The Code Book: The Secret History of Codes & Code-Breaking [Paperback]

Simon Singh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2000

From the Author of Fermat's Lat Theorem

Product Details

• Paperback: 402 pages
• Publisher: Fourth Estate Limited (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007635745
• ISBN-13: 978-0007635740
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (300 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,605,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Simon Singh is an author, science journalist and TV producer. Having completed his PhD at Cambridge he worked from 1991 to 1997 at the BBC producing Tomorrow's World and co-directing the BAFTA award-winning documentary Fermat's Last Theorem for the Horizon series. In 1997, he published Fermat's Last Theorem, which was a best-seller in Britain and translated into 22 languages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

154 of 158 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Neatly illustrates the impact of encryption on history, November 2, 1999

By 

Jason Massey (Indianapolis, Indiana USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Code Book: The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary, Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography (Hardcover)

Before Singh's "Code Book" came on the scene, the only other book I knew about is Kahn's "Codebreakers". I don't have the time to read such a large text as Kahn's book, so I was very pleased when this book became available.

Singh has done a very nice job of demonstrating how deep an impact cryptography has on history. He opens the book by recounting Mary Queen of Scots' conspiracy to have Queen Elizabeth murdered and how she attempted to use encryption to cloak her intentions. It was a very exciting way to open the book.

Singh has found the right combination of technical detail, historical detail, and character development.

Singh's explanation of how the German WWII Enigma functioned is exceptional. He made it very easy (and fun) to understand.

Singh's last chapter is also very neat on the subject of quantum cryptography. Though I have a BS in computer science, I'm no physics genius and Singh did a nice job of making (what I consider) difficult physics concepts easy to understand and of showing how they can be applied to modern cryptography.

Although I don't know a thing about "Fermat's last theorem", I've been so pleased with Singh's writing style that I'm considering reading that book also just to see what it is all about.

If you like codes/ciphers and want to read about their impact on history without reading a thousand pages then get this book. You'll be happy you did.

71 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read and a little more than just codes, December 12, 1999

By 

anthony c. iaccio (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Code Book: The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary, Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography (Hardcover)

Mr. Singh traces the history of cryptography from its recorded inception in roman times up through current applications. While all of the chapters held my interest it was Mr. Singh's work in chapters 4 through 6 that I feel deserve particular note.

Chapter 4 deals with the war effort at Bletchley Park and the work on the Engima machine. Here Mr.Singh adds an additional dimension by providing some insight into the work of Alan Turning, the development of Colossus, the first (now reported) electronic programmable computer and the unrecognized cryptanalysts who broke Ultra and the other codes of WWII. Chapter 6 brings us up to present day cryptographic issues from RSA and PGP to philosophical issues of personal privacy in modern society with web centric commerce and online book reviews. At each step in the process Singh successfully combines the elements of a technical treatise with a human values and features. For those wanting to go a little further under the hood and look at the processes and algorithms in some of the codes mentioned in the text, several appendices at the end of the book should fill that yearning. I found the book informative and enjoyable to read.

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling material wrapped in interesting stories, March 29, 2000

By 

Douglas Welzel (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Code Book: The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary, Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography (Hardcover)

It took me a while to finding to the time to read this because I was expecting a rather dry book on cryptography. The subject was somewhat interesting to me, but I didn't feel like plodding through a long book on the subject.

Once I started reading I realized The Code Book was totally different. Singh takes you on a tour of the history of cryptography through the history of the world. You will find that cryptography was an unexpected key element in several historical events.

Through the entire history, Singh's writing is exceptionally clear and easy to follow. The material in the book is accessible to all levels of reader -- even those with no knowledge of cryptography.