Code Breaking: A History And Explanation

A stylishly written, meticulously researched adventure, "Code Breaking" will enthrall everyone who wants to know more about the exciting history of cryptology. "A breezy survey of codes, ranging from the betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots, . . . to the nature of credit card security".--"The New York Times".

The achievements of cryptography -- the art of writing and deciphering coded messages -- have become a part of everyday life, especially in our age of electronic banking and the Internet. In this provocative work, Rudolf Kippenhahn offers readers both an exciting chronicle of cryptography and a lively exploration of the cryptographer's craft. Rich with vivid anecdotes from a history of coding and decoding, Code Breaking brings the often abstruse art of deciphering coded messages to the general reader and reveals the relevance of codes to our everyday high-tech society. A stylishly written, meticulously researched adventure, it will enthrall everyone who wants to know more about the ways in which communication can be obscured and, like magic, made clear again.