Rating: 
Summary: An eye opener
Review: Riveting history of code making and breaking. There is enough explanation of how the processes take place, but not too much. In other words, the details do not drown the flow of this wondeful work. I have learned a lot and gained a healthy paranoia regarding the safety of my own privacy. It is also a wonderful primer to read before delving into Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon".
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Summary: Cryptography and Cryptanalysis without the math!
Review: Singh has achieved an awesome feat: to write a book about a heavy weight technical topic that is almost impossible to put down. He portrays the evolution of codes as a struggle between those wanting to ensure privacy of communication (the cryptographer) versus those who want to pry (the cryptanalysts). The ever more complex enciphering and encoding is demonstrated in a very lucid way. Great book, money well spent.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, you won't put it down till you finish it
Review: I read the book from cover to cover in one sitting and then eagerly dashed to the website to learn more about the cipher challenge that author Singh poses to those of us who think, gee this seems easy, I could take a crack at it. From Egyptian hieroglyphics to Elizabethan intrigue to modern-day Internet encryption, the book eloquently covers the ways in which humans have used codes and ciphers to conquer and cover up their activities. While I was vaguely aware of the Rosetta Stone and the role of Navajo codetalkers during the War, the book made me realize how complex the field is and how slow the progress has been over centuries to refine and evolve these secretive methods of communication. Singh's style is never stuffy or dry. I will be sure to read Fermat's Last Theorem.
Rating:
Summary: Very Insigntful, Thouroughly researched....... Excellent
Review: Simon Singh has done a terrific job of making this book insightful for a lay reader as well as to someone who's interested in Mathematics and Cryptography. He traces the history of cryptography and cryptanalysis, in a very engaging settings, begining from Queen Mary of Scott to the modern day information security standards and policies.He has presented the evolution of cryptography, alongside the evolution of mathmatics, languages and techonolgy innovations, in a very naturally fluent manner which puts, an essentially mathematical and academic subject, in an interesting and readable perspective. Singh has also described, in a very thought provoking manner, the role of WWI and WWII, which played a significant role in accelerating the developments in this field. Towards the end, there is a balanced analysis of opposing schools of thoughts, on the free development and use, versus restricted development and monitored use to cryptography. A must for everyone determined to play a role in the emerging information economy.
Rating:
Summary: Who knew?
Review: I had no idea of the significance cryptography/cryptanalysis has played in the history of the world, especially WWII. I found the book to be a great learning experience. I know why it's so easy to solve those Cryptoquotes in the paper now. I even grabbed pencil and paper and solved the first few problems before I checked the web page and found they were already claimed done.
Rating:
Summary: Fun fun fun
Review: A combination of easy-to-understand explanations, history, suspense, and just plain fun made this the best history book I've ever read. Singh starts with Mary Queen of Scots and her fumbled plot to kill Queen Elizabeth. The history behind the plot was explained, and then he back-tracked all the way to the fifth century b.c. to give us an idea of where it all started from in documented history. The author's style of creating suspense surrounding a particular event and then giving you history on that event before he tells you the outcome was an excellent way to keep a non history buff glued to the pages. The characters were well written within the history. Instead of falling asleep to a list of names and dates, I was saddened to read of the fate of Alan Turing when they discovered his secret, all fired up about the buried treasure surrounding the Beale Papers, and laughing at the quandry of the poor Navajos who were 'captured' by Americans who mistook them for Japanese spies. The other high quality aspect was the cryptography explanations. Never having known much about cryptography beyond the absolute basics behind Enigma, I found it extremely easy to understand his explanations of how this or that cypher worked, and how historical figures went about cracking them. Even his explanations of how Enigma worked were simple to comprehend. Based on his explanations I'm confident I could create coded messages myself - maybe even decipher one! It probably has a lot more to do with my ignorance of Egyptology than the authors explanations, but the only portion of the book I didn't like was the explanation of how the hieroglyphs were deciphered. The explanations themselves were clear, but it seemed to me there were some assumptions made about why people in ancient Egypt did certain things that just seemed a bit off to me. The author was clear enough and accurate enough about everything else that I'm assuming the fault is mine, and I'll be reading some Egyptian history sometime soon.
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Summary: The Most Interesting Book That I Have Read So Far This Year
Review: This is the most interesting book that I have read so far this year. One does not have to be a mathematician, puzzler, or techie to enjoy this book. It is written as a fascinating history of the evolution of code, from hieroglyphics to the future. After reading this, I read Singh's earlier book, Fermat's Enigma, another stimulating read. Again, a history rather than a math book, it is written for Anyone.
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Summary: Something for everybody
Review: The solution of signals encrypted with the Enigma was one of the outstanding efforts by the Allies during WWII. The contributions of the Polish code breakers to this effortwere of monumental importance as were the efforts made at Bletchley Park. Reading signals from Nazi Uboats, microwave radar and the efforts of brave men led to success in the battle of the North Atlantic. Moreover the concept of designing an electromechanical mechine to recover clear text represents one of the important early steps in the history of the development of the modern computer. This is most clearly seen in the relationship between Colossus and the Lorenz Gehimeschreiber. This book provides an extremely thorough and readily understandable explaination of the operation of Egnima. For this reason alone, I consider it extremely rewarding reading. For those who have not previously explored any of the history of cryptography this book provides a highly readable overview of remote and recent events as they relate to the topic. I found it extremely informative with regard to the function of the plug board on the Enigma. It was quite interesting to learn that this component of the device provided the the greatest number of possible encryption but was the second least secure aspect of its operation. Operator error, of course, being the very least.
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Summary: Do You Want To Play 'The B...eale Game'... Ask ME How?
Review: For the most part... it was a very interesting book. It's biggest FAILURE was not having a better understanding of 'WHAT' the mystery is really about... 'WHO' created the mystery and 'Why' it was created... 'Where' the mystery will ultimately take you to. Mr. Singh and others like him have no idea that the one 'allegedly' deciphered message STILL HAS parts that have as yet not been divulged to any one other than myself. IF he were truly serious about an accurate understanding of the B...eale mystery... he should have spoken to me first.
Rating:
Summary: Woderful book
Review: Easy to read, interesting and very well written. I highly recomend it!
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