Dons. But several types of police, other gangs, and other dangers are always present in this corrupt world.

Thank god for Book Depository.
A fantastic introduction to life in the slums of Rio, and who controlled them. The story takes place inside the Rochina favela, in Rio, and the Don who ran it. The Don being a major drug dealer, with a baby face known as Nem. The story gives you a god introduction to the life, poverty, and corruption in Rio at all levels of the government. This was a very good book.

This sobering and sometimes shocking survey of the new world disorder takes as its starting point the fall of the USSR and the subsequent orgiastic looting of Russia's money and resources, the rise of the mind-bogglingly wealthy oligarchs and the Russian mafia. Guns, drugs cars and human beings are all grist to the mill of these hyper-capitalists who cross international borders, subvent laws, rule by violence and yet, oddly enough, provide a modicum of order and stability in destabilised regions even as they spread misery and make billions. And that's just the starting point. South Africa, Brazil, Canada, Japan and China are all linked in an ever-expanding shadow economy that mirrors and outpaces the legitimate trade network. Crime has gone global. Crime prevention has not.
There are many horrible things between the covers of this book, but it's the sad and terrible plight of the victims of sex-trafficking that make you want to weep. Deceived, used, abused, every night a long string of rapes under threat of violence, escape usually means deportation and the risk of recapture. It makes you want to hit something, but, of course, hitting things is their game.
The globalisation of crime is a huge theme. Each area examined in this books deserves a book of its own. Nevertheless, Glenny's concise, impassioned account of the web of illegality wrapped around our world gives a proper sense of what's going on and where it might be going.

Glenny's book is a must for anyone curious about the underlying motivations behind much of the world's headlines, whether it's African politics, the 'New' Russian & Eastern European cultural transformations, or the thriving US black market.

With eye-popping detail, Glenny writes about gangsters and politicians, economics, and the effects seemingly benevolent acts (the fall of Communism, Apartheid; globalization treaties, the internet) has served to enrich the global criminal underworld. Glenny often knew many of these 'biznessmen' and continually quotes them, and his narration is as addictive as a crime novel.

Rarely a day goes by without some aspect of Glenny's journalism and insight adding an extra facet to my understanding of what's going on around the world.

Fascinating. Overwhelming. I've again started reading from the beginning, for the third time. So many names, so many titles, and empires and countries and shifting borders. I've not yet gotten past page 200. It's not dull, it's simply SO MUCH! So I began again, and my intention is to get a bead on who is who and why they're doing what they're doing, and to whom.

Excellent writing and insight into the collapse of Yugoslavia and the problems presented within. Misha does a great job of unraveling the knots that are associated with this area and explaining them. The fact he was there and witnessed most of it for himself helps tremendously.

It's not really about how Hackers became the New Mafia, but more about how the world of credit card fraud works (worked?). Very interesting book. Scary. Great contact, but writing a little sensationalist, and it's hard to follow the myriad of names and nick names. Food for deep thought.½