This is an excellent history of cipher and code breaking from its' infancy through today. Some of the technical aspects of more modern code breaking is hard reading to understand the principles but one who is interested in learning the technical details about code breaking will find it very educational.

I found the detail of the beale papers very challenging.

Bob T.

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This is an excellent overview of the history of cryptography. It really does cover the topic from the Roman Empire through modern public key encryption. More importantly, it does so in a very readable way. I cannot recommend this book too strongly for a lay person with an interest in cryptography.

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I found this book a very interesting read into the history of cryptology. Stories of the lives and actions of historical figures are used to introduce and exemplify different codes and ciphers.

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Concise and surprisingly readable history of cryptography. Very entertaining and easy read. There are even sample codes to work through using the various stages and ages of cryptography. Very fun and enlightening read!

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