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

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

Book Review: Excellent reading on evolution of cryptography
Summary: 5 Stars

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

Confronted with the prospect of defeat, the Allied cryptanalysts had worked night and day to penetrate German ciphers. It would appear that fear was the main driving force, and that adversity is one of the foundations of successful codebreaking.

In the information age, the fear that drives cryptographic improvements is both capitalistic and libertarian--corporations need encryption to ensure that their secrets don't fall into the hands of competitors and regulators, and ordinary people need encryption to keep their everyday communications private in a free society. Similarly, the battles for greater decryption power come from said competitors and governments wary of insurrection.

The Code Book is an excellent primer for those wishing to understand how the human need for privacy has manifested itself through cryptography. Singh's accessible style and clear explanations of complex algorithms cut through the arcane mathematical details without oversimplifying. --Therese Littleton

Encryption Books

• Computers & Internet > Web Development > Security & Encryption
• Programming > Algorithms > Cryptography
• History > Africa > Egypt
• Middle East > Egypt
• Military > Intelligence & Espionage
• Reference > Words & Language > Linguistics
• Science > History & Philosophy > History of Science
• Science: General
• History: Africa: Egypt: General