The Code Book

Description

In his first book since the bestselling *Fermat's Enigma*, Simon Singh offers the first sweeping history of encryption, tracing its evolution and revealing the dramatic effects codes have had on wars, nations, and individual lives. From Mary, Queen of Scots, trapped by her own code, to the Navajo Code Talkers who helped the Allies win World War II, to the incredible (and incredibly simple) logisitical breakthrough that made Internet commerce secure, The Code Book tells the story of the most powerful intellectual weapon ever known: secrecy. Throughout the text are clear technical and mathematical explanations, and portraits of the remarkable personalities who wrote and broke the world's most difficult codes. Accessible, compelling, and remarkably far-reaching, this book will forever alter your view of history and what drives it. It will also make you wonder how private that e-mail you just sent really is.

First Sentence

On the morning of Saturday, October 15, 1586, Queen Mary entered the crowded courtroom at Fotheringhay Castle.

Subjects

Other Editions

• The Code Book: The Secret History of Codes and Code-breakingHardcoverFourth Estate1999-01-01
• The code bookDoubleday1999-01-01
• The code bookFourth Estate1999-01-01
• The Code BookDoubleday1999-01-01
• The code bookTed Smart2000-01-01
• The Code BookPaperbackFourth Estate2000-06-08