Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writing (Dover Children's Activity Books) [Paperback]

Martin Gardner (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Dover Children's Activity Books

"A fascinating, challenging book." — A. L. A. Booklist. Experiment with cryptography — the science of secret writing. Cipher and decipher codes: transposition and polyalphabetical ciphers, famous codes, typewriter and telephone codes, codes that use playing cards, knots, and swizzle sticks...even invisible writing and sending messages through outer space. Hours of intrigue and challenge. 45 diagrams.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (October 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486247619
• ISBN-13: 978-0486247618
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Education > Questions & Answers
  • #11 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Reference
  • #55 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Words & Language > General

More About the Author

For 25 of his 95 years, Martin Gardner wrote 'Mathematical Games and Recreations', a monthly column for Scientific American magazine. These columns have inspired hundreds of thousands of readers to delve more deeply into the large world of mathematics. He has also made significant contributions to magic, philosophy, debunking pseudoscience, and children's literature. He has produced more than 60 books, including many best sellers, most of which are still in print. His Annotated Alice has sold more than a million copies. He continues to write a regular column for the Skeptical Inquirer magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars fun for beginners..., July 3, 1999

By 

"usdevildogs" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writing (Dover Children's Activity Books) (Paperback)

Very well written. This book offers an introduction to "crypto-stuff" such as mono/polyalphabetic substitutions and grille methods. It doesn't go into much of anything else in huge detail, but it offers many methods including "how to build" your own encoding/decoding tools. If you're looking for some fun reading, I highly recommend it. If you're serious about learning though, check out "the code breakers" by kahn.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Non-Mathematical Intro to Ciphers of Historical Interest, June 13, 2007

By 

J. Martens (Baltimore Metro Area, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writing (Dover Children's Activity Books) (Paperback)

This is a good, well-written book requiring essentially no mathematical background. It's appropriate for teens and older folks interested ciphers. As another writer has pointed out, it's not current (this is a Dover reprint of a 1972 Simon & Schuster work), and the very few places where it says a code is still in use, it's likely not. I don't view this as a problem.

Ciphers are categorized and historical development is given. Invisible inks and the like are discussed, as are microdots, and SETI, though not by that name. Modern ciphers get no mention whatsoever--thus the non-mathematical nature. The approach doesn't consider computers to any real extent. Also, certain historical items that could have been covered, like the Enigma, aren't mentioned.

There are three weaknesses, IMHO, that keep it below 5 stars.
(1) Most of the ciphers presented have a set of possible setups, which can effectively be considered keys. E.g., the Caesar Cipher, using the Roman alphabet, has 25 different possible versions, which can be considered 25 different keys. Gardner makes no attempt to explain the relative complexities of breaking the various ciphers.
(2) The age.
(3) There is no index, but the table of contents is detailed.

I expect to use a few of these ciphers in introductory computing classes (think CS1, CS2) in the near future--the explanations are clear enough for undergrads with no real background and minimal interest.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good basic codes, great for beginners., September 27, 2002

By 

M. Byer (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writing (Dover Children's Activity Books) (Paperback)

This is a great reference of basic codes. Excellent explanations, examples. Don't expect anything too intense, and you won't be disappointed.