Little Brother (Cory Doctorow novel)

Infobox Book
name = Little Brother
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Cory Doctorow
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = USA
language = English
series =
subject = Terrorism, cryptography, computer hackers, Department of Homeland Security
genre = Fiction, Adolescent
publisher = Tor Teen
pub_date = 2008
english_pub_date =
media_type = Book
pages = 380
isbn = ISBN 9780765319852
oclc = 176972381
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Little Brother" is a novel by Cory Doctorow, published by Tor Books. It was released on April 29, 2008. The novel is about several teenagers in San Francisco who, in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge and BART system, defend themselves against what they see as the Department of Homeland Security's attacks on the Bill of Rights. The novel is also available for free on the author's website, as a Creative Commons download. [ cite web|url=http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/ |title=Little Brother > Download for Free |accessdate=2008-08-11 |last=Doctorow |first=Cory ]

The book debuted at No. 9 on the New York Times Bestseller List, children's chapter book section, in May 2008. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/books/bestseller/0525bestchildren.html Children’s Books - New York Times, May 5, 2008.] ] As of July 2, it had spent a total of six weeks on the list, rising to the No. 8 spot. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/books/bestseller/0706bestchildren.html Children’s Books - New York Times, July 6, 2008.] ]

Plot summary

The main character, Marcus Yallow, also known as w1n5t0n (using the leet alphabet), and three of his friends are truant from high school and find themselves nearby a terrorist bombing of a bridge in San Francisco. The foursome are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and held as enemy combatants because of their suspicious behavior, including having encryption on Marcus' cell phone. Marcus is eventually released to find that San Francisco has become a police state. He fights back against the DHS using technology and guile.

Dedications

Each chapter of the e-book edition of Little Brother is dedicated to a different bookstore: Bakka-Phoenix, Amazon.com, Borderlands Books, Barnes & Noble, Secret Headquarters, Powell's City of Books, Books of Wonder, Borders, Compass Books/Books Inc., Anderson's Bookshops, the university bookstore at the University of Washington, Forbidden Planet, Books-A-Million, Mysterious Galaxy, Chapters/Indigo Books, Booksmith, Waterstone's, Sophia Books, MIT Press Bookshop, The Tattered Cover, Pages Books, and Hudson Booksellers.

Cultural cross references

* Chapter 17 mentions Dan Bernstein and his contributions to an EFF lawsuit about strong cryptography.
* The title "Little Brother" is a play on Big Brother in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, mentioned in the author's bibliography. Marcus also uses the handle "w1n5t0n", a reference to 1984's main character, Winston Smith.

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.tor-forge.com/torteen/littlebrother Little Brother at Tor Books]

External links

* [http://us.macmillan.com/BookCustomPage.aspx?isbn=9780765319852&m_type=4&m_contentid=6475 A Little Brother related article by Cory Doctorow: Security Literacy: teaching kids to think critically about security]
* [http://www.emusic.com/features/spotlight/400_200805-doctorow-01.html eMusic Q&A: Cory Doctorow about Little Brother]
* [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6564297.html?nid=2788 Publishers Weekly: Q & A with Cory Doctorow about Little Brother]
* [http://www.instructables.com/member/w1n5t0n w1n5t0n on Instructables.com]
*myspace|littlebrotherbook|Little Brother
* [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Brother-by-Cory-Doctorow/20086077168 Little Brother Facebook Page]
* [http://youtube.com/view_play_list?p=970BC5E23CB4B898 Little Brother related video playlist on YouTube]
* [http://craphound.com/littlebrother/Cory_Doctorow_-_Little_Brother.htm Online Version of the book]