The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

Singh, Simon

ISBN 10: 0385495323 / ISBN 13: 9780385495325

Published by Vintage, 2000

About this Item

Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.

Seller Inventory # G0385495323I5N00

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography
• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385495323
• ISBN 13: 9780385495325
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Fair
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Weight: 0.94 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

In his first book since the bestselling Fermat's Enigma, Simon Singh offers the first sweeping history of encryption, tracing its evolution and revealing the dramatic effects codes have had on wars, nations, and individual lives. From Mary, Queen of Scots, trapped by her own code, to the Navajo Code Talkers who helped the Allies win World War II, to the incredible (and incredibly simple) logisitical breakthrough that made Internet commerce secure, The Code Book tells the story of the most powerful intellectual weapon ever known: secrecy.

Throughout the text are clear technical and mathematical explanations, and portraits of the remarkable personalities who wrote and broke the world's most difficult codes. Accessible, compelling, and remarkably far-reaching, this book will forever alter your view of history and what drives it.  It will also make you wonder how private that e-mail you just sent really is.

About the Author

Simon Singh received his Ph.D. in physics from Cambridge University. A former BBC producer, he directed and co-produced an award-winning documentary film on Fermat's Last Theorem that aired on PBS's Nova series and formed the basis of his bestselling book, Fermat's Enigma. He lives in London.