Cracking Codes and Cryptograms For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Mark Koltko-Rivera (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The fast and easy way to crack codes and cryptograms

Did you love Dan Browns The Lost Symbol? Are you fascinated by secret codes and deciphering lost history? Cracking Codes and Cryptograms For Dummies shows you how to think like a symbologist to uncover mysteries and history by solving cryptograms and cracking codes that relate to Freemasonry, the Knights Templar, the Illuminati, and other secret societies and conspiracy theories.

Youll get easy-to-follow instructions for solving everything from the simplest puzzles to fiendishly difficult ciphers using secret codes and lost symbols.

• Over 350 handcrafted cryptograms and ciphers of varying types
• Tips and tricks for cracking even the toughest code
• Sutherland is a syndicated puzzle author; Koltko-Rivera is an expert on the major symbols and ceremonies of Freemasonry

With the helpful information in this friendly guide, youll be unveiling mysteries and shedding light on history in no time!

From the Back Cover

Solve compelling and challengingpuzzles to uncover secrets andconspiracy plots

Fascinated with the culture of conspiracy? Uncover the mysteries and test your knowledge of secret societies by solving cryptograms and deciphering codes that not only unveil historical fact and fiction but entertain you as well. Walk in the footsteps of a symbologist by solving everything from the simplest puzzles to fiendishly difficult ciphers, using secret codes and lost symbols.

• Think like a symbologist — discover a variety of codes and wordplay and the strategies for solving each one
• Build your code-cracking skills — work your way from solving simple cryptograms to difficult Masonic and double level ciphers
• Uncover a bigger mystery — use the answers you discover to solve three conspiracy stories contained in the book
• Appreciate the history of code and encryption — reveal the secret world of Freemasonry, the Illuminati, and the Knights Templar
• Check your work — find hints and answers for all the book's puzzles

Open the book and find:

• Over 350 handcrafted cryptograms and ciphers of varying types
• Tips and tricks for cracking even the toughest code
• An introduction to the history and relevance of using code
• Puzzle strategies and hints to help nudge you in the right direction
• Fun and intriguing anagrams and story wordplay puzzles
• Fascinating number ciphers that reference the keypad letters on your cellphone
• Puzzles of all levels: Easy, Tricky, and Treacherous

Learn to:

• Expose conspiracies like the characters do in Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol
• Decipher cryptic puzzles
• Understand the role coded messages play in secret societies
• Use encrypted alphabets to unveil secrets of the past

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (November 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470591005
• ISBN-13: 978-0470591000
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #209,870 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, November 13, 2009

By	N. Coleman (Annapolis, MD, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a fantastic book. I bought it so I could write messages to my students in code and found that it is sooo much more. It is very easy to read and really hooks you in right from the beginning.

There is a lot more to this book than first glance. It explained a lot about how to do codes & cryptograms and write them as well for me (at a beginners level), but it was also really interesting for my husband who has studied formal logic & loves these sorts of brain twisters.

This one is worth buying - I'm thinking of buying another one so we aren't fighting all the time over who gets to read it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cracking Codes & Cryptograms for DUMMIES, November 17, 2009

By	David S. Brockman "Choklittshipp" (Clarksville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having read "Cracking Codes and Cryptograms for Dummies" I believe that the book has a great deal of historic information. It also gives a lot of general information on how ciphers are made and used from when to now. The book also has a large amount of practice ciphers to help with understanding. I found the book to be extremely enlightening and would recommend it for anyone interested in cryptology.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for beginners and symbologists alike, December 9, 2009

By	J. Wolfe (Portland OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a person interested in word puzzles but with no historical knowledge of ciphers, I found this book to be very well-balanced. The book introduces several types of cryptograms and ciphers, many of which I was unfamiliar with, and I didn't feel like I needed previous experience to dive right in and start cracking the codes.

A feature I found interesting was the section on conspiracy theories, tying all the puzzles together and using the solutions from the other puzzles to form the complete story.

Having three different difficulty levels for each type of cipher was really helpful in developing my strategies for solving them. The beginning of the book gives you common tips and tricks, and the back of the book has a section that includes a hint for every puzzle. I love that, because if you really get stuck it gives you one extra chance before you look up the solution.