6/9/2023 0 Comments The codebreakers kahn![]() ![]() intelligence services’ activities on the day of the Pearl Harbor attacks.įor me, the two best chapters of the book came after he had completed the main narrative arc. But even so, Kahn casts his net into some rarely explored corners: he does not neglect to discuss medieval cryptography (lovers of medieval polyphony will not be surprised to learn that the medieval passion for intricate puzzles also animated the art of secret writing), he devotes some pages to cryptography in non-Western societies, and he gives an in-depth discussion of the U.S. ![]() ![]() This is quite appropriate, as these were the periods when cryptography blossomed in complexity and interest. Kahn is thorough, and though the details occasionally threaten to overwhelm the narrative, for the most part the writing is clear and engaging.ĭespite the fact that it attempts to cover the entire history of the subject, the center of mass of the chronology lies somewhere around 1925 - that is, a large portion of the book is devoted to WWI and WWII. ![]() These notes originally written 23 October 2005.ĭavid Kahn’s The Codebreakers is an outstanding survey of the history of cryptography from the origins of the subject up to the Second World War. ![]()
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