Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: A must have. Clear, detailed proofs and explanations
Rating: 
Summary: Practical Tools
Review: At a time when POP, as in POP-Maths, POP-Science etc, floods book-seller's shelves; it is clear that everyone wants quick results: Ah, yes: The new superman, Corporate, Tan and with a conversational knowledge of the generalised number sieve. Even the professional is drawn into this, producing books which give results: This is why Godel is important...this is what Diffie and Hellman did. The problem with propogating this tendency is that it suppresses an ability to engage with the METHODS used by the authors of these giant leaps: These methods are what will make up a readers toolbox for applying these theories more broadly. Cryptography, even at a professional maths level, is full of similar tendencies, books either give pseudo-political histories in a neurotic attempt at justifying their existence or they reflect the authors mathematical proclivities with respect to particular applications of number theory. Too much method and the wrong context. Neal Koblitz's book gives the methods AND results: Just enough to allow you to engage actively with the developments in the field. I was inspired and have great respect for his dedication of the royalties of this book to victims of US agression in America and South-East Asia. This is the kind of context we want. read this book. Sincerely Justin Arbuckle
Rating:
Summary: Excellent content, but a bit dense
Review: I have really enjoyed this book, but reading it has required an entirely new type of discipline. I can't expect to get through more than a couple pages without being overwhelmed. However, every page is terrific. Some more verbage, I think, might make the more subtle points clearer, but I also value the conciseness and preciseness of the text.
Rating:
Summary: useful, if you're really dedicated
Review: I was a little leery of this book as I'm certainly no William Friedman or Alan Turing. But I was surprised to find the topic not as daunting as I thought although people who lock up when they see formulas may be intimidated at first glance. This book deals with number theory, dealing with some fundamental properties of numbers with application to cryptographic uses. Each section takes you slowly through the theory and provides exercises at the end of each chapter you can work through. (The answers are in the back of the book.) This is a particularly useful book if you are conversant in programming and want to play with certain aspects of number theory and cryptography to 'see how it really works.' It's like a course in tumblers and pins for someone who is fascinated by locks.
Rating:
Summary: useful, if you're really dedicated
Review: I was a little leery of this book as I'm certainly no William Friedman or Alan Turing. But I was surprised to find the topic not as daunting as I thought although people who lock up when they see formulas may be intimidated at first glance. This book deals with number theory, dealing with some fundamental properties of numbers with application to cryptographic uses. Each section takes you slowly through the theory and provides exercises at the end of each chapter you can work through. (The answers are in the back of the book.) This is a particularly useful book if you are conversant in programming and want to play with certain aspects of number theory and cryptography to 'see how it really works.' It's like a course in tumblers and pins for someone who is fascinated by locks.
Rating:
Summary: A good tool
Review: I'm using this book for my math undergraduate thesis in integer factorization. The book goes in-depth into some more arcane factorization methods (e.g., Fermat factorization has been deemed too slow by other books on cryptography), but still catches the wave of the newer methods (e.g., elliptic curve). Overall, this book is a good tool which should be used in conjunction with other books on the topic of interest, but certainly should not be used solo.
Rating:
Summary: A good tool
Review: I'm using this book for my math undergraduate thesis in integer factorization. The book goes in-depth into some more arcane factorization methods (e.g., Fermat factorization has been deemed too slow by other books on cryptography), but still catches the wave of the newer methods (e.g., elliptic curve). Overall, this book is a good tool which should be used in conjunction with other books on the topic of interest, but certainly should not be used solo.
Rating:
Summary: A serius text in cryptography. No games, no screenshots.
Review: Neal Koblitz. The name says all. He is the cocreator of the elliptic curve cryptosystems. If you have studied 1 year of college algebra (Herstein or Fraleigh) and you want to learn cryptography mathematically, this is THE reference. If you are an engineer and/or just want to know the practical (and as always, superficial) issues of the subject, skip it.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely astounding!
Review: Perfect. It gives the reader far more than what they expect in a wonderful manner. Highly recommended to anyone who has seen some Abstract Algebra.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding presentations
Review: This book is an outstanding introduction to cryptographic techniques and algorithms Although it's labelled as a "graduate text in mathematics", most of it should be accessible to anyone who knows a little linear algebra. For readers just interested in the how-to of the algorithms, not even that is needed. Koblitz does a thorough job of leading up to each algorithm and proving its formal properties. He also presents the algorithms themselves, unencumbered by denser material of interest to mathematicians.The book covers a variety of topics - public-key encryption, primality testing, factoring, and cryptographic protocols. It introduces zero-knowledge proofs and blind transfer, techniques that offer real hope of personal privacy in a world where data transfer is mandatory. I was a little disappointed by the chapters on elliptic cryptography, however. I hoped that Koblitz would bring is explanatory powers to bear on the algorithms. Somehow, I never quite connected with his descriptions of elliptic curves - perhaps I'm just thick, or perhaps a bit more introductory material would have helped. The rest of the book is a very fine example of clear, readable math writing. Its clarity its range of topics earn it a place with anyone interested in cryptography, factoring, and prime numbers.
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