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Simon Singh

The Code Book : The Secret History of Codes and Code-Breaking Paperback – April 30, 2002

by Simon Singh (Author)

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The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography From the best-selling author of Fermat's Last Theorem, The Code Book is a history of man's urge to uncover the secrets of codes, from Egyptian puzzles to modern day computer encryptions. As in Fermat's Last Theorem, Simon Singh brings life to an anstonishing story of puzzles, codes, languages and riddles that reveals man's continual pursuit to disguise and uncover, and to work out the secret languages of others. Codes have influenced events throughout history, both in the stories of those who make them and those who break them. The betrayal of Mary Queen of Scots and the cracking of the enigma code that helped the Allies in World War II are major episodes in a continuing history of cryptography. In addition to stories of intrigue and warfare, Simon Singh also investigates other codes, the unravelling of genes and the rediscovery of ancient languages and most tantalisingly, the Beale ciphers, an unbroken code that could hold the key to a $20 million treasure.

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Product details

Item Weight : 10.2 ounces
Paperback : 416 pages
ISBN-10 : 1857028899
ISBN-13 : 978-1857028898
Product Dimensions : 5.08 x 0.98 x 7.8 inches
Publisher : Harpercollins Pub Ltd; (Reissue) Edition (April 30, 2002)
Language: : English

Best Sellers Rank: #436,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #168 in Web Encryption
- #36,602 in Science & Math (Books)
- #43,855 in Business & Money (Books)

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301 ratings

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Joseph H.

I read the condensed version a decade ago and loved it, so decided to get the full book ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2017

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I read the condensed version a decade ago and loved it, so decided to get the full book now. To be honest, I think the condensed version is better and more appealing to non-geeks, but I have enough geek in me to not be bored by the TL;DR version.
What's great is that encryption still hasn't moved on much since the book was written so it is still very relevant. The discussion about quantum computers and quantum encryption is great introduction to stuff that is becoming a reality today.

3 people found this helpful

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Mikael Nordström

Captivating and very motivating

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2017

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The most engaging, while at once complete, overview of cryptography I've seen. I read this book alongside the course material of a cryptography university course.

This book gives much appreciated context to the array of cryptographic techniques and frames them in a captivating narrative. It highlights the tremendous lengths and difficulties people went through to develop the techniques that we today take for granted; the latter is particularly satesfying for a student feeling overwhelmed by some of the course material.

Over all, this book motivated me in my studies of both cryptography and math. Highly recommended.

One person found this helpful

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David J. Wilcox

Great history of coding and cyphers.

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2020

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Excellent book, old, but still very educational and entertaining. Good review of code writing history with 10 puzzles in the back.

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LocalShopper

Perfect read for any techie, linguist, riddler, or mathematician

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2011

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As there are already 280+ reviews averaging 4.5+ stars, I'll keep it short.

Pros:
- Provides fascinating stories that put a historical backdrop to the topic of cryptography.
- Explains with remarkable simplicity the mathematical concepts behind each sample.
- Makes the reader almost ache to try-these-at-home.

Cons:
- Is a difficult book to set aside.

One person found this helpful

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J. Lalor

Good book for non-technical

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2018

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on time and as described. Good book for non-technical reader

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Dean Fantastic

Great insight

Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2014

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I picked up (downloaded) this book as it was referred to in a podcast on the same subject. It's a fantastic history of code breaking and not just the math and "logic" or it, but the human story of its use by both code makers and code breakers throughout history. Highly recommend it if you have an interest in the subject. I came to it as a novice with little to no previous knowledge.

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Gary in Va

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2016

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Liked the book

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P. Brown

awesome!

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2014

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Admittedly a book for geeks, but what a great book! Singh tackles a fascinating yet possibly dry subject and makes it spring to life by bringing the real life characters to life for the readers.

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Top reviews from other countries

socks

The Most Interesting Book I Read This Year

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 14, 2017

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This is a really fantastic book. I bought this as a complete novice to code-breaking whilst doing some research into Enigma, Alan Turing and the cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park in the Second World War, as I had just landed a part in an amateur production of 'Breaking the Code' by Hugh Whitemore. I wanted to know more about what was involved in code-breaking, and was not disappointed. Simon Singh goes into various types of codes and ciphers, basing their use in a historical setting and also explaining how to use them and how to crack them - and the way it's written is hugely engaging and informative. So much so that I could actually break some code myself and felt very pleased with myself. Especially because I'm hopeless at maths.

8 people found this helpful

Ragnar

The Code Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2016

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This book claims to be a history of the science of secrecy from Ancient Egypt to quantum cryptography. In order to cover this ground the author sometimes strays into areas where secrecy was unintended, such as the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphics and Minoan Linear B. These subjects may be considered digressions, but in both cases considerable effort was expended over many years to ‘crack the code’ and some of the techniques used have been applied to other areas where secrecy actually was intended. They are, in any case, engrossing in their own right.

I am not expert in this subject, why is why I read the book, but as far as I can see it gives an excellent overview. The only possible caveat is that dates of recent advances tend to be in the late 1990s, so it may be that further major developments have occurred after it was published. But since the end point is quantum computing that does not seem likely.

Simon Singh has explained a difficult subject with admirable clarity.

2 people found this helpful

Chunky Monkey

Fascinating subject....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2016

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I really enjoyed this history of code breaking, from its earliest beginnings. Singh makes it accessible and interesting, though, to be honest, my little brain did start to rebel a bit at some of the explanations of the codes. It's not that it was too mathemtical (this is no "a brief history of time", thank God!!), I guess my brain just isn't made that way. Still a really interesting insight into why, amongst other things, you can do your banking on line and send secure information, without other people being able to read it. (At least, that's the theory, right?)

6 people found this helpful

00Bay

A great read, really really good!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2014

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This could be my favourite book of all time. Many friends had recommended it and it didn't disappoint. Goes through early basic codes (letter substitution for example) through the WWII Enigma code (which I almost feel like I could now crack!) and right into the modern age of computer cryptography and Internet Shopping (although the book was bang up to date at the time, it is now a few years old, still relevant though). There were enough details to satisfy my background as a maths graduate, but it's still very accessible for anyone with just general interest. Buy it!

There are a selection of coded messages at the back for you to try out your new code-cracking skills if you like.

2 people found this helpful

Terry D

An excellent and clearly written explanation of codes and code breaking

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2012

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My first encounter with Simon Singh was several years ago when I read, and thoroughly enjoyed, his extremely clear Fermat's Last Theorem and, after 358 years, how Andrew Wiles solved the problem in a mere eight years. But, if I'm completely honest, I remember becoming somewhat glassy eyed when the intricacies of the Taniyama-Shimura-Weil conjecture first surfaced.

'The Code Book' is equally well written and equally enjoyable and covers the history of code making and code breaking from ancient Egypt up until the budding development of quantum cryptography.

Simon Singh handles the material in an extremely readable way whilst the introduction of Alice, Bob and Eve (Eve is determined to read the secret messages being exchanged between Alice and Bob) adds a delightful touch to the story. He also deals in some length with the ground-breaking wartime work at Bletchley and with the subsequent development of the first genuine electronic computer (well before the Americans).

As I read the book I was also reading, in bed and on my Kindle, Sinclair McKay's intriguing and insightful book The Secret Life of Bletchley Park: The History of the Wartime Codebreaking Centre . The two books complement each other beautifully and I found Simon McKay's insight into the life at Bletchley was of enormous value in fleshing out Simon Singh's story. The earlier book by Ronald Lewin Ultra Goes to War is a useful but much earlier reference work.

The final section in 'The Code Book' deals with the possibility of developing a quantum-based computer. This has recently taken a step forward and a Google search will quickly take you to a Canadian company's website who are apparently in a position to supply you with a development system. The only possible problem (forgetting the undisclosed cost) is that the superconducting 128 qubit processor chip is housed inside a cryogenic system within a 10 m² shielded room...

Read and enjoy 'The Code Book'. It's a fascinating story.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update, December 7th 2012

I've just received a copy of Simon Singh's 'The Cracking Codebook' but, unfortunately, it's nothing more than a virtually identical (less the chapter on quantum computing) copy of 'The Code Book'.

Don't be taken in - even though second hand copies of 'The Cracking Codebook' will cost you the princely sum of £0.01 plus postage...

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