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Nightwork: A history of hacks and pranks at MIT by T. F. Peterson MIT Press, $19.95/拢13.50, ISBN 0262661373 Reviewed by Wendy M. Grossman

ON MOST American university campuses, a new building is a matter for excitement, derision and eventual acceptance.

At MIT, home to thousands of exceptionally bright, mostly male, engineers, it鈥檚 a challenge.

Take the Wiesner Building, which houses the Media Lab. Built by I. M. Pei, its facade is tiled in white, highlighted by outsize black, red, and yellow tiles. Even before the building opened a mint-green one had appeared courtesy of the 鈥渉ackers鈥�, the practical jokers on campus. MIT鈥檚 hackers used this term for pranksters before 鈥渉acker鈥� became associated with computers. At the dedication ceremony, confetti and paper airplanes poured from the building鈥檚 ducts all over MIT president Paul Gray. Later, hackers 鈥渞earranged鈥� the pattern of tiles by placing coloured panels over them; it took several tries before the confused physical plant crew was able to put it back correctly. MIT, it turns out, has to employ two 鈥渉ack managers鈥� whose job is to evaluate, manage and remove hacks.

Written by MIT鈥檚 historian, Nightwork is full of hilarious pictures and memories. The weather balloon blazoned with the letters MIT that erupted up through the turf in the middle of a Harvard-Yale football game is unforgettable. Students reclaimed Harvard Bridge as 鈥�364.4 Smoots plus one ear鈥� (for the student whose body was the measure). And there was that campus police car parked on top of the Great Dome, complete with dummy policeman, flashing light, box of doughnuts and a licence plate labelled 鈥淚HTFP鈥�, the MIT motto, 鈥淚 hate this fucking place.鈥� All obey the hacker鈥檚 ethic: do no damage.

Great fun.