The Code Book  (English, Paperback, Singh Simon)

In The Code Book: The Secret History Of Codes And Code-breaking, Simon Singh takes the reader through the mind-boggling world of codes and cryptography, its impact on history and how it can make or break our world.

Summary Of The Book

Since the development of language, human beings have had a romantic fascination to communicating in codes. This science of developing and deciphering codes, cryptography, has often changed the course of history, for better or for worse. Especially with the advent of telegraphs, protecting sensitive data through codes and ciphers became much more necessary.

Through his book, The Code Book: The Secret History Of Codes And Code-breaking, Simon Singh undertakes a fascinating journey through the history of civilization and deciphers mind-boggling puzzles and riddles strewn through history, uncovering incredible stories from Ancient Egypt through World War II, to the modern world of technology.

The breaking of military codes in World War II, the revelation of ancient treasures through the decryption of secrets from Ancient Egypt, and quantum cryptography, are just some of the topics the book discusses.

A truly compelling read, the book goes far out to discuss the “unbreakable code” and how it may soon be the reality. Learn about the Enigma machine and how the Allies were successful in breaking the German military codes and the unfound treasures of Virginia from the 19th century and how their secret might be revealed in the Beale Ciphers. The book also talks about how Mary, the Queen of Scots, and how she was betrayed by her own codes that revealed her plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England.

The author, has also included ten coded messages for the reader to decrypt. Simon Singh’s book on codes is both for the avid learner and the amateur on the science of cryptography.

About Simon Singh

Simon Lehna Singh, born September 19, 1964, is a British author, journalist, and TV producer.

He has authored several other books that include Fermat’s Last Theorem, Big Bang, Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial, and The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets.

Simon Singh is a trustee of NESTA, and has co-founded the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme. He has produced documentaries to complement his books, which are mostly on science or mathematics. He got his Ph.D in particle physics from Emmanuel College, Cambridge.