- Hardcover: 1 pages
- Publisher: Bloomsbury US; 1 edition (Oct 31 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0802715478
- ISBN-13: 978-0802715470
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 17.8 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 612 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#493,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #60 in Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Algorithms > Cryptography
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
From the time of the ancient pharaohs to the modern world of Internet banking, civilization has relied on codes and ciphers to keep its secrets. The 4,000-year history of cryptography has been a kind of arms race: Each time a more complex encryption has been developed, it has been attacked and, more often than not, decoded; and each time, in response, codemakers have produced tougher and tougher codes.
Codebreaker surveys the entire history of codes through an eloquent narrative and an evocative range of illustrations, paying special attention to famous codes that have never been broken, such as the Beale Ciphers, the Voynich manuscript, the Easter Island code, and many more. Many great names in history appear throughout, from Caesar and Mary Queen of Scots, to Samuel Morse and Alan Turing. The narrative is based in part on interviews with cryptology experts, Navaho windtalkers, decryption experts, and law enforcement experts, and ends with a vision of the coded future via quantum cryptography.
About the Author
Stephen Pincock is a news editor for The Scientist magazine, and a science columnist for the Financial Times magazine. A trained biochemist and science journalist, Pincock has long had a fascination for deciphering codes and for the history of espionage. He has written widely about the history and development of cryptology, technology, and science.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good introduction to the history of cryptography,
By Jenner Budakoglu (Victoria, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Codebreaker (Hardcover)
This book provides a brief introduction to the history of cryptography. It starts from the Ceaser shift cipher and ends with quantum cryptography.It is a fun and informative read if you are interested in an overview of the history of cryptography.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Superb Introduction to Codes,
By The Old Wise Man "Tim" - Published on Amazon.com
This is a wonderful piece of work, well written, documented, illustrated and is aimed at the general reader. The author includes code analysis sections for each code that is discussed, where each code is explained in detail so that the reader is able to try the code themselves. The author also further challenges the reader with an appendix full of codes for the reader to crack with their newly acquired skills.There are sections throughout the book where the reader is introduced to the important people relating to specific codes, as well as many sections about codes that are still unbroken. The author chronicles all the important codes and their impact upon history from way back in ancient Egypt as well as Caesar's code, all the way through to the future of codes; quantum cryptography, and everything in between. This is a superb book in every manner, and a thoroughly enjoyable read. Five stars. 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good overview,
By Jake - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Codebreaker (Hardcover)
This book is a good overview of codebreaking for non-technical people. It discusses many different types of ciphers throughout history in a very easy to understand way. I enjoyed it.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting read,
By Jason Youzwak - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Codebreaker (Hardcover)
This was a good read - interesting history, nice layout, and overall easy to follow.The challenge problems are fun. However, I have noticed at least one mistake in the book: p.134 "...P is 11 and Q is 17. We first multiply P and Q together, making 181." 11 times 17 = 187, not 181 |
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