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A review by cinchona
The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography by Simon Singh
4.0
Quite a solid read! I went through this book with a class of gifted students learning cryptography as a math course: it was a great jumping-off point for discussion and for learning! The presentation is both historical and detailed on the technical side, which draws in a wide range of readers and gives them a hook into the material. I agree with my students' reviews that the chapters about Babbage (Ch3) leading up to Enigma (Ch4) were the most gripping -- and readable completely on their own if desired.
The only place the book fell down, in my students' estimation, was Chapter 8 on quantum cryptography -- note the publication date. 30 years ago quantum computers were still a hypothetical, and it would be too much to expect, perhaps, a pop-sci type book to explain them in any detail. Either due to the difficulty or novelty of the topic, that chapter is rough and dull and worth skipping.
Beyond that one weakness, this book is top-notch. It is accessible and fun and fascinating. It tells a coherent historical narrative while skillfully unfurling mathematical developments and giving credit to some of history's forgotten geniuses. It gets very detailed into classical and digital cryptography with great technical success, such that it's a great intro to a more mathematical treatment later. I'm surprised how good it was!
The only place the book fell down, in my students' estimation, was Chapter 8 on quantum cryptography -- note the publication date. 30 years ago quantum computers were still a hypothetical, and it would be too much to expect, perhaps, a pop-sci type book to explain them in any detail. Either due to the difficulty or novelty of the topic, that chapter is rough and dull and worth skipping.
Beyond that one weakness, this book is top-notch. It is accessible and fun and fascinating. It tells a coherent historical narrative while skillfully unfurling mathematical developments and giving credit to some of history's forgotten geniuses. It gets very detailed into classical and digital cryptography with great technical success, such that it's a great intro to a more mathematical treatment later. I'm surprised how good it was!