Phone Losers of America

by Brad Carter

Phone Losers of America is a collection of short stories which take you on a twenty year journey of high-tech humor, culture jamming, and criminal mischief. From remotely controlling the overhead paging system of a large supermarket, to confusing the phone company with various call forwarding stunts, this bizarre collection of pranks will not only make you laugh, but will make you question the security and sanity of common, everyday business procedures. Learn how one illustrious member of the PLA crossed the country on stolen credit cards, staying in the nicest hotels one day and then sleeping on the streets of major cities the next, all while amusing himself at the expense of others. Laugh as he turns a radio morning show into his own interactive game, enrages users of an online auction site, uses revenge tactics that cross the line, systematically drives convenience store employees nuts so that he can get a job, and confuses an entire neighborhood of cordless phone users. The stories contained in this book are based on the writings from the Phone Losers of America website which have been featured in USA Today, the Boston Herald, 2600, on CNBC, CNN, TechTV, and countless other websites, books, magazines, radio shows and police reports.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology, Memoir, Humor, History

310 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2010

Reviews

[JFG_Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cactus

[Marko · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's about some guy named Roy Gerbil who has a podcast about Snow Plows. He killed Jonbenet Ramsey and throws his Go Cups out the window. I am Mildred Monday and I know how to play the widow bit to the full extent. Cactus

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

cactus

[TOM SERVO · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cactus, cactus.

[Gloria Korlou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cactus? Cactus.

Being in my early teens and now nearly in my 30's, Brad has somewhat 'grown up' with me. Tech became a fascination thanks to his shows and I can confidently look back and say I don't believe any future generation to come will be able to full appreciate the time Brad lived in, I grew up in, and that is long gone. Being able to snoop on your neighbors phone calls without having serious criminal charges, hacking into store pager systems and causing real societal damages that yes, had their own consequences, but were in itself quite lighthearted or untraceable.

Being undetectable was Brad's entire schtick and that was a time long gone.
This book is an encapsulation of a niche group of folks who I liked to see as societies outcasts, real Phone Losers.

I'll be sure to give my kid this book when they are able to listen to the Snow Plow Show and understand the calls. Thank you, Brad!

[Honey Rose007 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a fan of madhouse first snow plow second, this was a great book, now the ending I won’t say any spoilers, but has that revenant ending where it’s fabricated but wanted so bad to happen, like any 80s action villian who faked his death to go after someone. Like tony Todd in excessive force or Alec from goldeneye, but it didn’t I believe it somehow, but the hijinks was cool to know about also the history of the book, it could be made into a movie, like one of those guys who went against to rules to them at the end help the rule like catch me if you can or wolf of Wall Street, just as an example, read those books a lot of stuff to know about if you weren’t a fan, for fans of his prank call podcast. This is a good treat the first chapter got me hooked and can’t believe that really happened, but the hijinks and the history of them are great.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cactus

Thanks to this book, I've racked up thousands of dollars of charges on my neighbors' phone lines, been arrested for toll fraud twice, and bought a large talking cactus. Thanks, Phonelosers!

[MR ALEXANDER DICKINSON · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reads like a gonzo version of Catch me if you can, but with no real comeuppance, or redemption. In terms of the events described (if they’re all true) they’re half amusing and mostly harmless with the remaining half being terrible.

[Nick Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

nostalgia read. probably not worth reading if you weren't in the 90s bbs underground. loved the "sneakers" shout-out at the end.

[Thomas Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Randall Bridges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brad…or should I say Alex is way more mischievous than I ever knew. Besides the cactus chapter, it was fun and well written. I understand why the FBI raided his house better now.

[Nicholas Mounts · Rating 5 out of 5]

RBCP, Roy, Brad, Carrol or whatever his name is has written a truly hilarious book. It could have stood on its own as just a hilarious compendium of obsolete, nostalgic, phone hacking from back in the day, but weaving through this book is an autobiography story that could easily be made into a movie. It's one of the most funny books I've ever read. Required reading for fans of prank calls, the 80s & 90s, and loser, American phone enthusiasts.

PLA for the win.

[Sanoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely funny (jaw-dropping), and also has a certain relatability.

Note:- You can download this book for free from the author's site, along with 'zine (magazine) editions (legally). Just google it.