Seems that book reveals the edge of the law.
I thought that this site (legal one) could interest AO curiosity.
http://hackingthexbox.com/
Personnaly I discovered what hardware hacking is.

Here is an article from the register on the subject too:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/30627.html

For example the "Matrix" chip installs solderlessly over a test port manufacturers left on the Xbox motherboard. "You don't leave these test structures on the motherboard, if you want it secure," says Huang.