Codebreaker: The History of Secret Communication - Hardcover

Pincock, Stephen; Frary, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1905211546 ISBN 13: 9781905211548

Publisher: Random House Books, 2007

Synopsis

From the Bible code to the Voynich manuscript, from subtly altered hieroglyphs carved into ancient Egyptian monuments to clues hidden in Renaissance paintings, we are surrounded by mysterious codes bearing hidden messages from the past. Can ingenuity and perseverance enable us to crack them? What does it take to write a fail-safe code? What does it take to break one? Taking in the full history of codemaking, from the scribes of ancient Egypt to modern day computer programmers, "Codebreaker" provides a fascinating insight into this most secret and mysterious of crafts. It shows just how Julius Caesar cunningly obscured the meaning of vital wartime messages and explains that Sir Francis Walsingham - the founder of England's first secret service - used coded letters to foil plots against Elizabeth I. It gives an account of the ever more complicated ciphers that were devised - and cracked - during the Cold War and investigates how codebreaking is being used today to fight crime and terrorism. And it shows you how to decipher codes from all periods of history, including many that are still employed today. If you want to pit your wits against famously unbroken codes like the Dorabella or the Beale Ciphers, discover more about the Navajo windtalkers of World War Two or simply get a taste of the long and distinguished history of the codemakers' craft, "Codebreaker" is a fascinating - and enlightening - guide.

About this title

About the Author

Stephen Pincock is news editor for The Scientist magazine, a science columnist for the Financial Times magazine and a regular contributor to The Lancet. A trained biochemist and science journalist, Stephen is fascinated with deciphering codes and has a passionate interest in the history of espionage. He has written widely about the history and development of cryptology, technology and science, from unravelling the secret codes of DNA to understanding the secrets of The Da Vinci Code. Mark Frary is a UK-based technology and science writer and his work has appeared in the Times and a range of other newspapers, magazines and online publications. Before becoming a writer, Mark trained as an astrophysicist and went on to investigate the origins of the Universe at the CERN nuclear physics laboratory in Geneva. He has had a lifelong interest in codes and codebreaking, particularly in the applications of quantum cryptography. He lives close to the Second World War codebreaking centre of Bletchley Park in Bedfordshire, where he is a regular visitor.

From the Back Cover

Why is the mystEry of the Voynich mAnuscript still unsolved
afteR more than 400 years?
HOw were the Pope's secrets pRotected in the Middle Ages?
How does the stoneworK of SCotland's Rosslyn Chapel Betray its connections
to the FreEmasons?
Does the BiblE contain hidden messages? And if it does - what are they?
What code is hidden on the 3700-year-olD Phaistos disk?

Codebreaker answers these and many other questions, unlocking the secrets
of codemaking that have fascinated and baffled mankind for thousands of
years.

From the Inside Flap

From the Bible code to the Voynich manuscript, from subtly altered hieroglyphs carved into ancient Egyptian monuments to clues hidden in Renaissance paintings, we are surrounded by mysterious codes bearing hidden messages from the past.Can ingenuity and perseverance enable us to crack them? What does it take to write a fail-safe code? What does it take to break one?
Taking in the full history of codemaking, from the scribes of ancient Egypt to modern day computer programmers, Codebreaker provides a fascinating insight into this most secret and mysterious of crafts. It shows just how Julius Caesar cunningly obscured the meaning of vital wartime messages and explains the way that Sir Francis Walsingham - the founder of England's first secret service - was able to use coded letters to foil plots against Elizabeth I. It gives an account of the ever more complicated ciphers that were devised - and cracked - during the Cold War and investigates how codebreaking is being used today to fight crime and terrorism. And it shows you how to decipher codes from all periods of history, including many that are still employed today.
If you want to pit your wits against famously unbroken codes like the Dorabella or the Beale Ciphers, discover more about the Navajo windtalkers of World War Two or simply get a taste of the long and distinguished history of the codemakers' craft, Codebreaker is a fascinating - and enlightening - guide.

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House Books
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1905211546
• ISBN 13: 9781905211548
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176