Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the German U-Boat Codes, 1939-1943 - Hardcover

Kahn, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0760708630 ISBN 13: 9780760708637

Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books, 1998

Synopsis

Seizing the Enigma tells the story of one of the great dramas of World War II. A multinational corps of cryptologists struggled to break the German U-boat codes that were helping Nazi submarine wolfpacks tear at the lifeline between America and Britain. But these codebreakers realised that German messages could not be read without obtaining the encryption keys from the ships that held them. Several daring captures at sea of critical documents and encryption machines by the Royal Navy finally led to mastering the U-boat codes. Kahn begins his narrative with the creation of the Enigma machine in 1918 and its refinement during the two decades leading up to World War II. He introduces key figures on both sides of the battle including: Arthur Scherbius, who gave the Germans a boost in the race between codemaker and codebreaker and Polish mathematician Marian Rejewski, who reconstructed the Enigma keys. Since its original publication in 1961, Seizing the Enigma has remained a vital source of information about Enigma and the art of codebreaking. 'Fascinating.' Daily Telegraph

About this title

About the Author

DAVID KAHN, who holds a PhD in history from Oxford, is the author of The Codebreakers, Hitler's Spies, and Seizing the Enigma. He has written articles on codes and intelligence for many magazines, ranging from Playboy to the New York Times Magazine and Historical Journal. He lives in Great Neck, New York.

From Library Journal

Although most soldiers in modern war never see combat, those who do rely on the various rear-echelon support troops. In this title Kahn documents how one branch (intelligence) shaped the course of World War II. We learn how the Poles provided the French and the British with the ability to break the various German codes. After the start of the war, a series of fortuitous events as well as hard work enabled the British (and later, the Americans) to break the German Naval Code, which used the famous "Enigma" cipher machine. Narrator Bernard Mayes's reading is good, but his German could be better. Blackstone has produced a work up to its usual high standards. This fascinating story shows that no matter how advanced the technology, the human factor will always be decisive. For popular collections.?Michael T. Fein, Catawba Valley Community Coll., Hickory, N.C.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0760708630
• ISBN 13: 9780760708637
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 352