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Rating: 
Summary: A must read for anyone remotely interested in codes!
Review: I have always been fascinated by codes and Singh has put together a comprehensive book on the history of codes. Having read many books on codes, Singh was still able to enthrall me with some historical stories that I had not come across. It's not just technical stuff, but is written with the novice in mind as well. But the book holds enough technical information to keep the enthusiast interested as well. The version I bought has a crypt contest in the back, which I enjoyed working on - I was only able to solve the first 3 or so puzzles, but it was a lot of fun.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for anyone remotely interested in codes!
Review: I have always been fascinated by codes and Singh has put together a comprehensive book on the history of codes. Having read many books on codes, Singh was still able to enthrall me with some historical stories that I had not come across. It's not just technical stuff, but is written with the novice in mind as well. But the book holds enough technical information to keep the enthusiast interested as well. The version I bought has a crypt contest in the back, which I enjoyed working on - I was only able to solve the first 3 or so puzzles, but it was a lot of fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating. Started me on my cryptologic studies.
Review: Reading this book gave me my start in my self study of cryptography, its science and its history. While I will not pretend to be anywhere near an expert on the subject, I found this book very insightful. It is an easy read, and not tedious in any way. It is meant as a "science for non-scientists" type book, and more of a history than anything else. (I have only managed to solve the first two cryptologic challenges at the end of this book, but am diligently working on the rest in my spare time.)
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating. Started me on my cryptologic studies.
Review: The Code Book is a delightful treatment of the subject of cryptography. It is a nice combination of history, science, warfare and politics.The author uses interesting historical events as background to narrate the different phases of what might be called the mainstream developments of cryptography and cryptanalysis. It is a captivating presentation. The book started off with the story of Queen Mary of Scotland, and went on to cover the Caesar cipher, Vigenère cipher, the famous Enigma, the super-secret Colossus, and the modern day computer based encryption and decryption developments. The author also threw in a couple of interesting "sideline" stories, such as the Beale cipher, the Rosetta Stone, and the Navajo "code talkers" who played a key role in the Pacific theater during WWII. My teenage son used to complain that most of the difficult subjects he learned in school would never have any use in real life. I gave him a copy of this book. The book is a compelling story of how science, engineering, mathematics, computer, linguistics, psychology are all critical pieces of this all-important game. There are more technical treatises on this subject, and there are more lengthy and nuanced historical accounts on military intelligence as well. But this book is undoubtedly the best introduction to this uniquely fascinating subject.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: The Code Book is a delightful treatment of the subject of cryptography. It is a nice combination of history, science, warfare and politics. The author uses interesting historical events as background to narrate the different phases of what might be called the mainstream developments of cryptography and cryptanalysis. It is a captivating presentation. The book started off with the story of Queen Mary of Scotland, and went on to cover the Caesar cipher, Vigenère cipher, the famous Enigma, the super-secret Colossus, and the modern day computer based encryption and decryption developments. The author also threw in a couple of interesting "sideline" stories, such as the Beale cipher, the Rosetta Stone, and the Navajo "code talkers" who played a key role in the Pacific theater during WWII. My teenage son used to complain that most of the difficult subjects he learned in school would never have any use in real life. I gave him a copy of this book. The book is a compelling story of how science, engineering, mathematics, computer, linguistics, psychology are all critical pieces of this all-important game. There are more technical treatises on this subject, and there are more lengthy and nuanced historical accounts on military intelligence as well. But this book is undoubtedly the best introduction to this uniquely fascinating subject.
Rating:
Summary: Provides plenty of depth and information
Review: The Code Book was intended for a young adult audience but also holds an ability to interest an adult readership as well. This history of cryptography provides plenty of depth and information on making and breaking codes, providing a historical background on an ongoing battle which has been waged for centuries. An intriguing look at codes and secrecy.
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