50 Codes that Changed the World: . . . And Your Chance to Solve Them! - Hardcover

McKay, Sinclair

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1472297210 ISBN 13: 9781472297211

Publisher: Headline, 2022

Synopsis

A CUNNING CHRONICLE OF THE 50 CODES THAT ALTERED THE COURSE OF HISTORY AND CHANGED THE WORLD

From the bestselling author of Bletchley Park Brainteasers and The Scotland Yard Puzzle Book.

There have been secret codes since before the Old Testament, and there were secret codes in the Old Testament too. Almost as soon as writing was invented, so too were the devious means to hide messages and keep them under the wraps of secrecy.

In 50 Codes that Changed the World, Sinclair McKay explores these uncrackable codes, secret cyphers and hidden messages from across time to tell a new history of a secret world. From the temples of Ancient Greece to the court of Elizabeth I; from antique manuscripts whose codes might hold prophecies of doom to the modern realm of quantum mechanics, you will see how a few concealed words could help to win wars, spark revolutions and even change the faces of great nations.

Here is the complete guide to the hidden world of codebreaking, with opportunities for you to see if you could have cracked some of the trickiest puzzles and lip-chewing codes ever created.

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Praise for Sinclair McKay's books:

'This book [The Secret Life of Bletchley Park] seems a remarkably faithful account of what we did, why it mattered, and how it all felt at the time by someone who couldn't possibly have been born then. - THE GUARDIAN

[Bletchley Park Brainteasers] is outrageously difficult but utterly fascinating. - THE EXPRESS

'Sinclair McKay's account of this secret war of the airwaves in [Secret Listeners] is as painstakingly researched and fascinating as his bestselling The Secret Life Of Bletchley Park, and an essential companion to it.' - DAILY MAIL

About this title

About the Author

Sinclair McKay is a bestelling author and social historian. He is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Bletchley Park Brainteasers as well as the bestselling Secret Life of Bletchley Park, which together have sold over 400,000 copies. He has authored many other books including The Scotland Yard Puzzle Book, The Tower of London Puzzle Book and Secret Britain. He writes for the Spectator and the Telegraph and spends much of his life eyebrow-deep in dusty archives! He lives in east London.

From the Back Cover

'For as long as people have been able to write, there have been people who have sought to disguise their words so that only the initiated could read them. Discover the codes that changed the course of history and encryptions that changed the nature of civilisations, tales once firmly hidden from view, brought into the light.''

Codes are fundamentally about secrets, and the world has always needed secrets.


'Bletchley Park Brainteasers is outrageously difficult but utterly fascinating.' THE EXPRESS

From the Inside Flap

A CUNNING CHRONICLE OF THE 50 CODES THAT ALTERED THE COURSE OF HISTORY AND CHANGED THE WORLD . . . AND YOUR CHANCE TO SOLVE THEM!

There have been secret codes since before the Old Testament, and there were secret codes in the Old Testament too. Almost as soon as writing was invented, so too were the devious means to hide messages and keep them under the wraps of secrecy.

Discover uncrackable codes, secret cyphers and hidden messages from across time that reveal a new history of a secret world. From the temples of Ancient Greece to the court of Elizabeth I; from antique manuscripts whose codes might hold prophecies of doom to the modern realm of quantum mechanics, you will see how a few concealed phrases could help win wars, spark revolutions and even change the faces of great nations.

Secrets are there to be discovered, if you have the skills to decrypt them.

Edition details

• Publisher: Headline
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1472297210
• ISBN 13: 9781472297211
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400