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Secret Messages: Concealment Codes And Other Types Of Ingenious Communication
 
 
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Secret Messages: Concealment Codes And Other Types Of Ingenious Communication [Hardcover]

William S. Butler (Author), L. Douglas Keeney (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Book Description

0684869985 978-0684869988 January 2, 2001 1St Edition
From the fall of Troy to interstellar messages by way of the Underground Railroad and Captain Midnight, Secret Messages is a collection of ninety-five of the most interesting examples of code and concealed communications throughout history.

Authors William S. Butler and L. Douglas Keeney have compiled a fascinating array of encrypted communications from a varied field. Many of these examples are from times of war, including the story of how a too simple code was the undoing of Benedict Arnold, and how Commander Jeremiah Denton blinked in Morse code to indicate that his North Vietnamese captors were torturing him. Others are more lighthearted, such as the creative use of hand signals by catchers and managers in modern baseball. And some selections offer a glimpse into how codes are used in everyday life, unbeknownst to most of us, in places like hospitals, police stations, and firehouses.

Uncovering hidden layers, Secret Messages will amaze you with its new insights into history and how it has been shaped by cryptography. It also explores the future of encryption, where technology will enable vast amounts of information to be hidden within minuscule hosts such as human DNA, or the dot of an "i." Full of stories of human creativity and ingenuity, Secret Messages is an engaging book that will inspire and delight.


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Collaborators on several previous books about military topics (Day of Destiny; This Is Guadalcanal), authors Butler and Keeney breezily survey the history of codes, ciphers and other forms of covert communication from smoke signals and Morse code to fraternity ties, gang colors and carefully stitched quilts, to name just a few. Since few people knew the Navaho language in 1941, 200 Navaho in the South Pacific coded their own language and radioed messages that sounded like gibberish to the Japanese, while the Dutch underground fooled the Gestapo with window curtains (half-closed = "Do not enter"). More than 50 years later, a four-word message was hidden in human DNA and transferred atop a single black dot in a business letter. A lexicon reveals the secret short-order lingo used to speed orders at Atlanta's Varsity Drive-In ("Red dog: hot dog with ketchup only"), and there's a list of Secret Service code names ("Tumbler - George W. Bush, Jr."). Loosely grouped under broad headings like "Codes in Cloth" and "In the Boot," these pithy anecdotes should delight dabblers in mystery and espionage, though readers looking for more in-depth analysis of ciphering would be better off opting for historical narratives like Simon Singh's The Code Book. Illus. (Jan. 2)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Through a series of short stories and anecdotes, this book gives an entertaining and quick tour of codes used by common folk as well as spies. Most of the stories are one to two pages long, making it easy to start and stop at readers' convenience. Loosely arranged by themes rather than chronologically, the book can be dipped into or read in a linear manner. There are a couple of chapters consisting of tales from World War II and the Vietnam War. Subliminal messages are given consideration in another section. "Codes in Cloth" tells how quilts displayed in plain view were used by the Underground Railroad to help guide runaway slaves to freedom. An illustration of some of the quilt patterns and their meanings accompanies the text. Much of the book is devoted to codes used to convey messages in everyday life. Those used by hospitals, police officers, restaurant staff, and bridge players are addressed. Occasionally, readers are invited to decipher a message after being given the key. An engaging book that may entice readers to pursue a more in-depth exploration of the topic.

Sheila Shoup, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1St Edition edition (January 2, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0684869985
  • ISBN-13: 978-0684869988
  • Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,642,970 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Overview of Communication Methods, January 31, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Secret Messages: Concealment Codes And Other Types Of Ingenious Communication (Hardcover)
This is a wonderful overview of the ways we try to communicate in secret. You don't have to be a PhD to understand the methodology of the communication styles featured in the book. Recommended for anyone with a beginning interest in our "secret" history.
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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for those who want to be enlighten, December 29, 2010
This book just gives you some basic concept of secret messages & codes.

There are secret societies from A History Of Secret Societies that takes minimun of 6 months or longer, depending on your language ability, to learn their coded language. Of course those that are born into these societies know it automatically as they learned it from birth where a person language ability is instinctive.

Just as the Native of France can speak French instinctively even though they can not read or write French., while Foreigner can takes years and still can not speak French as the Native can but might have a higher vocabulary than the native, those who are borned into secret societies communicate with their special language as easy as you speaks with your neighbor.

Other times a minor might be initiated into this clandestine method of communication without the parent knowing about it, since they are at a young age where their language skill is still instinctive. Thus the minor will be easy target/victim for clandestine activities. And most minor do not have the intellectual capability to communicate what I am conveying here. Thus the parents, and other outsider, will be puzzle about their children behavior. Of course the minors that are borned into these secret societies does not consider themselves to be a target or victim, but rather just a way of life.

Many who are borned into these secret societies will grow up to become gangster, thugs & criminals in business, corporations, government, Law Enforcement & society with plausible deniability, as in their world there is no law and order, since it is invisible to outsider. Other will becomes civil right activists to protect their secret way of life, using labels such as "prejudice", "discrimination", "racist" & similar labels to intimidate and breakdown the defense of their critics. And the children who are borned into these secret societies will have conflicts & physical confrontation with regular people due to differences in communication.

I, myself, have had physical confrontation with them in the early 1990s, due to differences in communication, to the point where they were stupid enough to attack me & hit my iron fist with their face many time where my fist was bleeding, but the blood on my fist was not my own. However the knowledge in this book helps me make sense of these weird events & understand what happen, realizing all the criminal activities, disgusting events & disgusting people that happen over the years, since elementary school, right in front of my eyes that I was not aware of, when in 2007 I came to a realization and treated the communications as not proper english but a coded communication, everything make sense. As back then I engage in the physical confrontation reluctantly, but had I known then what I know now, I would have enjoy the physical confrontation instead of feeling guilty. Thus this book will also bring you peace of mind.

A characteristic that they have is that they are really arrogant, or stupidity as it is hard to tell between the two, once you decipher their coded language and get a general idea what it is they are communicating, as they would communicates subject right in public in front of everyone that I would normally practice discretion and tact. Subjects that is personal & sensitive that I would only discuss with someone I feel comfortable with & consider trust worthy, they would address it to people that they don't even know as they have plausible deniability in their double meaning coded words. You won't believe it until you yourself is able to perceive it yourself with your own mind. But I guess those who are born into these societies known it as away of life since it is invisible to outsider and is never subject to criticism.

Another characteristic is that they talk lots of trash, or in proper english they are gossipmongers. And the people who suffer from this are the regular people who don't know what is going on and associates with them. As they would talk to regular people using their coded language with double meanings words and the regular people responded back in proper english not knowing that the regular people have said something wrong in the coded words. Now they will talk their trash about the regular people but the regular people are not aware of it since it is in coded language that it is being communicated. Thus the regular people can't do anything. And if the regular people hear about it, these people in the secret society has plausible deniability. Thus another unintended consequences of dealing with these people is them talking trash with plausible deniability. Thus you will have to practice The Art of War on these people with plausible deniabilty. And in fact, any tactics you use against these people are acceptable since officially what I described here does not exist, thus whatever you do to them never happen.

And after joining these Secret Societies, many become Managers & high ranking person of businesses, corporations, agencies, etc. (Read The Deadly Deception: Freemasonry Exposed by One of Its Top Leaders for an example)

A few will accomplished great deeds. One was instrumental in the creation of America and was the 1st president of the United States. Another helps to unite China and form Communist China as we know it, ruling it until his death. The same can be said about Communist Vietnam. And a whole country of Secret Societies was in Russia before the fall of the Soviet Union. As each Soviet was a sect/chapter of the Secret Society and when the Secret Society takes over the country, you have a Soviet Union(From this paragraph you should be able to decipher that Race is not a factor as all three of the aformention practice the same craft, learned from the same clan.)

When you are trained in secret messages and concealments, you are above the law, ethic & morality. And when you don't have the constrain of ethic, morality & the law, you have a strategic advantage over your competitors (Read my review of John Grisham's The Rainmaker (Special Collector's Edition) for an example)

So after reading this book, you should know that what you see & hear is not as obvious as it seems. Even the History Book that you study at school, the stories you hears though the grapevine, or what you read on the news is not what it seems, including intelligent reports if you have access to intelligent reports. As these items only report the thing observed & what is spoken in public language while the truth is spoken in coded language or secret message. And are as accurate as a caveman reporting on a Stealth Fighter attacks of it's target.

But to be awaken to all these possibilities that is happening RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES, you must read this book first to understand the rudimentary basic of SECRET MESSAGE. (For a very entertaining, similar but not exact SciFi depiction of Secret Society, watch They Live and you will recognized that the knowledge in this book is equivalent to the sunglass in the movie that let the wearer see the invisible world of the Aliens. And just as Roddy Piper see these Aliens as ugly, disgusting, grotesque & even a monster through the Sunglass, even if their surface appearances are attractive; when you are able to see through the Glass of Secret Message Translator, you will see how ugly, disgusting, grotesque & even a monster these people really are, even if their physical appearances are attractive, but most are not attractive.)

NOTES:

1-My knowledge of the above is due to my skills in observation, experiences, research & analysis. Not because of any membership in any secret society.

Therefore I do not practice the craft of Secret Message; as I am not a crook, cheat, criminal or a COWARD needing to hide behind words with double meanings giving them plausible deniability & maintaining appearance of respectability & even an underdog; since these weasels would end up in the Hospital, charge with one or more of the many crimes listed in the Penal Codes or sue under one or more of the many statues under the Civil Codes.

Just as Law Enforcement is knowledgeable of criminal activities for strategic reason and not to commit crime, I am knowledgeable in the general principle of clandestine communication for strategic reasons.

Law Enforcement knowledge in criminal activities makes them knowledgeable in there job. But knowledge of clandestine activities, tactics & methods of communication gives you insightful, predictive information.

2a-For an example of my observational skill, read my review of Skid Row (Full Screen) about a secret society that is older than Christianity & so secretive that not even the book A History Of Secret Societies is even aware of.

2b-For a better understanding of human communication watch The Story of Human Language: The Great Courses (Literature & English Language; 3 Volumes)) & Understanding Linguistics: The Science of Language by The Great Courses.

Update: 07/08/2011

The following is an example of how secret codes & secret message would be use:

THE CODE

A husband and wife decided they needed to use "code" to indicate that they wanted to have sex without letting their children in on it. They decided on the word Typewriter.

One day the... Read more ›
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
WE ARMCHAIR SPYMASTERS GENERALLY THINK of secret messages as dense, complex lines of random-looking letters and numbers that have no meaning until rearranged by an exotic code or letter-logic system. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
substitution code, ring around the rosie, secret messages, carrier deck
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Air Force, Morse Code, United States, World War, Captain Midnight, Central America, Code Red, George Washington, Buenos Aires, Broken Arrow, Major Andre, Sir John, Benedict Arnold, Ivan Shark, North Vietnamese, Winston Churchill, Anna Sage, Code Orange, New Mexico, Operation Mongoose, President Roosevelt, Velvalee Dickinson
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