Customer Reviews

Making, Breaking Codes: Introduction to Cryptology

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is great for anyone just starting to learn about cryptology. It doesn't expect you to understand large amounts of mathematics, and goes through the necessary mathematics to understand the subject and problems presented. Additionally, this book has an answer key for selected problems (not just a few, but many problems), which makes it great for the person wanting to teach themselves the subject at their own pace. Also, it makes for a good reference for the person already familiar with cryptology. Finally, it is a great book for the experienced mathematician that wants to see modern/abstract algebra applied to a modern day subject.

This is a math book. It tells you cryptography-related abstract algebra, number theory, etc. The good thing is it doesn't assume you have much math background.

On the other hand, it has a lot of errors. Some are just typos, some not. Personally, I think if a math book has a single math error (wrong lemma, incorrect logic, ...), it is not a qualified math book. Unfortunately, this book has more than one.

The reason I still give it four stars is that I like its approach. Without math, cryptography is not cryptography. If you don't have enough math background, this book really helps you get started. There are simply not many choices on the market of this kind. After reading this, you can go to more rigorous, advanced ones, such as Koblitz's series. An alternative (more rigorous, less abstract algebra) is Bauer's. All Koblitz's and Bauer's are excellent.

I like the book quite a bit because of the actual down-to-earth language Garrett uses. It is very nice since I'm using it on my own time. There some errors in the book, however. He also selects only about 25% of the questions to anwer in the key. He could show about 50% and give an explanation on how to find the answer. Other than that, there is nothing wrong with the book and those problems shouldn't keep you from buying it.

Had this book for an introductory cryptography course. While this book has alot of potential, it was found to contain many, many errors (typographical and mathematical). I would also encourage the author to include many more examples when introducing new concepts. The theory is provided but every section seems to lack any sort of application of the learned theory. Finally, there are some weak solutions in the back to a selection of exercises, it would have been nice to see complete solutions as opposed to the numbers. The numbers mean nothing if one cannot figure out how to draw a similar conclusion.

Other than a few 1st edition errors and too small of an anwer key, the book is definitely worth the money. It has a very down-to-earth style which is great if you're using the book on your own like me. I'm using this book for the Siemman's Westinghouse Scholarship Competition, and I think it is a great book for anyone interested in Cryptology, whether they like math or not.

This wonderful book lies between the layman's approach of "The Code Book" and "Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C", which takes an algorithmic approach to cryptography but glosses over the mathematical details. It is great for people who already understand the use of various cryptographic algorithms as depicted in "The Code Book", but want to understand the underpinning mathematics before they implement cryptography in code. It is the best of the applied math books on the subject, since it manages to explain the mathematics behind cryptography without getting bogged down in proofs. If cryptographic algorithms and implementations are your business, all three books are essential reading.

This book is a college level mathematics text that does a pretty good job of explaining the mathematics involved without assuming a lot in the way of background, but a preliminary course in abstract algebra would certainly be helpful. If I have any criticism of the book it is that there is a scarcity of actual numerical examples versus the multitude of unsolved exercises left to the student. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the mathematics of cryptography.

NOTE: A second edition of this book is due in February 2007. Preliminary information shows it to be 100 pages longer than this edition. Thus, if you have to buy the first edition now, you might want to get a used one and demand a lower price due to the limited lifespan this edition has.

I can't belive how much I like this book. It has great down to earth language and very helpful examples. If you are interested in cryptography but don't know where to start, then this is a book for you to pick up. Seriously, without the math, cryptography won't be the same. This is the book that has the math to help you dive into cryptography and build a good fundation before you swim toward the big ocean!
Paul is a very funny guy when he lectures, if u get a chance to go to his lecture, don't miss it.

I liked the book very much. In fact, I think you should read it if your math is a bit rusty. Lots of simple examples are provided to support the ideas presented in the book. If you are new to cryptography or don't know where to start, I think this is the book for you. Paul is a guy that can make you laugh when he lectures boring math theory!!! If you get a chance to go to his lecture, don't miss it!

The Book was in excellent condition.

However, I wish it arrived sooner.

I took this course at the U of Minn (where the author is a professor). He has a reputation of being a good professor and a good guy (and I have no reason to doubt it). Unfortunately, his book is very hard to understand. While packed chock full of information, it is written in a **very, very** dense style. It makes a lot of assumptions about your prior knowledge and there are few examples to illustrate the theory. While this may be OK for a grad student in math (or even a bright senior), it is definitely not sufficient for a non-math major and most undergrads.