Handbook of Applied Cryptography (Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications) [Hardcover]

Alfred Menezes (Editor), Paul van Oorschot (Editor), Scott Vanstone (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0849385237 | ISBN-13: 978-0849385230 | Publication Date: December 16, 1996 | Edition: 1

Cryptography, in particular public-key cryptography, has emerged in the last 20 years as an important discipline that is not only the subject of an enormous amount of research, but provides the foundation for information security in many applications. Standards are emerging to meet the demands for cryptographic protection in most areas of data communications. Public-key cryptographic techniques are now in widespread use, especially in the financial services industry, in the public sector, and by individuals for their personal privacy, such as in electronic mail. This Handbook will serve as a valuable reference for the novice as well as for the expert who needs a wider scope of coverage within the area of cryptography. It is a necessary and timely guide for professionals who practice the art of cryptography.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 780 pages
• Publisher: CRC Press; 1 edition (December 16, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849385237
• ISBN-13: 978-0849385230
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Algorithms > Cryptography

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference indeed, September 27, 2001

By 

Optimistix (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Applied Cryptography (Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications) (Hardcover)

If you're going to work in the area of Cryptography, you can't afford
to neglect this book.

We used this in a course, and even though it's a handbook, it doubles up
pretty well as a textbook, since it has all the underlying mathematical
theory, presented in a clear and concise manner.

For sheer breadth and depth of coverage, this book is unmatched in the
field. It may not have enough on some topics to satisfy everyone, but
then i suspect most such topics were not so prominent in 1996, which
is when the book was written.

Starting with number theory, it goes on cover pseudorandom bits and
sequences, stream and block ciphers, hash functions, and digital signatures,
establishment protocols, implementation, patents and standards - you name
it, you got it.

On the one hand, there's enough theory to make you wonder whether it
should be called 'applied', but then it indeed qualifies as implementations
are discussed as well.

And of course, there's an exhaustive bibliography, with more pointers to
the literature than one could possibly follow up.

One word of caution, though : it requires hard work. If you want a more
'relaxed' coverage of comparable breadth (but not depth), you can do
worse than look up Bruce Schneier's 'Applied Crypography', which is a
delightful read, but nowhere as rigorous (read academic) as this one.

All in all, this is an indispensable reference for those in the field -
rigorous and exhaustive, yet eminently readable.

If you still haven't made your mind up, here's one final piece of advice :
visit the authors'(rather the book's) website, where you'll get the
implementations of all the algorithms in the book, and a (presumably)
pleasant surprise :-)

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough and complete, June 14, 1999

By 

Gerardus A. Weijers (Tucson, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Applied Cryptography (Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications) (Hardcover)

Menezes et. al. provide a thorough review of the field of cryptography. It's the first book I grab when I'm looking for something. Much more in depth than Bruce Scheier's "Applied Cryptography"

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very detailed book, but not for everyone., October 12, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Handbook of Applied Cryptography (Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications) (Hardcover)

This is a fairly strong book on crypto, with heavy detail on the math involved. The upside is that the second chapter is devoted to most of the important mathematical theory you'll need to understand for the rest of the book. The downside? That chapter tries to cover just about the same breadth of information as a semester long course in Number Theory.

If you don't have a ton of mathematical background and are scared of having to take a crash course in number theory, or are looking for a higher level view of things, I'd suggest something more along the lines of Bruce Schneier's 'Applied Cryptography' (ASIN 0471117099). If you have some mathematical background, but want to get into things in detail, this is probably for you.

If you're not sure whether you'll like the book, you should definitely take a look at it. While Amazon currently doesn't have sample pages, if you do a Web Search on "Handbook of Applied Cryptography", you can find Sample Chapters hosted online to give you a good feel for the book's style.