The Code Book: The Secret History of Codes and Code-Breaking
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- Create Date：2021-09-26 09:53:40
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Simon Singh
- ISBN：1857028899
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Summary
Combining impeccable history and intriguing stories of espionage and intellectual breakthroughs， this riveting bestseller， by the author of the popular science classic Fermat's Last Theorem， brings to life the secret world of cryptographers and code-breakers from Ancient Egypt to the age of the internet。
Reviews
Stuart
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I liked it。 The only part I didn't enjoy was the Egyptian part， beyond that， it was great！ I liked it。 The only part I didn't enjoy was the Egyptian part， beyond that， it was great！ 。。。more
Vinh Dang
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Một cuốn sách rất thú vị để đọc về mật mã
Alexandre Daly
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Great book！ Thoroughly enjoyed the history （and glance into the future） of cryptography。 I liked how Simon brought in some other adjacent topics like translating unknown languages （e。g。 hieroglyphics + Linear B）。 Well written， concise， highly informative。 10/10 would recommend。
Akiva
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It's been a very long time since I read this （late high school？ early college？） but IIRC I liked it a lot。 It's been a very long time since I read this （late high school？ early college？） but IIRC I liked it a lot。 。。。more
Maddie
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4。25
Christina
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I was drawn to this book because of its first half （telling the fascinating history of cyphers and their influence on history） but surprisingly benefitted from its second half （which covers the early history of cryptography in information technology）。 I had the distinct pleasure of looking over at my husband on a regular basis （who professionally hacks and helps companies fulfill security standards） to say， "Do you know what PGP is？？" "Do you know the history of RSA？" and look like I actually kn I was drawn to this book because of its first half （telling the fascinating history of cyphers and their influence on history） but surprisingly benefitted from its second half （which covers the early history of cryptography in information technology）。 I had the distinct pleasure of looking over at my husband on a regular basis （who professionally hacks and helps companies fulfill security standards） to say， "Do you know what PGP is？？" "Do you know the history of RSA？" and look like I actually knew a thing or two about the fundamentals of his job。 Full disclosure: I did skip some of the final sections of the book seeing as how it was dedicated to speculating about the future of internet security， which has already become the past by the time of my reading。 I figured I would rather learn something like that from a more current resource。 。。。more
Irene
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Molt interessant i molt complet！！
Andres
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It's wild how a non-fiction academic-ish book published in 1999 worked for me the way that this book did！ I was expected to dreadfully slug through the materials and dread picking up the book， but no！ This book kept me engaged just like the pulpiest novels tend to do。 It was written with very approachable language and it had the perfect mix of history and technical knowledge。 I will say， it did get a little too technical for me at points and some of the material went over my head。 But I didn't m It's wild how a non-fiction academic-ish book published in 1999 worked for me the way that this book did！ I was expected to dreadfully slug through the materials and dread picking up the book， but no！ This book kept me engaged just like the pulpiest novels tend to do。 It was written with very approachable language and it had the perfect mix of history and technical knowledge。 I will say， it did get a little too technical for me at points and some of the material went over my head。 But I didn't mind。 At the end of the day， I enjoyed and learned so much from this book！ 。。。more
Jacob Cutts
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Pretty good book， though the last bit is kinda outdated。Overall， I'd say that this is a very readable， understandable explanation of key cryptographic innovations over time， and the most significant ciphers over time。 Singh does an excellent job of breaking down ciphers in simple terms， and effectively draws in historical evidence to explain the development， and eventual use of the cyphers （and conversely， how they were then broken）。The one downside is that the book was published in 2000， so onc Pretty good book， though the last bit is kinda outdated。Overall， I'd say that this is a very readable， understandable explanation of key cryptographic innovations over time， and the most significant ciphers over time。 Singh does an excellent job of breaking down ciphers in simple terms， and effectively draws in historical evidence to explain the development， and eventual use of the cyphers （and conversely， how they were then broken）。The one downside is that the book was published in 2000， so once it shifted from the foundations of computer cryptography into "modern" cryptography and the future of cryptography， it does admittedly become dated fairly quickly （for example， mentioning something I didn't know: the US government had "recently" attempted to legislate a mandatory backdoor in all cryptographic services）。But overall， I'd say the first ¾ or more of the book is still very interesting， and make the book well worth reading！ 。。。more
Vu Phong
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4，5*
Ting
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Super super interesting read， I learned A LOT。 Recommend even for people who are remotely interested in encryption and decipherment。 I got attracted by the subject but this book is beyond my expectation！ Using layman's word， it talks the long evolution of cryptography and cryptanalysis and all the important breakthroughs。 It also tells fascinating stories about how some momentous historic events were affected by those breakthroughs， WWI and WWII being some of the examples。 What strikes me is tha Super super interesting read， I learned A LOT。 Recommend even for people who are remotely interested in encryption and decipherment。 I got attracted by the subject but this book is beyond my expectation！ Using layman's word， it talks the long evolution of cryptography and cryptanalysis and all the important breakthroughs。 It also tells fascinating stories about how some momentous historic events were affected by those breakthroughs， WWI and WWII being some of the examples。 What strikes me is that at the beginning the battle of cryptography and cryptanalysis centered around linguistic and cribs。 Overtime， math played an increasingly important role。 Today， it's quantum physics that drives the next leap for both camps。 （Yes， I got to learn about quantum physics from the book， extra bonus point！） 。。。more
Tina
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Zanimiva tema， napisano pritegujoče， kot vse dobre poljudnoznanstvene knjige。 Še posebej sem cenila del o razvozlavanju starih pisav。 Prebrala sem jo sicer， ker sem želela nekaj osnov kvantne kriptografije， in žal je knjiga malo stara za to， je pa osnovna ideja predstavljena zelo jasno， in tudi sicer lepo se naveže na klasično kriptografijo。 Zastarelost se pozna tudi pri opisovanju protokola za šifriranje e-pošte。 Dogajanje med drugo svetovno vojno na področju šifriranja in dešifriranja je res f Zanimiva tema， napisano pritegujoče， kot vse dobre poljudnoznanstvene knjige。 Še posebej sem cenila del o razvozlavanju starih pisav。 Prebrala sem jo sicer， ker sem želela nekaj osnov kvantne kriptografije， in žal je knjiga malo stara za to， je pa osnovna ideja predstavljena zelo jasno， in tudi sicer lepo se naveže na klasično kriptografijo。 Zastarelost se pozna tudi pri opisovanju protokola za šifriranje e-pošte。 Dogajanje med drugo svetovno vojno na področju šifriranja in dešifriranja je res fascinantno， in osredotočanje na človeške zgodbe je tisto， kar naredi knjigo iz dobre zbirke podatkov v dobro branje。 。。。more
Jonathan
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I read this book many years ago， in an earlier printing。 The history， and tension， between cryptography and cryptanalysis has always captivated me。 Returning to it reaffirmed my original enthusiasm for this book。
Christoph Weber
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Fun， even though the technical details are too detailed for me， especially the later computer-related stuff that I know and use myself。。。
Dean
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I really enjoyed this book。 If you are at all interested in the enigma machine， or how people were able to discover the secrets of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics， despite not knowing the written language or even the sounds that the written language was representing， then this book is for you！Not only does it present the history of code making and code breaking in an interesting and engaging way， the author also goes to great lengths to break down the encipherment and decipherment of texts in an I really enjoyed this book。 If you are at all interested in the enigma machine， or how people were able to discover the secrets of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics， despite not knowing the written language or even the sounds that the written language was representing， then this book is for you！Not only does it present the history of code making and code breaking in an interesting and engaging way， the author also goes to great lengths to break down the encipherment and decipherment of texts in an easily understandable way， even for someone （me） who is not a maths whiz （by any stretch）。 There is a feeling of wonder and accomplishment when you realise the key to cracking these ciphers that were considered unbreakable for hundreds of years， in some cases。One weakness of the book is that it was published originally in 1999 I think， and so some of the most recent advances in cryptography are （presumably） not covered。 One of the latter chapters on the modern internet was a little dated， because of incredibly rapid changes in the last few decades in that space。 However， the book still had a great chapter on quantum computing/cryptography/enciphering， which I thought was really well described for such a mind bending subject。I can't commend this book enough， really just a great non-fiction book。 I was so interested in the chapter on quantum cryptography that I think I will have to search for a follow up book that expands on that topic （and maybe the development of quantum computing more generally）。One final thought- it is easy to forget in the modern computer age that the vast history of cryptography was prosecuted simply with pen and paper and a bit of brain power！ It is truly boggling， the schemes people were coming up with， even thousands of years ago。 。。。more
Toby Maclachlan
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Fun frolic through history of codes and breaking。 Informative and entertaining。 Only drawback is being 20+ years out of date！ Well written and intelligent without being difficult or patronising。 Good job
devin
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what the heck was that last bit about quantum computers？？ dividing reality to create many versions of themselves？？ this book is 21 years old now -- i really gotta read up on quantum computers， because the little he spoke about them seems insane。 All the stuff before the mind breaking things were good too。 And it focuses on old math/history of broken ciphers， so the age of the book today doesn't diminish the good writing Singh did。 Still worth reading！ what the heck was that last bit about quantum computers？？ dividing reality to create many versions of themselves？？ this book is 21 years old now -- i really gotta read up on quantum computers， because the little he spoke about them seems insane。 All the stuff before the mind breaking things were good too。 And it focuses on old math/history of broken ciphers， so the age of the book today doesn't diminish the good writing Singh did。 Still worth reading！ 。。。more
Fanny Rubi
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Such a brilliant book。 I really enjoyed every page of this jewel， the way the author tell us and describes and the key moments and discoveries of the history of cryptography is great！ Completely recommended。 Waiting for quantum computers。。
Hortensia
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This is a fast moving novel that draws you in very early on。
Nyx
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La verdad es que está bastante interesante。 Aunque hay cosas que yo no entiendo mucho， porque no se me dan muy bien algunos temas o no tengo el suficiente conocimiento como para entenderlos。 Pero si eres una persona a la que le gusta la ciencia， la física， los números， etc， este libro lo vas a disfrutar sin problemas。
Tommyluca
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I started this book because I was interested in the cryptography’s mathematical theories， but for almost 3/4 of the book， Simon Singh doesn’t deal with it， so the reading was a little bit difficult。
Princess
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Those who aren't science lovers will still like The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography 。 Give it a try！ Those who aren't science lovers will still like The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography 。 Give it a try！ 。。。more
Ambeau
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Really good read， love the concept。
Kirk Gartside
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A coworker recommended this to me， saying it’s more history than math。 She was spot on， the author uses simple everyday examples， such a mixing paint， to help explain complex math， like one way functions。 The last two chapters cover more recent history， when reading recall this book was written in 1999。
Regan
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Simon Singh gives the history of cryptography up to the present day （present meaning 1999， when it was published）。 Frames it as a battle between cryptographers trying to come up with an unbreakable cipher， and the cryptanalysts trying to break the cipher。 He tells this story both by discussing general trends in cryptography throughout history as well as going in-depth on some very important stories centred around cryptography， such as the fate of Mary Queen of Scots and the cracking of the Germa Simon Singh gives the history of cryptography up to the present day （present meaning 1999， when it was published）。 Frames it as a battle between cryptographers trying to come up with an unbreakable cipher， and the cryptanalysts trying to break the cipher。 He tells this story both by discussing general trends in cryptography throughout history as well as going in-depth on some very important stories centred around cryptography， such as the fate of Mary Queen of Scots and the cracking of the German Enigma machines。 The detour into the decipherment of ancient writing systems like hieroglyphs and linear B was a very welcome one。 The difference between this type of decipherment and regular cryptography is that the messages in ancient writing were likely never intended to be scrambled， whereas with cryptography we know that the sender intentionally made it difficult。 However， Singh highlights with detailed examples how both processes heavily rely on the idea that the people deciphering these systems need to grab onto any clue or hint that they can。 It’s not just about complex mathematical formulas。 It’s about things like espionage， making educated guesses， and grabbing onto anything that might be a whiff of a clue。 He aptly compares it to a mountain climber who is looking for anything to grab onto when climbing a mountain。 In addition to the history of older encryption systems， Singh also covers modern cryptography （again， up to 1999） in great detail， and looks at all facets of it - from the creative techniques these people used to solve various cryptographic problems， to the weird quirks of the intermediary systems （trusted employees of major banks carrying around encryption keys in secure briefcases）， to the political ramifications of having systems that make it impossible for governments to intercept messages。 With free encryption， we have the realization of the human right to privacy （as per the Universal Declaration on Human Rights）， citizens can safely communicate under oppressive governments， and the government can’t wiretap people like Martin Luther King to try to discredit him。 On the other hand， the FBI claims that interception methods like wiretaps are the single most effective investigative technique， which can be used to help catch terrorists， pedophiles， and other criminals。 Singh frames the debate as asking the question of who do we fear more - the government or criminals。I really enjoyed reading this book。 Singh is very thorough and excellent at explaining complicated topics such as the cracking of the Enigma machine。 He constructs mystery-like narratives around these historical endeavours and episodes - it’s a great weaving of storytelling and explanation， and he keeps various themes around cryptography that he brings up again and again throughout this storytelling。Interesting （and maybe a little frightening） that all of our secure digital communication comes down to the fact that it takes an unreasonably long time to factor a large number into two primes。 Something he emphasizes throughout the book is that many of the most intelligent codebreakers through history may never be known， since they must work in secret。 Alan Turing’s accomplishments were never recognized before his tragic death。 So while we fight it out over what we are more scared of - government or criminals - it’s very possible that someone has already broken the RSA cipher， and it hasn’t been made public。 Some Fun facts- An ancient form of hiding secret messages involved message carriers shaving their heads， writing the message on their scalps， and re-growing the hair。 Expediency was not highest priority。- Ian Fleming， author of James Bond， devised a plan called Operation Ruthless， which involved British Military posing as Germans to get access to Enigma Codes。 The operation never took place。- When Philip Zimmerman released his encryption software， PGP， he was accused of illegally exporting a weapon， since the US government included encryption software within its definition of munitions。 。。。more
Nzcgzmt מזבעזצא
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This is hands-down the most entertaining book I read in a long time。 Singh is a great story teller; he also possesses the rare ability of explaining complex mechanisms to people without pre-existing knowledge。 I highly recommend it to everyone who is interested in cryptography/ancient language deciphering/science/history。
Zuzanna
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So interesting and there were just so many good bits ！ I love how Singh writes and his depth of information。 Favourite chapter was by far about the Navajo language （and the various links to language throughout the book） but his writing of the history of cracking the Enigma， which did not overlook out Poland’s significant involvement and Rejewski’s dedication， brought me so much pride and warmth as a Pole。 Even modern day encryption has been somewhat demystified for me and has left me more reassu So interesting and there were just so many good bits ！ I love how Singh writes and his depth of information。 Favourite chapter was by far about the Navajo language （and the various links to language throughout the book） but his writing of the history of cracking the Enigma， which did not overlook out Poland’s significant involvement and Rejewski’s dedication， brought me so much pride and warmth as a Pole。 Even modern day encryption has been somewhat demystified for me and has left me more reassured each time I go online than I previously was。 Really brilliant and engaging venture into cryptography’s history， present and possible future。 。。。more
van
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 ive read one interesting thing in this book that's why I'm giving it 4 stars ive read one interesting thing in this book that's why I'm giving it 4 stars 。。。more
Manish Singh
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One of the best science books I've ever read。 Simon seems to have a natural knack for explaining scientific concepts in a very unique way。It's a book where you don't just learn one cryptographic concept after another in a series of chapters。 No。 You go through the whole history， understand the events that led to the ideas in cryptography - you get to understand the germination of the ideas。 This is not just a science book， it's a history book - a 2000 year long gripping story of tension， emotion One of the best science books I've ever read。 Simon seems to have a natural knack for explaining scientific concepts in a very unique way。It's a book where you don't just learn one cryptographic concept after another in a series of chapters。 No。 You go through the whole history， understand the events that led to the ideas in cryptography - you get to understand the germination of the ideas。 This is not just a science book， it's a history book - a 2000 year long gripping story of tension， emotions。 It makes you appreciate the work done by scientists and mathematicians even more， when you have the right context。 So， if you're one of those who's always curious about the "whole context" around of a concept， then you'll love this - you'll feel satisfied， you'll have a smile on your face。 There were so many occasions I was smiling while reading， and I smiled one last time when I closed the book， as I exclaimed， "brilliant"！ When you really understand something， it makes you happy from inside。I feel like I've understood some quantum concepts far better via this book than in high school。 If I'd read this book when I was younger （maybe in high school）， I would've made completely different career choices， I'd be a completely different person today。 。。。more
Emily
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