Synopses & Reviews
It's known as the science of secrecy. Cryptography: the encoding and decoding of private information. And it is history's most fascinating story of intrigue and cunning. From Julius Caesar and his Caesar Cipher to the code used by Mary Queen of Scots and her conspiracy to the use of the Engima machine during the Second World War, Simon Singh follows the evolution of secret writing.
Accessible, compelling, and timely, this international bestseller, now adapted for young people, is sure to make readers see the past--and the future--in a whole new way.
From the Hardcover edition.
A history of codes and code breakers from the former "Tomorrow's World" producer whose "Fermat's Last Theorem" went straight to the top of the UK non fiction bestseller charts and was translated into 22 languages. Subtitled "The Secret History of Codes and Code-Breaking", Singh unravels how codes and cyphers from Ancient Egypt all the way up to present day computer encryptions work, and also asks why we have such a yearning for secrecy. Popular science on a subject for which, as the success of recent "Enigma" and Bletchley Park titles shows, there is a proven appetite.