The Code Book

          The Code Book reveals the history of cryptography's strengths and weaknesses. Simon Singh brings codes to life by taking us on a journey with Mary Queen of Scots, whom was exuceted by Queen Elizabeth, for plotting the Queens murder in secret code found in letters. A lost treasure is waiting to be discovered by decoding the Beale Ciphers. The treasure includes silver and gold, which was buried in Virginia during the nineteenth century and is waiting to be discovered. Codes are more than weapons and tools because they have altered the course of history especially during the First and Second World Wars. Codes have been delivered and intercepted in various ways throughout history. Although codes are challenging for codebreakers they can be cracked! Simon Singh offers a $15,000 reward for anyone whom can crack his cipher challenge located in the back of his book. The cipher challenge was decoded by a Swedish team of researchers. Deciphering codes can be time consuming and mind boggling but are essential to national and individual security. Outcomes of codes can result in life or death. I would highly recommend this book to students nterested in codes and the history of computers.


How do Codes Relate to computers?
Useful Code Terms:
References