The Code Book; The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary, Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography

Singh, Simon

ISBN 10: 0385495315 / ISBN 13: 9780385495318

Published by Doubleday, New York, 1999

About this Item

Second Printing. Signed by Singh on the title page. Fine in a Very Good jacket, unclipped ($24.95), bumped and chipped at the top edge. Black paper on the boards with silver gilt lettering on the spine. Square and firmly bound, clean internally. Singh's work that "traces the evolution of secret writing from ancient Greek military espionage to the frontiers of computer science," with discussions about the Man in the Iron Mask, the Enigma machine, quantum computing, among other topics. Seller Inventory # 10400

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Code Book; The Evolution of Secrecy from...

Publisher: Doubleday, New York

Publication Date: 1999

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis:

A look at the world of codes includes a history of how they have affected the world, from the World Wars to the death of Mary, Queen of Scots, and also looks at what the future holds for the field of cryptography.

Review:

With their inextricable links to history, mystery and war, codes and ciphers offer a rich seam of material for any author. The relative dearth of non-technical books on the subject may be a reflection of its pretty technical foundations, which compel hard decisions about what to include and what to gloss over. Few are better qualified to take on the challenge than Simon Singh, the particle physicist turned science writer whose book Fermat's Last Theorem, recounting the dauntingly complex story behind the proof of this mathematical conjecture, deservedly became a No. 1 bestseller.

The Code Book contains many fascinating accounts of code-breaking in action, from its use in unmasking the Man in the Iron Mask and the defeat of the Nazis to the breaking of a modern cipher system by a world-wide army of amateurs in 1994. It is especially good on the most recent developments, such as quantum cryptology and the thorny civil liberties issues raised by the advent of very secure cipher systems over the Internet. But Singh's mathematical prowess sometimes gets the better of his journalistic instincts, leading to technical descriptions that unnecessarily disrupt the narrative flow. So buy it-- and have a shot at the 10,000 pound mystery cipher--but be prepared to skip. --Robert Matthews