Break the Code: Cryptography for Beginners [Paperback]

Bud Johnson (Author), Larry Daste (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 71 pages
• Publisher: Dover Pubns (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486291464
• ISBN-13: 978-0486291468
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,580,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun book, February 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Break the Code: Cryptography for Beginners (Paperback)

I have a theory that most well-done things for kids appeal to adults as well. I don't have a vast bank of data to support this hypothesis, but I do have examples, such as this book. I'm not a kid, and I still learned plenty of things about cryptography that I did not know beforehand. Larry Daste's clever illustrations add a lot to the book's design. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that Mr. Johnson is a family friend, and I suggested one of the sayings that was used in the book.)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to cryptology & cryptoanalysis, December 25, 2000

By 

Bruce Thompson (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Break the Code: Cryptography for Beginners (Paperback)

This is a great book for beginners in the subject of cryptology. (Cryptography = creating cyphers; cryptoanalysis = decyphering them).

The author was a real-life cryptologist in the military, and this book shares his experience with you.

Many books on the subject try to hit you over the head with math, but Johnson's elementary approach is a welcome relief. I definitely recommend this one!

9 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It's for kids, January 8, 2001

By 

Todd Smith (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Break the Code: Cryptography for Beginners (Paperback)

I bought it with a bunch of other books about cryptography (serious ones), but it is written for kids. One of the codes is a sentence with the words written backwards. Another is letters split up into blocks, but you can still just read the words straight across. It's really not helpful.