The Code Book
The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography
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Narrated by:
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Patty Nieman
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By:
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Simon Singh
About this listen
In his first book since the best-selling Fermat's Enigma, Simon Singh offers the first sweeping history of encryption, tracing its evolution and revealing the dramatic effects codes have had on wars, nations, and individual lives. From Mary, Queen of Scots, trapped by her own code, to the Navajo Code Talkers who helped the Allies win World War II, to the incredible (and incredibly simple) logistical breakthrough that made internet commerce secure, The Code Book tells the story of the most powerful intellectual weapon ever known: secrecy.
Throughout the text are clear technical and mathematical explanations and portraits of the remarkable personalities who wrote and broke the world's most difficult codes. Accessible, compelling, and remarkably far-reaching, this book will forever alter your view of history and what drives it. It will also make you wonder how private that email you just sent really is.
©1999 Simon Singh (P)2021 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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"In a concise 10-and-a-half hours, this fascinating history of secret writing advances step-by-step from ancient hieroglyphics to the vastness of computerized encryption.... The narrative covers all the landmarks in the history of code breaking, the downfall of Mary, Queen of Scots and the capture of the Enigma machine most prominent among them. But even the most devoted thriller fan will learn something new from each chapter." (AudioFile)
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- A Thousand-Year History of How Classical Ideas Were Lost and Found
- By: Violet Moller
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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The foundations of modern knowledge - philosophy, math, astronomy, geography - were laid by the Greeks, whose ideas were written on scrolls and stored in libraries across the Mediterranean and beyond. But as the vast Roman Empire disintegrated, so did appreciation of these precious texts. Christianity cast a shadow over so-called pagan thought, books were burned, and the library of Alexandria, the greatest repository of classical knowledge, was destroyed. Yet some texts did survive and The Map of Knowledge explores the role played by seven cities around the Mediterranean....
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Terrible narration.
- By nathan535 on 11-05-19
By: Violet Moller
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Spies, Lies, and Algorithms
- The History and Future of American Intelligence
- By: Amy B. Zegart
- Narrated by: Amy B. Zegart
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In Spies, Lies, and Algorithms, Amy Zegart separates fact from fiction as she offers an engaging and enlightening account of the past, present, and future of American espionage as it faces a revolution driven by digital technology. Drawing on decades of research and hundreds of interviews with intelligence officials, Zegart provides a history of US espionage, gives an overview of intelligence basics and life inside America's intelligence agencies, and explores the vexed issues of traitors, covert action, and congressional oversight.
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Superb and insightful!
- By Cameron on 02-01-22
By: Amy B. Zegart
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Genome
- The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters
- By: Matt Ridley
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Original Recording
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Arguably the most significant scientific discovery of the new century, the mapping of the 23 pairs of chromosomes that make up the human genome raises almost as many questions as it answers - questions that will profoundly impact the way we think about disease, about longevity, and about free will. Questions that will affect the rest of your life. Matt Ridley here probes the scientific, philosophical, and moral issues arising as a result of the mapping of the genome.
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Still useful today.
- By Gary on 05-21-12
By: Matt Ridley
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The Information
- A History, a Theory, a Flood
- By: James Gleick
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 16 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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James Gleick, the author of the best sellers Chaos and Genius, now brings us a work just as astonishing and masterly: A revelatory chronicle and meditation that shows how information has become the modern era’s defining quality - the blood, the fuel, the vital principle of our world. The story of information begins in a time profoundly unlike our own, when every thought and utterance vanishes as soon as it is born.
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Brilliant book, heroic reader, better in print?
- By A reader on 03-12-11
By: James Gleick
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Pegasus
- How a Spy in Your Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy
- By: Laurent Richard, Sandrine Rigaud, Rachel Maddow
- Narrated by: Andrew Wehrlen, Rachel Maddow, Rachel Perry
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud's Pegasus: How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy is the story of the one of the most sophisticated and invasive surveillance weapons ever created, used by governments around the world.
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Incredible!
- By Silvershopper on 01-18-23
By: Laurent Richard, and others
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When Einstein Walked with Gödel
- Excursions to the Edge of Thought
- By: Jim Holt
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Does time exist? What is infinity? Why do mirrors reverse left and right but not up and down? In this scintillating collection, Holt explores the human mind, the cosmos, and the thinkers who’ve tried to encompass the latter with the former. With his trademark clarity and humor, Holt probes the mysteries of quantum mechanics, the quest for the foundations of mathematics, and the nature of logic and truth. Along the way, he offers intimate biographical sketches of celebrated and neglected thinkers, from the physicist Emmy Noether to the computing pioneer Alan Turing and the discoverer of fractals, Benoit Mandelbrot.
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A good overview of scientific theory
- By MJ Walters on 09-11-18
By: Jim Holt
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Superlative
- The Biology of Extremes
- By: Matthew D. LaPlante
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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The world's largest land mammal could help us end cancer. The fastest bird is showing us how to solve a century-old engineering mystery. The oldest tree is giving us insights into climate change. The loudest whale is offering clues about the impact of solar storms. For a long time, scientists ignored superlative life forms as outliers. Increasingly, though, researchers are coming to see great value in studying plants and animals that exist on the outermost edges of the bell curve.
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Fascinating survey of amazing biology
- By Nerd's-eye view on 12-06-19
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The Demon in the Machine
- How Hidden Webs of Information Are Solving the Mystery of Life
- By: Paul Davies
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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What is life? In this penetrating and wide-ranging book, world-renowned physicist and science communicator Paul Davies searches for answers in a field so new and fast-moving that it lacks a name; it is a domain where biology, computing, logic, chemistry, quantum physics, and nanotechnology intersect.
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Thought provoking and rich with insight
- By quantumbikemechanic on 11-13-24
By: Paul Davies
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Why Machines Learn
- The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI
- By: Anil Ananthaswamy
- Narrated by: Rene Ruiz
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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We are living through a revolution in machine learning-powered AI that shows no signs of slowing down. This technology is based on relatively simple mathematical ideas, some of which go back centuries, including linear algebra and calculus, the stuff of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century mathematics. It took the birth and advancement of computer science and the kindling of 1990s computer chips designed for video games to ignite the explosion of AI that we see today. In this enlightening book, Anil Ananthaswamy explains the fundamental math behind machine learning.
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Totally inappropriate for audio
- By Steve on 11-04-24
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Ghost in the Wires
- My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker
- By: Kevin Mitnick, William L. Simon
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Kevin Mitnick was the most elusive computer break-in artist in history. He accessed computers and networks at the world’s biggest companies—and however fast the authorities were, Mitnick was faster, sprinting through phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks. He spent years skipping through cyberspace, always three steps ahead and labeled unstoppable.
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For a smart guy, Mitnick was an idiot
- By Joshua on 09-17-14
By: Kevin Mitnick, and others
What listeners say about The Code Book
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Oliver J. Siodmak
- 02-15-24
Great overview of the history of cryptography and code breaking
The book handles this complex topic well and I thoroughly enjoyed learning how methods for protecting communications has evolved over time.
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- Robert
- 01-12-24
An Intriguing History Lesson on the Field of Cryptography!
This book is a fascinating exploration of the history and practice of cryptography, the art and science of securing information. I chose to read it because I wanted to learn more about how cryptography has evolved over time and how it is used in various fields and applications.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the book is how it shows the dynamic relationship between cryptographers and cryptoanalysts, who are both experts in breaking codes but have different perspectives and goals. The book describes how they often communicate with each other through puzzles, challenges, and games, creating a fascinating dialogue that reveals their personalities and motivations.
The book helped me understand how secrecy is essential for protecting national security, diplomatic relations, and personal privacy. It also showed me how cryptography can be used for both good and evil purposes, depending on who is using it and why. The book made me appreciate the complexity and diversity of cryptography as a discipline that has many implications for our society.
In conclusion, this book was a great introduction to cryptography for beginners as well as an enjoyable read for anyone interested in history, culture, or mystery. I learned a lot from reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to discover more about this fascinating topic.
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- Gudmundur Hardarson
- 10-09-24
D jrrg errn rq frghv << you can break this
A very informative read about the history of codes and cryptography through the ages. It delivers on exactly what it promises in a well explained and organized manner. It is part history and part explanations of techniques, I'd say 3/4 vs. 1/4 respectively.
Published in 1999 this book is getting a bit old but it is still remarkably current with a surprisingly good section devoted to quantum cryptography. (I hadn’t realized how far it had been developed back in 1999)
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