Once a government monopoly, cryptology today touches everybody.

From the XYZ Affair to the Dreyfus Affair, from the Gallic War to the Persian Gulf, from Druidic runes and the kaballah to outer space, from the Zimmermann telegram to Enigma to the Manhattan Project, codebreaking has shaped the course of human events to an extent beyond any easy reckoning. For 4,000 years, fierce battles have been waged between codemakers and codebreakers, and the story of these battles is civilization's secret history, the hidden account of how wars were won and lost, diplomatic intrigues foiled, business secrets stolen, governments ruined, computers hacked. David Kahn has done more than any single individual to educate the public, around the world, about the importance of cryptology to international peace and security.The magnificent, unrivaled history of codes and ciphersand#8212 how they're made, how they're broken, and the many and fascinating roles they've played since the dawn of civilization in war, business, diplomacy, and espionageand#8212 updated with a new chapter on computer cryptography and the Ultra secret.andlt BRandgt andlt BRandgt Man has created codes to keep secrets and has broken codes to learn those secrets since the time of the Pharaohs. In 2010, he donated these to the National Cryptologic Museum, where they are now a cornerstone of its collections.Ī journalist, scholar, and author with a career spanning more than half a century, Dr. Kahn accumulated a massive personal library of rare materials. He spoke at many NSA events during his year with the CCH, and during his interactions with employees, hundreds told him they had first gotten into cryptology because of his writings. Kahn served as Scholar-in-Residence at NSA’s Center for Cryptologic History (CCH) in 1993, which resulted in his landmark biography of Herbert Yardley, entitled The Reader of Gentleman’s Mail. Kahn became a prolific author of books and articles on cryptologic history, and was founding editor of the journal Cryptologia.ĭr. It drew on both archival research and interviews with American and European pioneers in the field, and today is essential reading for anyone wanting to know the discipline. Kahn published The Codebreakers, a comprehensive survey of cryptology from Biblical times to the emergence and growth of NSA. David Kahn has had a major impact in making cryptologic history an academic field of study – and a popular one – more than any single individual has achieved.

The Codebreakers by David Kahn