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Liked It “For a good understanding of cryptology in a surprisingly easy to read and understand format.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“For a good understanding of cryptology in a surprisingly easy to read and understand format.”
Ken H wrote this review Thursday, November 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Magical mathematics! A wonderful history of codes and code-breaking. Something I plan to share with my son when he is a little older.”
Hala Y wrote this review Friday, October 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A very interesting and engaging tale of the creation, evolution, and cracking of codes and cipers... brilliantly composed, with examples and famous cases... though the future section was a bit confusion what with the quantum theory and its applications... all together a good read. ”
Stephen wrote this review Tuesday, October 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The narrative arcs keep this interesting, and describe cryptography in a captivating way, revealing how codes have changed the course of history.”
Jon T wrote this review Wednesday, September 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I enjoyed Simon Singh's previous book "Fermat's Enigma", so I decided to get this one based on all the good reviews it was getting (and I'm taking a graduate level cryptology course in the fall and wanted to get a gentle background before hitting the textbooks). One of the things I like about Singh's style is that you can tell he's enthusiastic about a subject and this enthusiasm is absolutely infectious (halfway through the chapter on PGP, I put the book down and downloaded a copy and generated a key pair so I could start encrypting my email. GnuPG is a good version for Linux if you're not afraid of the command line).
Austin K wrote this review Saturday, September 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
One of the book's strong points is that it is not explicitly about the math behind cryptography but more about the circumstances and consequences of it. For example, you get a general overview of the German Enigma machine mechanics, but the bulk of the Enigma chapter is about the people who cracked it and why they choose to pursue crytography.
The chapter on quantum cryptography and quantum computers is quite good and Simon Singh does a good job of explaining these complex systems in easy terms.
My only real objection is that in the chapters on RSA and PGP, Singh presents the argument of the government's control of cryptography. He comes off as a little "preachy" in arguing that the government should not interfere with the distribution of crypto algorithms. Most people read this book will probably share that view anyway. ”
“Excellent book. Explains how cryptology was used throughout the ages and gives a good overview of code cracking techniques. It goes into detail on the efforts to crack the enigma code during WWII.
Tom A wrote this review Friday, September 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Also includes details on methods behind modern cryptography such as the Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm and RSA encryption.”“Fascinating”
kikodominguez wrote this review Wednesday, September 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“The only book I know to tell the story of cryptography and cryptology in such an easy way to read and understand.”
Krishna wrote this review Thursday, August 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Fascinating history of cryptography. I found the methodologies for building and breaking code absolutely fascinating. There wasn't that much math and there was plenty of examples, so I was able to follow along quite nicely.
andysjames wrote this review Monday, August 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This book provides great examples of analysis and the need for big picture thinking and relationship thinking and analysis.”
“The art and science of cryptography explained in a lucid manner, looking at its evolution and its application in different fields of life.
Sid wrote this review Monday, June 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Not meant for just ones into mathematics/computer science, this book is for all to read and appreciate the power and importance of cryptography, especially in today's digital age.”
