The Codebreakers: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Book by David Kahn}} | {{Short description|Book by David Kahn}} | ||
{{Infobox book | {{Infobox book | ||
| name | | name = The Codebreakers – The Story of Secret Writing | ||
| title_orig | | title_orig = | ||
| translator | | translator = | ||
| image | | image = CodebreakersDavidKahnCover.jpg | ||
| caption | | caption = Book cover of the 1996 updated reprint | ||
| author | | author = [[David Kahn (writer)|David Kahn]] | ||
| illustrator | | illustrator = | ||
| cover_artist | | cover_artist = | ||
| country | | country = | ||
| language | | language = English | ||
| series | | series = | ||
| subject | | subject = | ||
| genre | | genre = Factual | ||
| publisher | | publisher = | ||
| pub_date | | pub_date = 1967, 1996 | ||
| english_pub_date = | | english_pub_date = | ||
| media_type | | media_type = | ||
| pages | | pages = | ||
| isbn | | isbn = 0-684-83130-9 | ||
| dewey= 652/.8 20 | | dewey = 652/.8 20 | ||
| congress= Z103 .K28 1996 | | congress = Z103 .K28 1996 | ||
| oclc= 35159231 | | oclc = 35159231 | ||
| preceded_by | | preceded_by = | ||
| followed_by | | followed_by = | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''''The Codebreakers – The Story of Secret Writing''''' ({{ISBN|0-684-83130-9}}) is a book by [[David Kahn (writer)|David Kahn]], published in 1967, comprehensively chronicling the [[history of cryptography]] from ancient [[Egypt]] to the time of its writing. The [[United States government]] attempted to have the book altered before publication, and it succeeded in part.<ref name="cia1996">Pineau, Roger (1996). The Codebreakers: The Story of Secret Writing by David Kahn, internal CIA book review by Roger Pineau, ca. 1967, released to public 1996. Retrieved from [https://web.archive.org/web/20100327045842/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol12i3/html/v12i3a09p_0001.htm].</ref> | '''''The Codebreakers – The Story of Secret Writing''''' ({{ISBN|0-684-83130-9}}) is a book by [[David Kahn (writer)|David Kahn]], published in 1967, comprehensively chronicling the [[history of cryptography]] from ancient [[Egypt]] to the time of its writing. The [[United States government]] attempted to have the book altered before publication, and it succeeded in part.<ref name="cia1996">Pineau, Roger (1996). The Codebreakers: The Story of Secret Writing by David Kahn, internal CIA book review by Roger Pineau, ca. 1967, released to public 1996. Retrieved from [https://web.archive.org/web/20100327045842/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol12i3/html/v12i3a09p_0001.htm].</ref> | ||
==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
''The Codebreakers'' is widely regarded as the best account of the [[history of cryptography]] up to its publication. [[William P. Crowell|William Crowell]], the former deputy director of the [[National Security Agency]], was quoted in ''[[Newsday]]'' magazine: "Before he (Kahn) came along, the best you could do was buy an explanatory book that usually was too technical and terribly dull."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/david-kahn-historian-of-secret-codes |title=David Kahn: Historian of Secret Codes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240621010626/https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/david-kahn-historian-of-secret-codes |archive-date=June 21, 2024 |first=Arnold |last=Abrams |work=[[Newsday]] |date=September 19, 2004 |via=[[History News Network]] |access-date=June 21, 2024 |edition=abridged}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Abrams |first1=Arnold |title=The man behind 'The Codebreakers', How David Kahn brought cryptology in from the cold |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/279830028 |access-date=June 21, 2024 |work=[[Newsday]] |date=September 19, 2004 |id={{ProQuest|279830028}} |url-access=subscription}}</ref> | ''The Codebreakers'' is widely regarded as the best account of the [[history of cryptography]] up to its publication. [[William P. Crowell|William Crowell]], the former deputy director of the [[National Security Agency]], was quoted in ''[[Newsday]]'' magazine: "Before he (Kahn) came along, the best you could do was buy an explanatory book that usually was too technical and terribly dull."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/david-kahn-historian-of-secret-codes |title=David Kahn: Historian of Secret Codes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240621010626/https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/david-kahn-historian-of-secret-codes |archive-date=June 21, 2024 |first=Arnold |last=Abrams |work=[[Newsday]] |date=September 19, 2004 |via=[[History News Network]] |access-date=June 21, 2024 |edition=abridged}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Abrams |first1=Arnold |title=The man behind 'The Codebreakers', How David Kahn brought cryptology in from the cold |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/279830028 |access-date=June 21, 2024 |work=[[Newsday]] |date=September 19, 2004 |id={{ProQuest|279830028}} |url-access=subscription}}</ref> | ||
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The book finishes with a chapter on [[SETI]]. Because of the year of its publication, the book did not cover most of the history concerning the [[Cryptanalysis of the Enigma|breaking]] of the German [[Enigma machine]], which became public knowledge during the 1970s. Hence, not much was said of [[Alan Turing]]. It also did not cover the advent of strong cryptography in the public domain, beginning with the invention of [[public key cryptography]] and the specification of the [[Data Encryption Standard]] in the mid-1970s. The book was republished in 1996, and this new edition included an additional chapter briefly covering the events since the original publication. | The book finishes with a chapter on [[SETI]]. Because of the year of its publication, the book did not cover most of the history concerning the [[Cryptanalysis of the Enigma|breaking]] of the German [[Enigma machine]], which became public knowledge during the 1970s. Hence, not much was said of [[Alan Turing]]. It also did not cover the advent of strong cryptography in the public domain, beginning with the invention of [[public key cryptography]] and the specification of the [[Data Encryption Standard]] in the mid-1970s. The book was republished in 1996, and this new edition included an additional chapter briefly covering the events since the original publication. | ||
Bradford Hardie III, an American cryptographer during World War II, contributed insider information, German translations from original documents, and intimate real-time operational explanations to ''The Codebreakers''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Codebreakers PDF Internet Archive |url=https://ia601800.us.archive.org/4/items/7-the-code-breaker/7-%20The%20Code%20Breaker.pdf}}</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Latest revision as of 02:23, 27 November 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Wikidata image The Codebreakers – The Story of Secret Writing (Template:ISBN) is a book by David Kahn, published in 1967, comprehensively chronicling the history of cryptography from ancient Egypt to the time of its writing. The United States government attempted to have the book altered before publication, and it succeeded in part.[1]
Overview
The Codebreakers is widely regarded as the best account of the history of cryptography up to its publication. William Crowell, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency, was quoted in Newsday magazine: "Before he (Kahn) came along, the best you could do was buy an explanatory book that usually was too technical and terribly dull."[2][3]
The Puzzle Palace (1982), written by James Bamford, gives a history of the writing and publication of The Codebreakers.[4] Kahn, then a journalist, was contracted to write a book on cryptology in 1961. He began writing it part-time, and then he quit his job to work on it full-time.[4] The book was to include information on the NSA and, according to Bamford, the agency attempted to stop its publication. The NSA considered various options, including writing a negative review of Kahn's work to be published in the press to discredit him.[4]
A committee of the United States Intelligence Board concluded that the book was "a possibly valuable support to foreign COMSEC authorities" and recommended "further low-key actions as possible, but short of legal action, to discourage Mr. Kahn or his prospective publishers".[4] Kahn's publisher, Macmillan and Sons, handed over the manuscript to the government for review without Kahn's permission on 4 March 1966.[4] Kahn and Macmillan eventually agreed to remove some material from the manuscript, particularly concerning the relationship between the NSA and its counterpart in the United Kingdom, GCHQ.[4]
The book finishes with a chapter on SETI. Because of the year of its publication, the book did not cover most of the history concerning the breaking of the German Enigma machine, which became public knowledge during the 1970s. Hence, not much was said of Alan Turing. It also did not cover the advent of strong cryptography in the public domain, beginning with the invention of public key cryptography and the specification of the Data Encryption Standard in the mid-1970s. The book was republished in 1996, and this new edition included an additional chapter briefly covering the events since the original publication.
Bradford Hardie III, an American cryptographer during World War II, contributed insider information, German translations from original documents, and intimate real-time operational explanations to The Codebreakers.[5]
See also
- Books on cryptography: other works which cover the later history in more detail.
References
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- ↑ Pineau, Roger (1996). The Codebreakers: The Story of Secret Writing by David Kahn, internal CIA book review by Roger Pineau, ca. 1967, released to public 1996. Retrieved from [1].
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Bibliography
- Secret War of Words; The Codebreakers. The Story of Secret Writing. By David Kahn. New York Times Book Review, Jan 7, 1968. pg. BR10