The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

by Simon Singh

In his first book since the bestselling Fermat’s Enigma, Simon Singh offers the first sweeping history of encryption, tracing its evolution and revealing the dramatic effects codes have had on wars, nations, and individual lives. From Mary, Queen of Scots, trapped by her own code, to the Navajo Code Talkers who helped the Allies win World War II, to the incredible (and incredibly simple) logisitical breakthrough that made Internet commerce secure, The Code Book tells the story of the most powerful intellectual weapon ever known: secrecy.

Throughout the text are clear technical and mathematical explanations, and portraits of the remarkable personalities who wrote and broke the world’s most difficult codes. Accessible, compelling, and remarkably far-reaching, this book will forever alter your view of history and what drives it. It will also make you wonder how private that e-mail you just sent really is.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, History, Mathematics, Computer Science, Technology, Popular Science

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Simon Lehna Singh, MBE is a British author who has specialised in writing about mathematical and scientific topics in an accessible manner. He is the maiden winner of the Lilavati Award.

His written works include Fermat's Last Theorem (in the United States titled Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem), The Code Book (about cryptography and its history), Big Bang (about the Big Bang theory and the origins of the universe) and Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial (about complementary and alternative medicine).

He has also produced documentaries and works for television to accompany his books, is a trustee of NESTA, the National Museum of Science and Industry and co-founded the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme.

Reviews

[Arnar Ágúst]

Skemmtileg bók um dulkóðanir.
Fannst fyrri helmingurinn af bókinni sérstaklega áhugaverður, en þar er farið í gegnum sögu dulkóðana og tilrauna til að brjóta þær frá upphafi og fram að enigma vélinni. Að fara í gegnum söguna gefur manni mjúka lendingu inn í efnið.
Í lokin var farið í frægustu dulkóðunarreiknirit nútímans, þetta er efni sem ég þekki ágætlega og get því sett út á eitthvað. Mér finnst hann smá láta það hljóma eins og dulkóðun nútímans sé fullkomin (nema að skammtatölvur séu eini möguleikinn til að brjóta hana). Raunverulega þá er ástandið það að við þekkjum ekki leið til að brjóta dulkóðun nútímans, en höfum enga sönnun á að hún sé örugg. Þetta er svipað ástand og hefur oft verið áður fyrr (þegar dulkóðunin hefur verið brotin) eini munurinn er að búið er að leggja mun meiri orku í að reyna að brjóta hana núna.

Ég veit ekki hvað það segir um restina að bókinni, ef ég get gagnrýnt eina hlutann sem ég hef þekkingu á.