false 53439379 368686 29608 0684831309 9780684831305 4 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168034461m/29608.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168034461s/29608.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29608.The_Codebreakers_The_Comprehensive_History_of_Secret_Communication_from_Ancient_Times_to_the_Internet 4.22 58 The Codebreakers focuses on the 20th century, especially World War II. But its reach is long. Kahn traces cryptology's origins to the advent of writing. It seems that as soon as people learned how to record their thoughts, they tried to figure out ways of keeping them hidden. Kahn covers everything from the theory of ciphering to the search for "messages" from outer space. He concludes with a few thoughts about encryption on the Internet. ]]> 16679 3.95 91 12 1973 0 0 false Tue Apr 21 01:19:25 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 01:19:25 -0700 2009