Codes, Ciphers and Other Cryptic and Clandestine Communication: 400 Ways to Send Secret Messages from Hieroglyphs to the Internet [Hardcover]

Fred B. Wrixon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 1998

Spies, secret societies, religious cults as well as anyone who has used an ATM or the internet rely on the making and breaking of codes for security.

Like a spy novel combined with the technology of a Tom Clancy thriller, Codes, Ciphers and Other Clandestine Communication successfully interweaves technical explanations of each important coding method with their place in the shadowy world of secret communications.

Special chapters teach some easy and fun ciphers that readers can make and use at home.

Hundreds of illustrated examples take the reader step-by-step through the foundations of cipher making from Caesar's cipher to World War I's ADFGX and beyond. Detailed diagrams and line drawings of each coding machine will delight technology buffs and war-machine aficionados.

Packed with historical anecdotes about cryptography's most famous pioneers and practitioners, this book covers the development of codes through the ages from the druids, Marie Antoinette, Aaron Burr, Confederate spies in the Civil War to the Freemasons, German U-Boat Wolf Packs, the KGB, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Codes Ciphers & Other Cryptic & Clandestine Communication chronicles the world of secret communication from hieroglyphics to the Internet. The making and breaking of codes through history has won or lost wars, exposed political intrigue, disguised secret religions and secured financial transactions. It is a fascinating world of technological advances, cloak and dagger maneuvers and war espionage.

Whether browsing through or reading cover to cover, you'll learn the amazing achievements of cryptology from the Rosicrucian's and Mason's secret transmissions to the Ultra operation which broke the German code and helped win World War II to computer codes that protect ATM's and the Internet today.

Progressing methodically through the development of each coding method, concise, and engaging profiles describe the structural basis of each system and the thrilling stories that surround it. Biographies identify the significant code developers and breakers. Illustrations of letter and number patterns recreate the code makers' procedures, and sketches of coding machines show the actual devises used in the field.

Every type of coded communication is covered from transpositions, substitutions and polygraphic ciphers to signals, stenography and ancient symbols. In special chapters, code and cipher breaking hints and puzzles explain how to make your own secret messages and how to break other people's. Anyone can become an amateur cryptologist!

From the Back Cover

Learn the fascinating world of codes - from deciphering ancient hieroglyphics to cipher machines used in the world wars to computer cryptology for encoding financial transactions. The making and breaking of codes has shaped history. Every section is a dramatic story with thrilling narratives and detailed descriptions of code development.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 704 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; Revised edition (January 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579120407
• ISBN-13: 978-1579120405
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.5 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Secretarial Aids & Training

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Codes,Ciphers & Other Cryptic & Clandestine Communication, June 13, 2000

By 

Thomas Allen "Tom" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Codes, Ciphers and Other Cryptic and Clandestine Communication: 400 Ways to Send Secret Messages from Hieroglyphs to the Internet (Hardcover)

Wrixon, Fred B. *Codes, Ciphers & Other Cryptic & Clandestine Communication.* Dimensions: 23.7cm x 21cm x 5.2cm. Drawings, illustrations, no photographs, table of contents, four page index, appendix, and glossary, and bibliography). The book is 704 pages in length with a reading/comprehension level of about age14 thru adult. The bibliography is extensive but contains few new sources of information.

The author utilizes David Kahn's book: The Codebreakers, for much of the historical information on Cryptology. The book opens with an excellent discussion that traces cryptology from ancient origins to the present. Most of the book is devoted to classical pencil & paper ciphers and codes. His discussion of elementary transposition & substitution ciphers is good. He also describes the one-time pad used by Soviet espionage agents. There is a brief incomplete discussion of "Cryptophotographic Techniques" that uses latent imaging, gelatin hardening and bleaching of photographs to conceal secret messages. Near the back of the book, there is a section devoted to quizzes & answers to help everyone understand the various chapters. The book closes with biographical chronologies of individuals that have contributed to the development of cryptology: Leon Battista Alberti to Herbert O. Yardley.

I did notice, however, one error in the chapter on Steganography under the subtitle invisible inks. The author, on page 476, states that the handkerchief, carried by Nazi saboteur George Dasch, contained information written in secret ink that was developed by the FBI using ammonia vapor. That much is true. But the author states incorrectly that the secret ink message was written with copper sulphate. In fact, the secret ink message on the handkerchief was written with an alcoholic solution of phenolphthalein. The phantom writing appeared red or pink in color when subjected to ammonium vapor.

The author writes in a direct lucid style that reaches a wide audience. There are some mistakes, but most of them are of little significance to the over all thrust of the book. It is an excellent book for the novice trying to understand cryptology.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Codes, Ciphers and other Cryptic, April 25, 2000

By 

Daniel A Kurc (seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Codes, Ciphers and Other Cryptic and Clandestine Communication: 400 Ways to Send Secret Messages from Hieroglyphs to the Internet (Hardcover)

This book presents a number of Codes and Ciphers. There are several examples of the Ciphers included but in my opinion, the examples are poor and not very detailed. Unfortunately, this is a subject matter which is highly dependent on the details. There is also a large section on Codes as opposed to Ciphers. This as far as I've found is a rare thing to come across as most books will cover cryptography but not codes. A similar book would be "The Code Book" by Simon Singh, which goes into greater detail with a fewer number of ciphers including more history in relation to the ciphers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent: a pleasure to read, April 24, 2006

By 

E. Kelly "kelly2035" (Nebraska USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Codes, Ciphers and Other Cryptic and Clandestine Communication: 400 Ways to Send Secret Messages from Hieroglyphs to the Internet (Hardcover)

The book is well thought out. It is engaging, clear, and fun. One can read it for hours or just a few minutes. Its straightforward descriptions, including the actual encryption technique, makes it easy to learn the various codes. I especially liked teaching my 8-year-old the Rosicrucian Cipher--it's simple and cool looking. The brief, historical context of each code or chipher was interesting. I bought the book on a lark, and find it worth the full price.