Very Good book for the Novice interested in Crypto

Hi

It's been a while since I have been on the forum and have a lot to catch up on. I feel the need to make this post to recommend a book I am near the end of.

Crypto by Steven Levy

I bought it a while ago and at first found it difficult to get into so I stalled at page 14. Since then I have picked it up again and haven't been able to put it down (I am typing with one hand ). I can only say it is the perfect book for someone who is interested in the whole subject of cryptography, it outlines the complete history right back from Whit Diffie to pretty much present day. and puts the theory into plainspeak for the none mathmatically minded with the Bob and Alice synarios (you'll have to read it to know whet I am talking about ).

I would imagine such a book has been mentioned on this forum previously but my limited search skills didn't manage to find it .... even so I think it deserves a further recommendation.

If anyone else has read the book I'd like to know what you thought of it and recommend any other similar books that may interest me.

Wink

 

I read it some time ago, interesting reading for history and basic concepts (assuming you didnt know them already) but not for those who are interested in the technical stuff.

 

See also The Code Book, by Simon Singh. It takes an unusual approach (for a cryptography book at least) in that it tells more of the story of the history of cryptography, rather than focusing on things like the mathematics of the algorithms (like Bruce Schneier's Applied Cryptography does), so even people with no previous experience with cryptography will enjoy and learn a lot from Simon's book, although many crypto buffs also enjoyed it, I certainly did.