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Loading... The Code Bookby Simon Singh
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. A history of cryptography from ancient Egypt through quantum computing. My favorite parts were about WWII, with Turing and the Navajo Codetalkers. Some parts were a touch slow - cryptography isn't nearly as thrilling as the activities associated with it - but by and large it was an informative read. My only real complaint was how long it took me to read. Though Singh's text was thorough and readable as ever, it took me nearly a month to finish. I think I just wasn't in the right mood for a math book. (  ) melydia | Oct 28, 2009 |  This is a totally gripping book which is extremely readable, easy to understand and a compelling historical account of codes and ciphers right from the times of Eliazbeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, right up to the present day with the internet and emerging technologies. What I really like about this book is that Singh easily introduces codes and ciphers to you and you can sit and work out their translations yourself. it's the kind of book that makes you want to get pen and paper and make your own code or work out the ones in the book (I did!). You even get multiple pages at the end with codes for you to work out. Very fascinating. The one downside to the book is that some of it does get a little technical and over my head (probably yours too) so I did a bit of page flipping towards the end (the quantum mechanics section just totally lost me). So you won't understand the entire book but about 98% of it instead (unless you're Einstein in which case you won't have any problems at all). This is THE definitive book for codes and code breaking. I can't recommend this enough. (  ) obsessedwithbooks | Sep 5, 2009 | A interesting history of cryptography. What especially singled this book out was the cryptographic competition and the money reward. I tried but some Swedes won the prize just one year after the book came out. (  ) fnielsen | Sep 1, 2009 | Very different than my normal reading, but vastly interesting. I'm so glad that I branched out to read it and would highly recommend it from a scientific and historical standpoint. (  ) ORFisHome | Jul 13, 2009 | CHCUE KPCVK PIDQQ MVJCV NGHVO GYCPV KPIOQ TGCYC PVYJK EJQHE QWTUG KUPVG CUKNA UCVKU HKGFC UOWEJ QHVJK UUVWH HKUMG RVUGE TGVCP FYJKE JKPVW TPIGV UAQWT KOCIK PCVKQ PIQKP IVJGU WDLGE VKULW UVUQI GGMKN AEQQN Orfay exampleway, itway ouldway ebay interestingway otay owknay oremay aboutway ECHELONWAY, incesay eythay aymay orway aymay otnay ebay eadingray ourway emailway. Iway avehay onay oicechay utbay otay ereadray Ealnay Ephenson'sstay Yptonomiconcray, oonishsay. IDDQD Va gur cnfg pelcgbtencul unf orra znvayl hfrq ol frperg ntrapvrf naq jneevat angvbaf ohg abjnqnlf hf pvivyvnaf nyfb trg gb rawbl vgf orarsvgf cerggl zhpu qnvyl jura jr fhes gur arg naq ernq rznvy. Jung V zrna vf, vg'f avpr gb unir n crnprshy nccyvpngvba sbe pelcgbtencul. Vg'f shaal/fnq/jrveq ubj znal bs bhe snapl zbqrea pbzzbqvgvrf naq vqrnf jrer vavgvnyyl pbaprvirq sbe zvyvgnel hfr. Naq ubj shaqvat sbe E&Q vf nyjnlf ng n zhpu uvture yriry qhevat jnegvzr. .--- ..- ... - / - .... .. -. -.- / --- ..-. / .- .-.. .-.. / - .... . / -- . -.. .. -.-. .- .-.. / .-.. . .- .--. ... / .- -. -.. / -... --- ..- -. -.. ... / - .- -.- . -. / -.. ..- .-. .. -. --. / .-- .-- .. .. / ... - --- .--. / -- .. .-.. .-.. .. --- -. ... / -.. .. . -.. / -... ..- - / .- ... / .... .- .-. -.. / .- ... / .. - / .. ... / - --- / .- -.. -- .. - / -... . -.-. .- ..- ... . / --- ..-. / .. - / .-- . / .... .- ...- . / .- .-.. ... --- / -... . . -. / .- -... .-.. . / - --- / -.- . . .--. / -- .. .-.. .-.. .. --- -. ... / -- --- .-. . / .- .-.. .. ...- . / ... - --- .--. Is-a good-a zing-a no one-a will-a be able to-a read-a zis-a. (  ) snykanen | Jul 4, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0385495323, Paperback)People love secrets. Ever since the first word was written, humans have sent 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 both sides' 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. --Therese Littleton (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:02 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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