View source for The Code Book

{{short description|Book by Simon Singh}}
{{about|the Simon Singh book|other uses|Codebook (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox book
| name          = The Code Book
| title_orig    = 
| translator    = 
| image         = The Code Book.jpg
| caption = First edition (UK)
| author        = Simon Singh
| illustrator   = 
| cover_artist  = 
| country       = United Kingdom
| language      = English
| series        = 
| subject       = 
| genre         = Factual
| publisher     = [[Fourth Estate (imprint)|Fourth Estate]] (UK)<br>[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] (US)
| pub_date      = 1999
| english_pub_date = 
| media_type    = 
| pages         = 416 (first edition)
| isbn          = 978-1-85702-879-9
| oclc= 59459928
| preceded_by   = 
| followed_by   = 
}}
'''''The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography''''' is a book by [[Simon Singh]], published in 1999 by [[Fourth Estate (imprint)|Fourth Estate]] and [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]].

''The Code Book'' describes some illustrative highlights in the history of [[cryptography]], drawn from both of its principal branches, [[code]]s and [[cipher]]s.  Thus the book's title should not be misconstrued as suggesting that the book deals only with codes, and not with ciphers; or that the book is in fact a [[codebook]].<ref>In contemporary [[English language|English]]-language jargon, the word "code" is often used for any sort of secret communication, whether or not that communication is actually performed using a code in the strict sense. Some other languages, e.g., [[Polish language|Polish]], tend to do the opposite and refer to both principal types of [[cryptography]] as "cipher", as in "''[[Biuro Szyfrów]]''" ("Cipher Bureau").</ref>

==Contents==
''The Code Book'' covers diverse historical topics including the [[Man in the Iron Mask]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]] cryptography, [[Charles Babbage]], the mechanisation of cryptography, the [[Enigma Machine|Enigma machine]], and the decryption of [[Linear B]] and other ancient writing systems.<ref>{{cite web |title=Simon Singh website |url=http://simonsingh.net/books/the-code-book/ |accessdate=April 14, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Catcher in the Rye PDF|url=https://zlibrary.to/dl/the-catcher-in-the-rye-9|accessdate=April 14, 2015}}</ref>

Later sections cover the development of [[public key cryptography|public-key cryptography]].  Some of this material is based on interviews with participants, including persons who worked in secret at [[GCHQ]].

The book concludes with a discussion of "[[Pretty Good Privacy]]" (PGP), [[Quantum computer|quantum computing]], and [[quantum cryptography]].

The book announced a "cipher challenge" of a series of ten progressively harder ciphers, with a cash prize of £10,000, which has since been won.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://simonsingh.net/cryptography/cipher-challenge |title=Cipher Challenge  |website=simonsingh.net |language=en-GB |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130222033524/http://simonsingh.net/cryptography/cipher-challenge/ |archive-date=2013-02-22 |url-status=dead |access-date=2017-08-27}}</ref>

The book is not footnoted but has a "Further Reading" section at the end, organized by chapter.

==See also==
* [[Cipher]]
* [[Code]]
* [[Codebook]]

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography== 
* "[http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=157869&sectioncode=1 Of Riddles Wrapped in Enigmas]", [[Whitfield Diffie]], ''[[The Times Higher Education Supplement]]'', September 10, 1999, p.&nbsp;25. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
* A critical review of the book: "[http://www.nku.edu/~christensen/codebookreview.pdf The Code Book: The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary, Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography, reviewed by Jim Reeds]", Jim Reeds, ''[[Notices of the American Mathematical Society]]'', vol.&nbsp;47, no.&nbsp;3, March 2000, pp.&nbsp;369–372. Retrieved 2009-02-19. (61&nbsp;KB PDF).

==External links==
* [http://www.simonsingh.net/The-Code-Book "The Code Book" web page] at Simon Singh's site
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20001213191500/http://www.codebook.org/ The Code Book Cipher Challenge Solution Page]}}, set up by the solvers of the Ten Cipher Code Challenge in "The Code Book"]

{{Simon Singh}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Code Book, The}}
[[Category:1999 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Cryptography books]]
[[Category:Books by Simon Singh]]
[[Category:Popular mathematics books]]
[[Category:English-language non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Fourth Estate books]]
[[Category:Doubleday (publisher) books]]