DECIPHER: The Greatest Codes Ever Invented and How to Break Them
Mark Frary
A timely reference work in the light of the rise of Wikileaks, GCHQ and recent political hacking activity.
Codes win wars, conceal state secrets, protect privacy, secure banks and transmit messages. Through 45 of the world’s most influential codes and ciphers, DECIPHER presents a compelling insight into the art and science of cryptography. Structured chronologically, DECIPHER provides practical tools for understanding and using these fascinating codes and ciphers. It features a diverse range of codes, including the Caesar shift cipher, Easter Island’s bewildering Rongorongo and the famous Enigma code at Bletchley Park. DECIPHER also includes features on famous codebreakers of history such as Alan Turing, Jonas Nordby and Auguste Kerckhoffs, providing a comprehensive overview to this beguiling, secretive world.
Mark Frary is an award-winning UK-based technology and science writer, and the author of numerous bo oks including Codebreaker: The History of Secret Communication(with Stephen Pincock), Freaky Science, Numbers in Your Pocketand Better Living Through Science. He has a first-class degree in astronomy and physics from University College London and has carried outresearch at the CERN nuclear physics laboratory in Geneva. .