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The Code Book

Simon Singh

According to the words on the cover, this book covers the evolution of secrecy from Mary, Queen of Scots, to quantum cryptography, and that is exactly what it does. I found it interesting because the only thing I have known about secret codes is A=1, B=2… substitution, which I learned at a very early age.

The code of Mary, Queen of Scots, involved the substitution of otherwise meaningless symbols for most of the letters of the alphabet (the letters j, v, and w were excepted) and, in some instances for words. The code was broken because Queen Elizabeth had a spy amongst Mary’s supporters.

Amongst the other chapters is one on the breaking of the German Enigma code and one on translating ancient languages.

I have, on occasion, read how some mathematician has discovered a new largest prime number, and this book explains how this becomes very important in modern cryptography, which involves multiplying together two very large prime numbers.

The final chapter discusses quantum computers and quantum cryptography. I had a year’s course in quantum mechanics at Union College, but it certainly didn’t do much to help me understand that final chapter. I think much of the problem is that the author tries to explain quantum mechanics in terms that a non–physicist can understand, and I am not convinced that can be done. Except for the last chapter I found it a very interesting book.

— Warren Langdon

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