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The Code Book: How to Make It, Break It, Hack It, Crack It Hardcover – March 12, 2002

by
Simon Singh (Author)
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Simon Singh (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 19 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Age Range: 12 and up
  • Grade Level: 7 and up
  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (March 12, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385729138
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385729130
  • Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #673,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsDelightful
By Nottingham on June 28, 2002
Format: Hardcover
The Code Book is a delightful treatment of the subject of cryptography. It is a nice combination of history, science, warfare and politics.
The author uses interesting historical events as background to narrate the different phases of what might be called the mainstream developments of cryptography and cryptanalysis. It is a captivating presentation.
The book started off with the story of Queen Mary of Scotland, and went on to cover the Caesar cipher, Vigenère cipher, the famous Enigma, the super-secret Colossus, and the modern day computer based encryption and decryption developments. The author also threw in a couple of interesting "sideline" stories, such as the Beale cipher, the Rosetta Stone, and the Navajo "code talkers" who played a key role in the Pacific theater during WWII.
My teenage son used to complain that most of the difficult subjects he learned in school would never have any use in real life. I gave him a copy of this book. The book is a compelling story of how science, engineering, mathematics, computer, linguistics, psychology are all critical pieces of this all-important game.
There are more technical treatises on this subject, and there are more lengthy and nuanced historical accounts on military intelligence as well. But this book is undoubtedly the best introduction to this uniquely fascinating subject.
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4.0 out of 5 starsFascinating. Started me on my cryptologic studies.
By A Customer on October 8, 2002
Format: Hardcover
Reading this book gave me my start in my self study of cryptography, its science and its history. While I will not pretend to be anywhere near an expert on the subject, I found this book very insightful. It is an easy read, and not tedious in any way. It is meant as a "science for non-scientists" type book, and more of a history than anything else. (I have only managed to solve the first two cryptologic challenges at the end of this book, but am diligently working on the rest in my spare time.)
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5.0 out of 5 starsReveals the science of cryptography
By Midwest Book Review on October 8, 2003
Format: Paperback
Intended for an audience of young adults, Simon Singh's The Code Book will appeal to many an adult reader as it reveals the science of cryptography - the encoding and decoding of private information. The history spans centuries and ranges from an early Enigma machine to email communications and Internet privacy. The Code Book is recommended as an intriguing and informative survey.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA must read for anyone remotely interested in codes!
By Isabella K. Badenoch on May 11, 2002
Format: Hardcover
I have always been fascinated by codes and Singh has put together a comprehensive book on the history of codes. Having read many books on codes, Singh was still able to enthrall me with some historical stories that I had not come across. It's not just technical stuff, but is written with the novice in mind as well. But the book holds enough technical information to keep the enthusiast interested as well. The version I bought has a crypt contest in the back, which I enjoyed working on - I was only able to solve the first 3 or so puzzles, but it was a lot of fun.
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1.0 out of 5 starsBEWARE - Code Book for Young People is in Kindle Edition ONLY
By cliffside on December 17, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Amazon's web site is incorrect. If you search for Code Book for Young People, you get a link that shows you a page headlined "The Code Book for Young People Kindle Edition". The page also shows buttons for the Hardcover and Paperback editions.

However if you click either "Hardcover" or "Paperback" it directs you to the grown ups version of "The Code Book", and NOT "The Code Book for Young People". I ordered Hardcover and received the adults version. Thankfully my child is old enough to read this, but as I already owned the grown ups Code Book I did not need a second copy.

This is CLEARLY Amazon's issue and not the sellers, so beware when you buy this book.
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5.0 out of 5 starsProvides plenty of depth and information
By Midwest Book Review on April 10, 2002
Format: Hardcover
The Code Book was intended for a young adult audience but also holds an ability to interest an adult readership as well. This history of cryptography provides plenty of depth and information on making and breaking codes, providing a historical background on an ongoing battle which has been waged for centuries. An intriguing look at codes and secrecy.
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4.0 out of 5 starsA History of Ciphers, With Proper Credit for the Cracking of ENIGMA
By Jan Peczkis on August 7, 2007
Format: Paperback
Singh has provided the reader a delightful history of encryption, beginning with 16th-century codes, proceeding with the mechanized ones, and concluding with modern computer-based systems. He points out how modern encryption is being used to thwart the counterfeiting of dollars, and rejects the so-called Bible Code.

Singh also touches on the intricacies of language, and discusses the difficulty of deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphics. This involved the decoding of a language that no one speaks today, and one which has no close relatives among modern languages. He also has a fascinating account of the Navajo Indians and their unique language, and how their conversations were used to keep the Japanese in the dark during WWII.

When in comes to the German ENIGMA code of WWII, and in contrast to some English-language books on this subject, Singh gives credit squarely where it is due. He traces the Polish successes with code-breaking, beginning with the cracking of Russian codes by the Biuro Szyfrow (the Bureau of Ciphers) during the 1920 Polish-Bolshevik War (p. 144). In the years before WWII, a Polish team of mathematicians headed by Marian Rejewski recognizably solved the ENIGMA (p. 155). The Poles were ten years ahead of anyone else in this field (p. 160). The later successes of the British at Bletchley relied on Rejewski's work (p. 170), and followed the lead of the Poles (p. 243). Alan Turing followed Rejewski's strategy (p. 171).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsI bought this for my son who is 14 years ...

I bought this for my son who is 14 years old and interested in cryptology. Some part may be challenging for him although it is for 12 and up. Read more

Published 11 days ago by SharpsburgSamurai
5.0 out of 5 starsDamn good book!

Awsome book, really good "layout"(Simon begins with the easier ciphers and then the harder ones like Enigma). Read more

Published 8 months ago by Jonas
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

I had no idea cryptography was so interesting. A very well written, informative, and entertaining book.

Published 8 months ago by fvoss
5.0 out of 5 starsAWESOME!!!

Great book it had a little of everything, computer science and history.

Published 10 months ago by Tigermane
5.0 out of 5 starsEncryption for everyone.

the code book had a lot of history as well as a great study of the evolution of encryption was enlightening and told so that anyone could understand.

Published 11 months ago by Tom Terrific
1.0 out of 5 starsNot for computers

The book seems like it is a book about hacking and computer coding. It's not.

Published 21 months ago by Mope07
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat book

This book has a lot of information I LOVE it I just began to read it but it is very clear and informative thank you

Published on September 4, 2013 by Ofelia Gomez
3.0 out of 5 starsAuthor did not trust that codebreaking could be interesting enough.

The book starts with a short account of the trial of Mary Queen of Scots. Apparently she encrypted her correspondence and breaking the code was essential for the prosecution. Read more

Published on August 30, 2013 by pharlap1941
5.0 out of 5 starsgreat book

A little history, a little trivia, and a bunch of code cracking. Really enjoy the book.

Published on September 28, 2009 by willett
4.0 out of 5 starsInteresting book!

Singh relates a plenty of interesting facts of the history of cryptography that were kept secret for a long time. Read more

Published on April 6, 2007 by Jose Mario Grzybowski

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