People love secrets. Ever since the first word was written, humans have sent
coded messages to each other. In The Code Book, Simon Singh, author of the
bestselling Fermat's Enigma, offers a peek into the world of cryptography
and codes, from ancient texts through computer encryption. Singh's compelling
history is woven through with stories of how codes and ciphers have played
a vital role in warfare, politics, and royal intrigue. The major theme of
The Code Book is what Singh calls "the ongoing evolutionary battle between
codemakers and codebreakers," never more clear than in the chapters devoted
to World War II. Cryptography came of age during that conflict, as secret
communications became critical to both sides' success.
Confronted with the prospect of defeat, the Allied cryptanalysts had worked
night and day to penetrate German ciphers. It would appear that fear was the
main driving force, and that adversity is one of the foundations of successful
codebreaking.
In the information age, the fear that drives cryptographic improvements is
both capitalistic and libertarian--corporations need encryption to ensure that
their secrets don't fall into the hands of competitors and regulators, and
ordinary people need encryption to keep their everyday communications private
in a free society. Similarly, the battles for greater decryption power come
from said competitors and governments wary of insurrection.

The Code Book is an excellent primer for those wishing to understand how the
human need for privacy has manifested itself through cryptography. Singh's
accessible style and clear explanations of complex algorithms cut through the
arcane mathematical details without oversimplifying.

Formatted for Kindle mobi and epub.

Download File Size:10.96 MB

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