The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy Form Ancient Agypt to Quantum Cryptography

Simon Singh

ISBN 10: 1857028791 / ISBN 13: 9781857028799

Published by London: Fourth Estate, 1999

About this Item

Dust wrapper gently pulled at the head of the upper panel, a decent copy otherwise; First edition. Hardback. Dust wrapper over black boards with silver titles to the spine; Measures 9½" x 6¼" (1.1 kg); pp (xiii) 402; Index; Includes: Further reading list; Black & White photos within the text; Glossary; Appendices (10). || The book is on the shelf and ready to post from Bath by a real bookseller, packed properly, despatched promptly and personally guaranteed (in addition to your normal rights). My Book #207724 ||.

Seller Inventory # 207724

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy Form Ancient Agypt to Quantum Cryptography
• Publisher: London: Fourth Estate
• Publication Date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1857028791
• ISBN 13: 9781857028799
• Binding: Hardback in Dust Wrapper.
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Science History

About this title

Synopsis

Code Book, The: The Secret History of Codes and Code-breaking

Review

People love secrets, and ever since the first word was written, humans have written coded messages to each other. In The Code Book, Simon Singh, author of the bestselling Fermat's Enigma, offers a peek into the world of cryptography and codes, from ancient texts through computer encryption. Singh's compelling history is woven through with stories of how codes and ciphers have played a vital role in warfare, politics, and royal intrigue. The major theme of The Code Book is what Singh calls "the ongoing evolutionary battle between codemakers and codebreakers," never more clear than in the chapters devoted to World War II. Cryptography came of age during that conflict, as secret communications became critical to either side's success.

Confronted with the prospect of defeat, the Allied cryptanalysts had worked night and day to penetrate German ciphers. It would appear that fear was the main driving force, and that adversity is one of the foundations of successful codebreaking.

In the information age, the fear that drives cryptographic improvements is both capitalistic and libertarian--corporations need encryption to ensure that their secrets don't fall into the hands of competitors and regulators, and ordinary people need encryption to keep their everyday communications private in a free society. Similarly, the battles for greater decryption power come from said competitors and governments wary of insurrection. The Code Book is an excellent primer for those wishing to understand how the human need for privacy has manifested itself through cryptography. Singh's accessible style and clear explanations of complex algorithms cut through the arcane mathematical details without oversimplifying. Can't get enough crypto? Try solving the Cipher Challenge in the back of the book--$15,000 goes to the first person to crack the code! --Therese Littleton