Break the Code: Cryptography for Beginners

by Bud Johnson

Book Overview

No, it's not a message from outer space! Just read it backwards, starting from the bottom line, to discover what this specially coded message says. (The extra letter "X" at the beginning was thrown in just to make the message a bit more mysterious.)
Codes have been used for centuries. Now, with the help of this entertaining book, you, too, will be able to decipher dozens of secret messages. Veteran cryptographer Bud Johnson not only describes the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486291464
• ISBN13: 9780486291468
• Release Date: May 2013
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.2" x 10.9"
• Age Range: 8 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 3 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Excellent introduction to cryptology & cryptoanalysis

This is a great book for beginners in the subject of cryptology. (Cryptography = creating cyphers; cryptoanalysis = decyphering them).The author was a real-life cryptologist in the military, and this book shares his experience with you.Many books on the subject try to hit you over the head with math, but Johnson's elementary approach is a welcome relief. I definitely recommend this one!

A fun book

I have a theory that most well-done things for kids appeal to adults as well. I don't have a vast bank of data to support this hypothesis, but I do have examples, such as this book. I'm not a kid, and I still learned plenty of things about cryptography that I did not know beforehand. Larry Daste's clever illustrations add a lot to the book's design. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that Mr. Johnson is a family friend, and I suggested one of the sayings that was used in the book.)