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The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography
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.
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.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Simon Singh
25 books1,536 followersSimon 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.
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.
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March 14, 2025
Książka przedstawia historię szyfrów, kodów i najważniejszych odkryć od odczytania tekstu z kamienia z rosetty i dlaczego był on istotny, po fizykę kwantową niezbędną do wytłumaczenia dzisiejszej kryptografii (właściwie aktualnej 25 lat temu, gdy książka została wydana). Poza tym wiele postaci, głównie naukowców albo odkrywców, zostało przedstawionych pokrótce wraz ze swoimi osiągnięciami i krótkimi opisami. Niektórzy z nich wydają się interesującymi postaciami, o wielu z nich nie słyszałem wcześniej.
Singh wyjaśnia te koncepty prostym języki na przykładzie świetnych analogii. Sprawia, że intuicyjne zrozumienie tych konceptów jest dostępne dla każdego.
Poniżej urywek o działaniach polskiego Biura Szyfrów, którego wybitne osiągnięcia zainteresowały mnie tematem kryptografii w ogóle.
"The audience were astonished as they heard how Rejewski had been breaking Enigma for years. The Poles were a decade ahead of anybody else in the world. The French were particularly astonished, because the Polish work had been based on the results of French espionage. The French had handed the information from Schmidt to the Poles because they believed it to be of no value, but the Poles had proved them wrong."
Singh wyjaśnia te koncepty prostym języki na przykładzie świetnych analogii. Sprawia, że intuicyjne zrozumienie tych konceptów jest dostępne dla każdego.
Poniżej urywek o działaniach polskiego Biura Szyfrów, którego wybitne osiągnięcia zainteresowały mnie tematem kryptografii w ogóle.
"The audience were astonished as they heard how Rejewski had been breaking Enigma for years. The Poles were a decade ahead of anybody else in the world. The French were particularly astonished, because the Polish work had been based on the results of French espionage. The French had handed the information from Schmidt to the Poles because they believed it to be of no value, but the Poles had proved them wrong."
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review