h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I agree that hacking in the UK is not an oxymoron, and I particularly want to reccomend the works of Carolyn Meinel for Hacker Newbies, particularly her Guides To (Mostly) Harmless Hacking. They teach you from the ground up, they tell you what can get you busted, and they are written in a really great informal style. It's where I started.

The guides to harmless hacking have to be the lowest form of hacking literature known to man. I mean, it starts off telling you how to change your WIN '95 logo, to make your computer into an "3l337 HAXOR box". I mean, come on! Then she talks about using telnet to port scan. NEVER hack from telnet, it can be tapped, use ssh or rsh. She tells you nothing about how to use UNIX or how to get root or anything. Buy a copy of the book 'Hacking Exposed' from your local bookstore, now that is real hacking literature...