The dark web often gets a bad rap, shrouded in mystery and splashed across headlines for all the wrong reasons. (Let’s face it, most people just think of illegal stuff and shady characters.) But what if there’s more to it? The books written about this hidden corner of the internet offer a totally different perspective, one you might not have considered.
Dark web books aren’t just how-to guides for breaking the law or dodging surveillance. (Forget what you think you know.) Instead, they offer a peek into the minds of the people who actually navigate this hidden digital realm and explore the real-world impact it has on our society. Several books today offer insights into the dark web, which is unknown to many.
In this article, we’re going to explore a hand-picked list of the 18 books that deliver unique, helpful, and thought-provoking insights into the dark web. Not only can these books help you to learn to stay anonymous online (in some way), but these books will also take you on a journey that flips your perceptions upside down and opens your eyes to the internet’s most secret corners.
Top books about the dark web: Quick list
- The Mastermind: This book follows the chilling true story of the quest to take down Paul Le Roux. Le Roux was a talented programmer who became a deadly drug lord.
- Silk Road: This book narrates the road through which an online illegal cartel ran. Silk Road was described as the ‘eBay of drugs.’
- The Darkest Web: This book features three sections – Dark, Darker, and Darker. The dark web stories in the book also range from scary to scarier and scariest.
- Casting Light on the Dark Web: A Guide for Safe Exploration by Matthew Beckstrom: This book is a manual that introduces curious people to the dark web. It also addresses common myths about the dark web.
- The Dark Web Dive: A Complete Guide to The Dark Web by John Forsay: This book reveals the history of the dark web. The author also makes the case for data privacy.
- Weaving the Dark Web: This book focuses on the good side of the notorious dark web. The author highlights the benefits of the dark web to society in terms of the right to privacy.
- DarkMarket: This book explores the activities of cyberthieves who steal with the aid of the dark web. It also tells the stories of law enforcement agents who try to bring down online crime rings.
- TOR: This book explains how the Tor browser provides access to the underworld of the Internet. The author pushes the argument for privacy and online anonymity.
- Darknet: This book is a beginner’s guide for staying anonymous on the Internet. It offers great insights for experienced users, too.
- The Deep Dark Web: This book discusses the development of the Internet. It also highlights technologies responsible for creating the dark web and deep web.
- Digging the Deep Web: This book provides a detailed explanation of the mysterious sections of the Internet. It is written in plain, easy-to-understand English.
- The Dark Net: This book explores interviews with dark web victims. The author, however, still notes that the dark web has some positives.
- Cybercrime and the Darknet: The first section of this book deals with cybercrime and explores some of the most famous cyber-attacks. The second section examines the dangers of the dark web.
- Tor Browser: This book focuses on how the Tor browser works. It then guides readers on how they can use the dark web to browse anonymously.
- Tor and the Dark Art of Anonymity: This book promises to protect readers from NSA spying by using Tor. The book then explains how to use Tor to protect your online privacy.
- Tor: This book discusses the importance of online privacy and the threats that your personal data faces. It also guides readers on managing the risks of using Tor Browser.
- Hacking & Tor: This book explores the world of hacking and computer security. However, it doesn’t go into the deep details.
- The Dark Web: This book is a basic guide for people who want to know how the dark web works. It delves into the unsavory side of the dark web.
The 18 best dark web books to read today – Detailed list
Explore the very nature of the dark web, cybersecurity implications, its markets, and the ethical considerations of exploring it. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or an experienced dark web user, you’ll find books with beneficial information below:
1. The Mastermind
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Mastermind: Drugs. Empire. Murder. Betrayal. by Evan Ratliff | Evan Ratliff | Amazon | 2019 | Random House | 4.04/5 |
The book follows the chilling true story of the decade-long quest to take down Paul Le Roux. Le Roux was a talented programmer who turned into a deadly drug lord. What made his character interesting was using the dark web to build a powerful and ruthless cartel that survived law enforcement onslaught for years.
While Le Roux started his “business” with an online prescription drug network supplying painkillers to Americans, he had other plans; it was only his first move in his bid to build a criminal conglomerate that dealt in all kinds of contraband, including drugs, weapons, gold bars, and more. The network boasted a league of hitmen and safehouses across the world.
Interestingly, the man behind it pulled the strings from a laptop in Manila. A reclusive programmer turning criminal genius is certainly not your regular life cycle of a crime lord. It took a betrayal within his network for law enforcement to catch him.
Award-winning journalist Evan Ratliff spent nearly five years to piece together the uncommon story. The Goodreads community has responded well to the riveting account of a crime boss with thousands of positive reviews, and it’s no secret why the book tops our list. It offers much information to help you learn how the dark web works.
2. Silk Road
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silk Road | Eileen Ormsby | Amazon | 2014 | Pan MacMillan | 4.04/5 |
Silk Road by Eileen Ormsby doesn’t tell the story of your typical road. Rather, it narrates the road through which an online illegal cartel ran. Silk Road, run by the FBI’s Most Wanted, a mysterious crime lord dubbed ‘Dread Pirate Roberts,’ was described as the ‘eBay of drugs.’ It was a billion-dollar marketplace where the illegal drug trade thrived.
Ormsby expertly told the story of Silk Road’s rise and fall with deep insights into the world of the dark web. The author is no stranger to the dark web, as her research of the darkest web has led to hack attempts on her computer and death threats.
So, you’re going to enjoy this one. It is little wonder that Silk Road is one of the best dark web books to read today.
3. The Darkest Web
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication Year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Darkest Web | Eileen Ormsby | Amazon | 2019 | Allen & Unwin | 3.99/5 |
We weren’t kidding when we said Eileen Ormsby has gone into the darkest web. Her book, The Darkest Web: Drugs, Death and Destroyed Lives… The Inside Story of the Internet’s Evil Twin tells several intriguing stories about the dark web. Ormsby divided the book into three sections: Dark, Darker, and Darker.
As you might have guessed, the stories in this book start from scary to scarier and scariest, from a drug kingpin willing to kill to protect his dark web empire to a death in Minnesota that’s linked to dark web murder-for-hire players who take thousands of dollars in Bitcoin to beat, rape, and kill. Essentially, this 320-page book takes you into the murkiest depths of the dark web.
4. Casting Light on the Dark Web
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication Year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casting Light on the Dark Web: A Guide for Safe Exploration | Mathew Beckstrom | Amazon | 2019 | Rowman & Littlefield Publishers | 4.09/5 |
If you don’t know how the dark web operates, Casting Light on the Dark Web: A Guide for Safe Exploration written by Matthew Beckstrom will be a good buy for you. Beckstrom designed the book as a manual introducing curious people to the dark web. Hence, the book assumes that you’re not tech-savvy and thus presents information in simple, entertaining language.
The book begins with the history of the dark web and moves to how to access dark web sites using special software like Tor browser, Freenet, or I2P. It guides you through downloading and setting up all three browsers.
Additionally, Casting Light on the Dark Web: A Guide for Safe Exploration debunks common myths about the dark web and narrates how the dark web can be positive for users who prioritize privacy. Both the Casting Light on the Dark Web PDF and hardcover copies are available for purchase.
5. The Dark Web Dive
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication Year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dark Web Dive: A Complete Guide to the Dark Web by John Forsay | John Forsay | Amazon | 2019 | Independent Publishing | 3.82 out of 5 |
The Dark Web Dive: A Complete Guide to The Dark Web is another guide that reveals how the dark web started, who started it, what beginners can expect from the dark web, and how to navigate the alternate internet space. The book details how to spot legal and illegal dark websites so that you don’t get into trouble unintentionally. It is a step-by-step guide to the dark web.
Furthermore, Forsay makes the case for data privacy, revealing how big tech such as Google harvests your data without your knowledge. The book notes that the dark web can help you control your privacy without big tech snooping around your online history. You can buy the Dark Web Dive PDF file or hardcover.
6. Weaving the Dark Web
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weaving the Dark Web: Legitimacy on Freenet, Tor, and I2P | Robert W. Gehl | Amazon | 2018 | The MIT Press | 3.92/5 |
The first three books we reviewed tell stories of the darkest side of the dark web. However, Robert Gehl tells a different story in Weaving the Dark Web. The book focuses on the good side of the notorious dark web, which some have dubbed “the evil twin of the Internet.”
It discusses how dark web users anonymously engage one another on topics such as social issues, politics, and more to avoid the gaze of authoritarian regimes. The author highlights the benefits of the dark web to society regarding the right to privacy and freedom of speech in a world where these values are quickly eroding.
7. DarkMarket
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DarkMarket: Cyberthieves, Cybercops and You | Misha Glenny | Amazon | 2011 | Knopf | 3.80/5 |
The book explores the activities of cyber thieves who steal with the aid of the dark web and law enforcement agents who try to bring down online crime rings.
It also explores the brains behind the crime rings and their operations, including how they evade detection and how their activities impact individuals and organizations globally. Additionally, Glenny, an experienced investigative journalist, uses interviews with hackers, cybercrime victims, and law enforcement officials to showcase the successes and challenges of the effort against cybercrime.
8. TOR
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOR: A Dark Net/Dark Web Journey on How to Be Anonymous Online | John Smith | Amazon | 2017 | Independent | 3.60/5 |
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, your regular browsers won’t take you into the dark web. You’ll need a browser like Tor to gain access to the underworld of the Internet. This book is a great choice if you want a detailed tutorial on how to use Tor for the dark web. It takes you through the setup and how to use the software to evade surveillance by prying eyes.
Smith uses this book to push the argument for privacy and online anonymity in the face of increasing online threats and dwindling freedom. It’s suitable for upcoming dark web users who want to learn the basics with an easy-to-read guide.
9. Darknet
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads Community Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darknet: A Beginner’s Guide to Staying Anonymous | Lance Henderson | Amazon | 2013 | Independent Publishing | 3.70/5 |
This is another book that focuses on the privacy that the dark web offers instead of the illegal activities happening there. As the name of the book indicates, it is a beginner’s guide for staying anonymous on the internet. But it can be useful for even experienced dark web users who want greater insights.
In Darknet, Henderson introduces various tools and techniques that you can use to protect your privacy, including the use of anonymous networks (like the dark web), encryption, and virtual private networks (VPNs).
10. The Deep Dark Web
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Deep Dark Web: The Hidden World | Richard Anores | Amazon | 2012 | Independent Publishing | 3.70/5 |
This book describes the dark web as a hidden world regular people can’t access and law enforcement struggles to reach. Hence, it’s become a space where criminal activities thrive. In The Deep Dark Web, Gatomalo and Paganini narrate the history and development of the Internet. He also discusses various technologies responsible for the creation of the dark web and deep web.
The book goes on to discuss the risks and challenges linked to accessing and navigating dark websites, including the risk of encountering illicit content and exposure to malicious software. This information is helpful for beginners.
11. Digging the Deep Web
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digging the Deep Web: Exploring the Dark Side of the Web | Pierluigi Pagani | Amazon | 2018 | Independent Publishing | 3.40/5 |
Like Pierluigi Paganini indicated in his title, Digging the Deep Web explores the dark side of the web and expertly tells readers what they didn’t know about the internet’s underworld. Panganini’s vast cybersecurity experience helps provide a detailed explanation of the mysterious sections of the internet and the risks and benefits linked to accessing them.
While exploring the dark web, the book details the criminal activities carried out on the dark web and the techniques used to commit the acts. Best of all, Digging the Deep Web is written in plain, easy-to-understand English, and you can read it in one sitting.
12. The Dark Net
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld | Jamie Bartlett | Amazon | 2016 | Melville House | 3.65/5 |
The Dark Net is not one of those dark web books that go on and on about how the dark web is bad. The book explores the dangerous and the good sides, making for a balanced read. Jamie Bartlett, a journalist, interviews various victims for this book to uncover the light-less world of the dark web. The author tells the true stories of the victims in such a way that beginners can learn the mistakes to avoid.
Besides telling the stories of dark web victims, the book explores the criminal activities that take place on the dark web, such as scams, identity theft, drug trafficking, child porn, and more. It also explores the darker side of the dark web that encourages suicide, racism, and eating disorders.
However, Bartlett didn’t leave out the positive use of the dark web, which includes libertarians expressing and fighting for the right to privacy and freedom of expression without overbearing surveillance.
13. Cybercrime and the Darknet
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads Community Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cybercrime and the Darknet: Revealing the Hidden Underworld of the Internet | Cath Senker | Amazon | 2016 | Arcturus | 3.42/5 |
Cybercrime and the Darknet book explores deep inside the often terrifying world of the dark web while also revealing the good side. As the title suggests, it discusses cybercrime and the dark web, but in two different sections. The first section deals with cybercrime and explores some of the most famous leaks, DDoS attacks, and deployment of viruses or worms.
The Dark Net section, on the other hand, details how to use the Tor browser to access dark web links (or onion links). This section focuses on the positive side of the dark web, which provides activists and journalists with the necessary online anonymity to carry out their advocacy without interference.
While Senker doesn’t shy away from disturbing features of the dark web, such as the drug trade and illegal pornography, in this book, he boldly claims that the majority of activities on the dark web are legal.
14. Tor Browser
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tor Browser: Secrets of the Deep Web, How to Stay Anonymous Online, and Surf the Web Like a Hacker | Cooper Alvin | Amazon | 2017 | Independent Publishing | 3.50/5 |
The book title already gave it away; this book focuses on how the Tor browser works and how to use it to get the right benefits out of the dark side of the internet. This is a book you should strongly consider if you’re a beginner. It starts telling the reader the differences between the deep web and the dark web, which many people incorrectly lump together as the same space.
The book then guides readers on how they can use the dark web to browse anonymously while avoiding the prying eyes of bad actors and government agencies.
Beyond the lessons about the dark web, the book explains all you need to know about the Tor network and an onion site. It further provides insights into what you stand to gain from Tor and similar dark web technologies.
15. Tor and the Dark Art of Anonymity
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tor and the Dark Art of Anonymity: How to Be Invisible from NSA Spying | Lance Henderson | Amazon | 2015 | Independent Publishing | 3.65/5 |
The National Security Agency (NSA) is notorious for spying on helpless citizens. Even though the agency tries to dismiss the breach of privacy as a cost for protecting citizens, people should be allowed their right to privacy. This book makes the ambitious promise to protect readers from NSA spying by using Tor.
Henderson explores various topics ranging from the basics of online privacy and security to the use of anonymous software like Tor and the risks associated with online anonymity. The book then explains how to use Tor to protect your online privacy.
16. Tor: Exactly How to Remain Invisible on the Anonymous Deep Web
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads Community Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tor: Exactly How to Remain Invisible on the Anonymous Deep Web | Joshua Cody | Amazon | 2017 | Independent Publishing | 3.18/5 |
This book is one of many dark web books that tell beginners what the Tor browser is, how to navigate it, and how to use it to explore the dark web. In this book, Joshua Cody discusses the importance of online privacy and the threats that your personal data faces while providing tips for staying invisible on the Internet. Then, it explains how beginners can use Tor to protect their privacy on the deep web.
However, Cody’s book acknowledges that using the Tor network is not without its risks and challenges. It tells readers that using the network may expose them to malicious software and illegal websites. The book guides readers on how to manage these risks.
17. Hacking & Tor
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads community ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hacking & Tor: The Complete Beginners Guide To Hacking, Tor, & Accessing The Deep Web & Dark Web | Jack Jones | Amazon | 2017 | Independent Publishing | 2.08/5 |
This book goes into the world of hacking and computer security, exploring the various types of attacks, tools, and techniques that hackers utilize to target their victims. Then, it presents Tor as a potent tool for keeping hackers at bay and protecting your online security.
Beginners will find Jones’ Hacking & Tor easy to read and understand, but more experienced dark web users will need a book that gets into more details.
18. The Dark Web
| Complete book name | By (Author) | Available on | Publication year | Publisher | Goodreads Community Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dark Web: The Unseen Side of the Internet | AJ. Wright | Amazon | 2020 | AB Prominent Publishing | 2.33/5 |
This short book by AJ Wright is a basic guide for people who want to know how the dark web works, including the excesses and positives. It explores the origins of the dark web, the deep web, and the technologies that support them.
However, Wright’s book isn’t well written and contains grammatical errors. If that’s not a turn-off for you, the book contains helpful information to boost your knowledge of the dark web.
How to access the dark web securely and safely?
The dark web is not for the faint-hearted; you must take all precautions to be safe in that space. Here are tips for accessing the dark web safely:
1. Get a premium VPN
Whether your country allows the use of the dark web or not, you shouldn’t access that space without activating a VPN. A VPN contains security features that obfuscate your location and hide your IP address from anyone who may be snooping around your online traffic. That means you get to keep bad actors away from your data.
Essentially, a VPN provides you with robust online security to avoid threats to your privacy. But the question is with so many services, which one is the best among them? Well, we have been providing our users with in-depth analysis about VPNs and other privacy tools. In our opinion, NordVPN tops all dark web VPNs with its privacy commitment and speed.
2. Use the Tor browser
It’s no longer news to you that the Tor browser is how you get inside the dark web, but that’s not all this powerful browser does. Tor browser also offers a level of online security and anonymity that you can’t get from regular browsers like Chrome or Safari.
This high-security level makes the Tor browser fit for opening ‘onion’ links (dark web links), which use onion routing with several layers of encryption to protect your online traffic. The browser itself bounces web requests over three servers while encrypting the data before the request gets to the intended server.
While this method provides iron-clad data security and total online privacy, it significantly lowers website loading times. Nevertheless, you can use a secure VPN to maintain speeds similar to your regular browsing speeds.
Why do you need a VPN to access the dark web?
A VPN is like a digital armor against all odds online. It hides your digital footprints and makes you maximum anonymous online. While accessing the dark web, it makes sure that your IP doesn’t leak, allowing you to roam this shady place of the internet without worry.
Also, your ISP throttles your internet speed and restricts your access to certain websites, a VPN helps you avoid ISP throttling and enjoy the internet with freedom. Moreover, a premium VPN like NordVPN doesn’t let you compromise on speed—you’ll get blazing-fast speed. So, if you want to stream something, NordVPN does it in a breeze.
Best VPN to access the dark web without any risk – NordVPN
An excellent private VPN that seamlessly evades geo-restrictions and helps you watch access any platform from anywhere in the world.
Over 7,400 secure VPN servers available in more than 60 countries worldwide
Owns reliable threat protection (malware, tracking, and ad blocker)
Implies industry standard, most secure encryption: AES-256
An effective and easy-to-use kill switch feature
Split tunneling feature with high functionality
Offers multi-hop VPN for double encryption
Provides seamless Onion over VPN functionality
Ensures that no logging is done
Users can connect up to ten devices simultaneously with each account
A 30-day full-refund guarantee with no questions asked
Pros
- Top-class and unbreakable encryption
- Doesn’t allow third parties to interrupt
- Has streaming optimized servers
Cons
- Desktop app needs a bit improvement
One of the things you want your VPN for dark web use to have is Tor compatibility, and NordVPN has that. It is one of the most pocket-friendly VPNs on the market and offers arguably the best security, which will come in handy once you begin your dark web exploration.
This VPN provider offers security with AES 256-bit encryption, SHA-384 authentication, a 2048-bit DH key, and perfect forward secrecy. It also employs a no-logs policy, which means that it doesn’t keep your identifiable information.
Additionally, VPN offers dedicated Onion over VPN for extra privacy, making it a perfect fit for security on the dark web.
FAQs
The Dark Web contains illegal marketplaces and other risky websites, as some of the books we reviewed indicate. These marketplaces and the potentially harmful sites thrive due to the lack of regulations. However, the Dark Web also contains whistleblowers, journalists, and people who want to avoid censorship, thanks to the space’s anonymity and privacy.
As we’ve pointed out throughout this article, the dark web is pretty much a jungle where anything goes. There’s no one regulating anyone, which allows bad-faith actors to do whatever they want, including targeting innocent people. If you want to navigate this space safely, you need to invest in a dark web book with a helpful guide.
The best dark web books, in our opinion, include The Mastermind: Drugs. Empire. Murder. Betrayal. By Evan Ratliff and Silk Road because they offer comprehensive and visual insights into the world of the dark web. The insights include how the dark web works and true stories of its dangers and benefits. If these books don’t offer what you want, you can download dark web books online.
You can use the dark web safely using the right tools, including a VPN and Tor browser. These technologies have security features designed to keep you safe on the dark web.
If you’re doing very important work and you’re desperate to avoid the prying eyes of the government or any other actor, using the dark web may be worth it. However, it’s not worth the risk if you’re interested in only casual use of the space.
You can find helpful free dark web books online if you search terms like Dark web books pdf, Dark web book pdf download, or the truth book dark web. However, free books may not offer a comprehensive guide.
