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Summary: Takes me back... and ahead
Review: When I was a boy, I was obsessed with secret writing (as, I imagine, almost every child with at least one nosy sibling becomes) and read everything the local library's Juvenile section had on the topic. I was disappointed to discover, when I went looking for more material, that there was apparently more cryptography material for kids than for grown-ups! This book not only took me back to those days with its discussion of secret writing throughout history (scytales, Playfair, Vignere...), it's also got an excellent section on cryptography in the World Wars (an excellent companion to Neal Stephenson's novel "Cryptonomicon" in that regard!) and also explains the fundamental concepts of public-key cryptography in a readable, understandable format. As in Singh's earlier work on Fermat's Last Theorem, the people involved in creating and in breaking codes are often the focus, and some of these peope are fascinating. (Singh takes a break from strict cryptography at one point to discuss the "breaking" of ancient writing systems such as Egyptian hieroglyphics and Linear B, and this reminded me most strongly of "Fermat's Enigma," as Singh's narrative carried the mysteries of interpretation from one researcher to the next.) The final chapter on quantum cryptography is a fascinating glimpse into what may be the "final frontier" of cryptography. Of course, any book like this one that discusses a still-evolving field gets dated pretty quickly; it is silly to expect Singh to mention the recent expiration of RSA's public-key patents or the relaxation of US export restrictions on strong cryptography, since these have all occurred within just the last few months, but the book nevertheless feels somehow incomplete without them!
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Summary: Singh doesn't just write, he teaches
Review: That a well written book on cryptography should sell is no surprise, but what impressed me was Singh's brilliance at bringing the reader along easily as the text ventures into more and more complex matter. Great teachers have mastered the technique of taking the student from where he is to where the teacher wants him to be. Singh is so talented at this that one could pass a test under him as teacher without doing any homework.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: Others have said all I had in mind.
Rating:
Summary: Great writing by Simon Singh
Review: I also read Simon Singh's book on the Fermat theorum, and I think he has an excellent very readable style of writing. He certainly makes code writing very, very interesting. No doubt at all that this is a five star book for me -I'm eagerly awaiting the next topic that Simon tackles.On the really (really) picky side, I would have expected to have seen some more questioning and possible lines of attack on the PGP system -especially after the entire book seems to be devoted to pointing out that after many ciphers were considered unbreakable they were eventually cracked. Hats off to Simon Singh again.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting book
Review: This is written as well as his previous book which became a PBS Nova documentary produced by him. His previous book about Fermat's theorem was on narrative side because of the shere depth of mathmatical understanding required to intepret Andrew Wile's ground breaking paper. I know a math professor who admitted that he didn't understand it at all! Anyway, this one is more technical. That is to say, he gives fairly detailed information on each code. Some of you who are interested in the technical aspects of the code will really enjoy this book. But there are enough interesting stories for those who are not keen on the subject to appreciate this book.
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Summary: Great book, easy read, but...
Review: Singh's book is great. It is easy to read (I finished it in just two sittings). Singh has a wonderful writing style which makes the book hard to put down. He has a good coverage of material, but leaves out some of the more interesting applications of cryptography such as zero-knowledge proofs, digital cash, certification authorities, etc (for a more complete coverage of these topics read Bruce Schneier's book "Applied Cryptography"). He also has no mention of AES and puts too much faith in PGP (after stating that no encryption scheme is entirely safe). I'm being a bit picky, the book is excellent and well worth the read.
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Summary: An excellent introduction to the topic
Review: The Code Book, Simon Singh's introduction to the race between cryptologists and cryptanalists, code-makers and code-breakers, is probably one of the most pleasant popular science reads of the year. The first chapter starts with the description of the monoalphabetic substitution ciphers, its failure and the consequence of the latter, the execution of Mary Queen of Scots. From then we proceed to polyalphabetic ciphers, the Vigenere Cipher and the Babbage's method of breaking it; as an added bonus Singh has thrown in the three Beale papers, allegedly leading to over a ton of gold buried in the hills of Virginia. The third chapter describes the path Germans made between the world wars, from the Zimmerman note disaster to the construction of Enigma. Closely related to it is the next chapter, a story about the Poles and the Brits cracking Enigma. The fifth chapter is a step aside: on deciphering texts that are not purposely encrypted, but simply written in extinct languages and scripts, like Egyptian hieroglyphics or Minoan Linear B script. From then on, we are probably already on the more familiar territory; the discovery and re-discovery of public key cryptography, and its application in Phil Zimmerman's PGP. The last chapter tries to provide a peek into the future: quantum computers that can break currently uncrackable codes in linear time, and quantum encryption, which cannot be broken without violating the laws of physics. Apart from the Beale treasure papers, Singh added another gem for aspiring cryptanalists: they can test what they have learned with ten ciphertexts in the appendix, and the author promised to pay 10.000 GBP to the first one who solves all of them. And Singh proved to be a good teacher: to date, nine stages out of ten are solved already (the last one involves a massive amount of CPU time). True, David Kahn's Codebreakers contains a more exhaustive treatment of the historic development of cryptography, and Bruce Schneier's Applied Cryptography will provide you with a knowledge needed by a working specialist. However, if you share just a casual interest in the area, this is the book for you. It's much more than just stories about people involved in the cryptography and other related trivia - you will be surprised that Singh's lucid explanations will actually make you understand how the algorithms work.
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Summary: Good, approachable look at the history of Crypto
Review: This book is a solid and well-written look at the history of cryptography. While laced with liberal doses of code-breaking processes and theories, Singh takes care to make sure that even readers unfamiliar with crypto can keep up with his narrative. The stories he has to tell are fascinating and you will probably find it a hard book to put down once it grabs you. Highly recommended for any with an interest in cryptography, no matter what level their understanding of the theories is currently at.
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Summary: Only a Multimedia Presentation would be better!
Review: "The Code Book" is worth your time reading. I learned a lot about cryptology while being interested in the readings the whole time. Each one of the book examples builds from the experience you gain from the prior one which slowly turned me into someone who knew that it was nice to have security to someone who understands from experience why we need encryption for security during the information age. You can always tell when a book is good or not because this is one book that I am keeping to refer back to. It is a book that I will recommend to all my friends. The ideas are fresh and the fabulous ending was talking about the future of cryptology and cryptanalysis. Being a Futurist, I am always reminded to use the word "impossible' with the greatest of caution since there are many believers that the impossible is only that way for those who are limiting themselves. The book is for everyone who wants information about an interestingly presented subject of security. It is especially good for innovators to read the book since there is several challenges in the book that offer monetary and intellectual satisfaction. I highly value my time and read many reviews on "The Code Book" before I decided to purchase it. This book contains valuable information. It was a good investment of my time. Once I started reading the book, I couldn't put it down till I was finished. If I were a communications teacher, this book would be a lesson I would not want to be without. Thank-you Simon Singh for writing something so fascinating!
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic intellectual voyage
Review: Simon Singh has once again amazed me with his ability to cover complex subjects, in relative detail, while maintaining the readers interest. Few writers are ever able to do this - and Singh does it beautifully. After all, who could possibly have imagined a "Math Book" that was so interesting that liberal arts majors would devour it? For those of us wondering how to protect our privacy, it's a fascinating primer on the battles of the mind that have delivered modern cryptography. For the rest of us who are merely curious about the ability to cover up secrets, and the ability to uncover them, it's an intriguing story that captivates the imagination. Bravo Simon. For Pete's sake, don't stop now!
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