What do you think?
Rate this book
No Domain: The John McAfee Tapes
An exhilarating and uncensored account of the maverick tech titan’s wild life, a breakneck journey from Silicon Valley to his sudden, mysterious death in a Barcelona prison.
“This is the only possible book that could have been written about John McAfee.” —Stephen L. Miller, Washington Examiner
“John McAfee is an American original—bold, brilliant, unpredictable. Characters like him came from a different era—not the woke, soy boy, non-confrontational culture of modern high tech. You meet McAfee head on in No Domain —in his raw energy and spit-in-your-eye cussedness. Buy this book, read this book, and understand—could anything, even John McAfee, kill John McAfee?” —Stephen K. Bannon, White House Chief Strategist, War Room
Delete everything you think you know about tech pioneer John McAfee, whose antivirus software operates on millions of computers around the world. Uninstall any impressions you have of the man depicted in the news, the man in disguise and on the run in Central America, even the man who reinvented himself as the Libertarian Party’s candidate in the 2016 presidential election. Move these images to your brain’s trash file. The real John McAfee is far more complex.
Drawn from hours of conversations between Mark Eglinton and John McAfee in 2019—while he was hiding in an undisclosed location— No The John McAfee Tapes provides startling insight into the extraordinary life of one of America’s genuine renegades. McAfee shares his life story like it’s his last will and testament, providing revelatory details on the abusive father who shot himself when John was a young boy; the life-changing LSD overdose in St Louis, during which he was nearly convinced by voices in his head to try to kill his first wife and daughter; the unexpected government clearance that led to him working on CIA dark programs; the combined affinity for mathematics and hallucinogens that informed the hedonistic nature of his software company in Silicon Valley; the attempt to find a quiet life in Belize only to become a pariah in the eyes of the local militia, from whom he’d later flee, having been framed for the murder of his neighbor; and the subsequent years on the run in the US, evading a cast of pursuers, including the Sinaloa Cartel, while burying bags of money and valuables in marked locations around the Southwest, before fleeing the country on his yacht.
John McAfee has lived a life that defies description. This larger-than-life biography documents it all.
“This is the only possible book that could have been written about John McAfee.” —Stephen L. Miller, Washington Examiner
“John McAfee is an American original—bold, brilliant, unpredictable. Characters like him came from a different era—not the woke, soy boy, non-confrontational culture of modern high tech. You meet McAfee head on in No Domain —in his raw energy and spit-in-your-eye cussedness. Buy this book, read this book, and understand—could anything, even John McAfee, kill John McAfee?” —Stephen K. Bannon, White House Chief Strategist, War Room
Delete everything you think you know about tech pioneer John McAfee, whose antivirus software operates on millions of computers around the world. Uninstall any impressions you have of the man depicted in the news, the man in disguise and on the run in Central America, even the man who reinvented himself as the Libertarian Party’s candidate in the 2016 presidential election. Move these images to your brain’s trash file. The real John McAfee is far more complex.
Drawn from hours of conversations between Mark Eglinton and John McAfee in 2019—while he was hiding in an undisclosed location— No The John McAfee Tapes provides startling insight into the extraordinary life of one of America’s genuine renegades. McAfee shares his life story like it’s his last will and testament, providing revelatory details on the abusive father who shot himself when John was a young boy; the life-changing LSD overdose in St Louis, during which he was nearly convinced by voices in his head to try to kill his first wife and daughter; the unexpected government clearance that led to him working on CIA dark programs; the combined affinity for mathematics and hallucinogens that informed the hedonistic nature of his software company in Silicon Valley; the attempt to find a quiet life in Belize only to become a pariah in the eyes of the local militia, from whom he’d later flee, having been framed for the murder of his neighbor; and the subsequent years on the run in the US, evading a cast of pursuers, including the Sinaloa Cartel, while burying bags of money and valuables in marked locations around the Southwest, before fleeing the country on his yacht.
John McAfee has lived a life that defies description. This larger-than-life biography documents it all.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published January 4, 2022
24 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 2, 2022
After the disappointing Netflix documentary "Running with the Devil", I almost didn't read this, but I'm glad I did.
February 16, 2023
A interesting view on the really unbelievable life of John McAfee. Written in captivating way.
January 24, 2025
what a trip into a crazy world.
Excellent read into the crazy world of John McAfee, an intriguing man. John was a very intelligent man, nobody can deny that, he just seemed to have a passion for the dark side of life, a passion that made this compelling story.
Excellent read into the crazy world of John McAfee, an intriguing man. John was a very intelligent man, nobody can deny that, he just seemed to have a passion for the dark side of life, a passion that made this compelling story.
November 29, 2022
Even though I'm totally opposite of him, I do truly undeerstand and respect McAfee. R.I.P.
P.S. Please film his biography with Morgan Freeman in a leading role as he asked.
P.S. Please film his biography with Morgan Freeman in a leading role as he asked.
August 10, 2022
While on the run John McAffee spoke to Mark Eglington over Skype with the intention of writing his biography. This is the resulting book. Possibly, we get to know more in this version as unfortunately it was finished and published after his death and presumably John McAffee would have had the chance to vet it had he lived. It seems though that this was the story than he wanted to tell and it seems legitimate.
The story is the story of a man of great but unknown wealth, who's name was a recognised brand and how he outwitted the taxman and various governments and led a free life as long as he could. So what do you do if you have enormous wealth? Live on a guarded beach-side compound in a country which has an incredibly low cost of living with a harem that you selected from the local girlie bar.
It's an amazing story, and who knows how much of it is true, but if you have already heard of John McAffee most of it it is already the stuff of legend. Worth a read but expect to more questions than answers when you finish it.
The story is the story of a man of great but unknown wealth, who's name was a recognised brand and how he outwitted the taxman and various governments and led a free life as long as he could. So what do you do if you have enormous wealth? Live on a guarded beach-side compound in a country which has an incredibly low cost of living with a harem that you selected from the local girlie bar.
It's an amazing story, and who knows how much of it is true, but if you have already heard of John McAffee most of it it is already the stuff of legend. Worth a read but expect to more questions than answers when you finish it.
February 11, 2022
When the talking heads begin rattling on about notable deaths of 2021, they will mention all manner of useless, uninteresting people — politicians, athletes, pop musicians. They will not mention John McAfee, who after months on the run from multiple states and various criminal organizations, was captured by the Spanish and succumbed to ‘suicide’ in his lonely prison cell. He lived hard, fast, and brilliantly — embracing chaos in his own life and almost exulting in it, until at last it got the better of him. He entered the public domain as a self-made tech millionaire, riding the wave of his antivirus software, and decades later would be more notable as an eccentric fugitive, whose paranoia or zest for life led him to live abroad and frequently abandon everything to start again — who made his return to the United States by mocking the media’s presentation of him as a druglord with a harem. John’s is a voice which has been silenced — but not quite, for here we have a collection of interviews in the last year of his extraordinary, singular life, getting another look into this mind that occupied the line between genius and insanity.
No Domain is not a formal biography of McAfee, but a collection of interviews between himself and Englinton that were given with an eye to creating an authorized story of the man’s life. The interviews are given sporadically, as McAfee was on the run at the time, and Englinton ties them together with a narrative detailing his struggles to make progress getting a self-professed paranoiac to trust him — and to trust what the subject was telling him. McAfee grew up in a troubled household, with an abusive father who beat him and committed suicide when he was but a teenager. Something of a math prodigy, McAfee quickly realized he could game college by reading and mastering the textbooks quickly, then spending his time partying and making money on the side. This philosophy continued as he aged; in his twenties, he accepted training as a computer programmer back when executing a program meant manually flipping switches on a computer control board. His talents here led him to work at numerous high-profile companies, and at each he employed the same strategy that worked in college: knock out the work quickly, then focus on drugs and women. As computer technology matured, McAfee became fascinated by the appearance of the first computer virus, and crafted a way to detect and remove it from affected machines. This was the beginning of McAfee Associates’ VirusScan, which would catapult him into the realm of the super-rich and allow him to become the….colorful character of the 2000s.
McAfee, throughout these interviews, presents himself as someone who was devoted to Living — not merely existing. He couldn’t abide a 9-5 grind, to live every day according to a preordained pattern. He chased highs, through a wide array of illicit substances and women, and once he had money, explored his creative side by sinking money into developing properties throughout the world. Some were more art projects than functional residences. McAfee often appears to be a creature of impulse, attempting to solve social problems in Belize and Hawaii through massive expenditures, and invariably attracting the wrath of local powers and authorities who didn’t like this strange outsider throwing his weight around them. His time in Belize was particularly…dramatic, as he was compelled to hire a security force the size of a small army to prevent retaliation from hurting those he was trying to help. (That’s his story: what passes for authorities in Belize claim he killed his neighbor.) Eventually the chaos forced him out and back to the United States, where after some political activities, he is targeted by the IRS for not paying tribute to the state — for ten years. Such was the path that led him to living on a boat and eventually being arrested in Spain.
I was disappointed that there’s almost no content on McAfee’s warnings about the technocratic surveillance state, and the exposure American IT infrastructure has to cyberattacks. These were what first drew me to McAfee, and kept me interested despite realizing he was….troubled. In many ways, his was not a life I’d model mine after, and yet I valued him for his frequent warnings about the rising surveillance system, his full-throated advocacy for cryptocurrency to thwart the corruption of money by states and banks, and admired him for his continued defiance of the state. They killed him in the end, as no state-gangster can abide someone who doesn’t cower under Ozymandias’ glare, but his spirit lives on. While this is not the biography of McAfee his fans might hope for, it’s a welcome release.
No Domain is not a formal biography of McAfee, but a collection of interviews between himself and Englinton that were given with an eye to creating an authorized story of the man’s life. The interviews are given sporadically, as McAfee was on the run at the time, and Englinton ties them together with a narrative detailing his struggles to make progress getting a self-professed paranoiac to trust him — and to trust what the subject was telling him. McAfee grew up in a troubled household, with an abusive father who beat him and committed suicide when he was but a teenager. Something of a math prodigy, McAfee quickly realized he could game college by reading and mastering the textbooks quickly, then spending his time partying and making money on the side. This philosophy continued as he aged; in his twenties, he accepted training as a computer programmer back when executing a program meant manually flipping switches on a computer control board. His talents here led him to work at numerous high-profile companies, and at each he employed the same strategy that worked in college: knock out the work quickly, then focus on drugs and women. As computer technology matured, McAfee became fascinated by the appearance of the first computer virus, and crafted a way to detect and remove it from affected machines. This was the beginning of McAfee Associates’ VirusScan, which would catapult him into the realm of the super-rich and allow him to become the….colorful character of the 2000s.
McAfee, throughout these interviews, presents himself as someone who was devoted to Living — not merely existing. He couldn’t abide a 9-5 grind, to live every day according to a preordained pattern. He chased highs, through a wide array of illicit substances and women, and once he had money, explored his creative side by sinking money into developing properties throughout the world. Some were more art projects than functional residences. McAfee often appears to be a creature of impulse, attempting to solve social problems in Belize and Hawaii through massive expenditures, and invariably attracting the wrath of local powers and authorities who didn’t like this strange outsider throwing his weight around them. His time in Belize was particularly…dramatic, as he was compelled to hire a security force the size of a small army to prevent retaliation from hurting those he was trying to help. (That’s his story: what passes for authorities in Belize claim he killed his neighbor.) Eventually the chaos forced him out and back to the United States, where after some political activities, he is targeted by the IRS for not paying tribute to the state — for ten years. Such was the path that led him to living on a boat and eventually being arrested in Spain.
I was disappointed that there’s almost no content on McAfee’s warnings about the technocratic surveillance state, and the exposure American IT infrastructure has to cyberattacks. These were what first drew me to McAfee, and kept me interested despite realizing he was….troubled. In many ways, his was not a life I’d model mine after, and yet I valued him for his frequent warnings about the rising surveillance system, his full-throated advocacy for cryptocurrency to thwart the corruption of money by states and banks, and admired him for his continued defiance of the state. They killed him in the end, as no state-gangster can abide someone who doesn’t cower under Ozymandias’ glare, but his spirit lives on. While this is not the biography of McAfee his fans might hope for, it’s a welcome release.
January 2, 2022
McAfee has lived an insane life, nobody could argue that. But this book offers a view into the man's mind in a way that none of his interns clips or social media ever could. Maybe he was disarmed, but I can't hep feeling that he gave away way more about his feelings and ideology than he ever intended. Kudos to the author for getting him there. The result is a tense, unbelievable, extraordinary, frightening and at times hilarious glimpse into the mind of one of the last great outlaws. Hard to recommend it more highly.
October 29, 2025
Hilarious book, John McAfee was crazy. Who needs fiction! 100% worth the read. Was disappointed the audiobook didn't have actual recording of John's voice
Listened to this on the beach in Hawai'i looking on to Moloka‘i islands where he bought 2k acres of land and tried to build but the locals refused. Also flew over that very same island! Crazy history of Leprosy on the island and the most beautiful cliffs I've ever witnessed. Jurassic
Listened to this on the beach in Hawai'i looking on to Moloka‘i islands where he bought 2k acres of land and tried to build but the locals refused. Also flew over that very same island! Crazy history of Leprosy on the island and the most beautiful cliffs I've ever witnessed. Jurassic
February 6, 2022
John McAfee was off the rails in a way so few are. Reprehensible in many ways and sympathetic in others.
And in his shadow is Silicon Valley and all the lies, hero stories, and moral repugnance around the dawn of the Information Age. Couldn’t put it down. The man in his own words.
And in his shadow is Silicon Valley and all the lies, hero stories, and moral repugnance around the dawn of the Information Age. Couldn’t put it down. The man in his own words.
March 31, 2024
Again forget what you think you know. Slow start but once it gets to his early corporate life and the early days of McAfee it's absolutely amazing, well done overall. They broke the mold after they made him.
February 4, 2025
Interesting to read conversations between John and the journalist. How much can one man experience in one lifetime...? Well, it is truly amazing how many lives this man has seemed to live in just one ;-)
June 18, 2025
Audio book
John McAfee was a global treasure
He did meth and had sex with women that were too young, but his self destructiveness and fuck you attitude toward global elites was dope
John McAfee was a global treasure
He did meth and had sex with women that were too young, but his self destructiveness and fuck you attitude toward global elites was dope
January 2, 2026
great book about a great legend
December 30, 2022
The book is a compilation of interviews with McAfee and the author over time. John McAfee is a one-of-a-kind character, larger than life with a practiced chaos that served him well ... until it didn’t. This is not a hero’s biography, nor is it a villain’s. McAfee’s peculiar genius and lust for life lies somewhere in between. An intriguing glimpse into the life of an entrepreneur determined to live “free.” Worth the ride.
August 18, 2022
This book was planned by the author, and written with John McAfee's cooperation but was not released until after his death.
And it's a wild ride, just like McAfee's life.
And it's a wild ride, just like McAfee's life.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews