Cryptography Demystified

Rating:
Summary: Cryptography is both fun ... and accessible!
Review: John Hershey has an almost unbelievable passion for cryptography which is exceeded only by his knowledge of the subject. His presentation of the material is kept entertaining with witty anecdotes that are beautifully relevant, but deviation from content never occurs. I highly recommend Dr. Hershey's book to anyone who wants a good introduction to both the theory underlying and the application of cryptography.

Rating:
Summary: Cryptography is both fun ... and accessible!
Review: John Hershey's latest book is a skillful blend of information describing, illustrating, and proving the basic foundations and principles of modern cryptography. It combines the experience of a professional cryptographer and researcher with the clear writing and insightful examples of an excellent teacher.

The book focuses on the major components of a cryptographic system and presents in a quite readable way, some very important and subtle concepts that should be followed when designing and implementing a system. He also presents some non-obvious pitfalls that must absolutely be avoided. For those who are able and willing to work through the mathematics, a solid foundation is presented for symmetric cryptography (e.g. DES), public key cryptography (e.g. RSA), and cryptographic key management. However, a mathematical background is not necessary to derive a great deal of benefit from Cryptography Demystified. Even eliminating all of the mathematics, a reader who carefully studies the various concepts and ideas presented will gain a great deal of understanding of which properties make a good cryptographic system and which do not, along with the reasons why.

This book is not a history of cryptography such as David Kahn's The Codebreakers nor an encyclopedia such as Bruce Schneier's massive compendium Applied Cryptography . It is a carefully crafted work by a brilliant and creative person as demonstrated by his over 70 patents, another 50 patents pending, and extensive list of publications. Many of these patents and publications are in the field of cryptography and security. Cryptography Demystified guides the reader through all of the major elements of a cryptographic system with illustrations from the Caesar cipher through the theoretical principles of quantum cryptography in the Channel Cryptography section. Sets of exercises (with answers at the back) are included at the end of each chapter for the more serious readers to test their understanding.

As president of an information security consulting company and someone who started 35 years ago as a mathematician working on U.S. Government cryptography , I wish I had such a book then and find I can learn from it now.

Rating:
Summary: Cryptography Demystified - For Professionals and Amateurs
Review: John Hershey's latest book is a skillful blend of information describing, illustrating, and proving the basic foundations and principles of modern cryptography. It combines the experience of a professional cryptographer and researcher with the clear writing and insightful examples of an excellent teacher.

The book focuses on the major components of a cryptographic system and presents in a quite readable way, some very important and subtle concepts that should be followed when designing and implementing a system. He also presents some non-obvious pitfalls that must absolutely be avoided. For those who are able and willing to work through the mathematics, a solid foundation is presented for symmetric cryptography (e.g. DES), public key cryptography (e.g. RSA), and cryptographic key management. However, a mathematical background is not necessary to derive a great deal of benefit from Cryptography Demystified. Even eliminating all of the mathematics, a reader who carefully studies the various concepts and ideas presented will gain a great deal of understanding of which properties make a good cryptographic system and which do not, along with the reasons why.

This book is not a history of cryptography such as David Kahn's The Codebreakers nor an encyclopedia such as Bruce Schneier's massive compendium Applied Cryptography . It is a carefully crafted work by a brilliant and creative person as demonstrated by his over 70 patents, another 50 patents pending, and extensive list of publications. Many of these patents and publications are in the field of cryptography and security. Cryptography Demystified guides the reader through all of the major elements of a cryptographic system with illustrations from the Caesar cipher through the theoretical principles of quantum cryptography in the Channel Cryptography section. Sets of exercises (with answers at the back) are included at the end of each chapter for the more serious readers to test their understanding.

As president of an information security consulting company and someone who started 35 years ago as a mathematician working on U.S. Government cryptography , I wish I had such a book then and find I can learn from it now.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read with Insightful Exercises
Review: John Hershey, a creative luminary at General Electric, has out-done himself in this excellent work. The material is well-organized and clearly explained. The execises are fun and insightful. This book sparks one's interest in a topic that can be dull and dreary to many people. This is a must-read for anyone in the field.

Well done!

Rating:
Summary: Dr. Hershey shines, again, in this book -- by far his best
Review: The simplicity, yet thoroughness, which he uses to explain one of the more difficult topics in engineering and mathematics shows that Dr. Hershey is a true expert in the field. I highly recomend this book for both the novice and the advanced reader.