Try free for 30 days

  • The Secrets of the Little Blue Box

  • Esquire, October 1971
  • By: Ron Rosenbaum
  • Narrated by: LJ Ganser
  • Length: 1 hr and 58 mins

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Secrets of the Little Blue Box cover art

The Secrets of the Little Blue Box

By: Ron Rosenbaum
Narrated by: LJ Ganser
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $4.17

Buy Now for $4.17

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

There is an underground telephone network in this country. Al Gilbertson, creator of the "blue box", discovered it the very day news of his own arrest hit the papers. That evening his phone began ringing. Phone phreaks from Seattle, from Florida, from New York, from San Jose, and from Los Angeles began calling him and telling him about the phone-phreak network. He'd get a call from a phone phreak who'd say nothing but, "Hang up and call this number".

Often cited as one of the greatest magazine stories ever written, Ron Rosenbaum's singular, Pynchon-esque "The Secrets of the Little Blue Box", about an underground group of hackers who built devices that could crack the telephone companies' networks, has staked its claim in the annals of history as the story that inspired the partnership of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and helped create hacker culture.

Features an afterword by the author.

"The Secrets of the Little Blue Box" was originally published in Esquire, October 1971.

©2016 Ron Rosenbaum (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Secrets of the Little Blue Box

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.