''The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography'' is a book by
Simon Singh, published in 1999 by
Fourth Estate and
Doubleday.
''The Code Book'' describes some illustrative highlights in the history of
cryptography, drawn from both of its principal branches,
code
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
s and
cipher
In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...
s. Thus the book's title should not be misconstrued as suggesting that the book deals only with codes, and not with ciphers; or that the book is in fact a
codebook.
Contents
''The Code Book'' covers diverse historical topics including the
Man in the Iron Mask,
Arabic cryptography,
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.
Babbage is considered ...
, the mechanisation of cryptography, the
Enigma machine, and the decryption of
Linear B
Linear B was a syllabic script used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1400 BC. It is descended from ...
and other ancient writing systems.
Later sections cover the development of
public-key cryptography. Some of this material is based on interviews with participants, including persons who worked in secret at
GCHQ.
The book concludes with a discussion of "
Pretty Good Privacy" (PGP),
quantum computing
Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...
, and
quantum cryptography.
The book announced a "cipher challenge" of a series of ten progressively harder ciphers, with a cash prize of £10,000, which has since been won.
The book is not footnoted but has a "Further Reading" section at the end, organized by chapter.
See also
*
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...
*
Code
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
*
Codebook
References
Bibliography
*
Of Riddles Wrapped in Enigmas,
Whitfield Diffie, ''
The Times Higher Education Supplement'', September 10, 1999, p. 25. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
* A critical review of the book:
The Code Book: The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary, Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography, reviewed by Jim Reeds, Jim Reeds, ''
Notices of the American Mathematical Society'', vol. 47, no. 3, March 2000, pp. 369–372. Retrieved 2009-02-19. (61 KB PDF).
External links
"The Code Book" web pageat Simon Singh's site
The Code Book Cipher Challenge Solution Page set up by the solvers of the Ten Cipher Code Challenge in "The Code Book"]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Code Book, The
1999 non-fiction books
Cryptography books
Books by Simon Singh
Popular mathematics books
English-language books
Fourth Estate books