rjr@mgweed.UUCP (Bob Roehrig) (05/07/84)
If you are after a book on cryptology, I do not recommend this one. Kahn's book "The Codebreakers" was a great book, however "Kahn on Codes" is a waste of time and money. It is mainly a collection of various papers previously presented elsewhere and does not offer anything new or different.
outer@utcsrgv.UUCP (Richard Outerbridge) (05/08/84)
Unfair! Kahn is an historian not a computer scientist. The book is an
assembly of essays most of which have appeared elsewhere; true, most of them
are historical or historiographical with very little technical discussion.
The articles have been updated and footnoted and are all very readable. Any
historian with an interest in the subject will find the book invaluable.
The sub-title ("Secrets of the new cryptology") IS misleading, but even if
you're not an historian you should buy the book to read the chapter "The
Politics of Cryptology". Those five articles argue persuasively that the
issues involved in secrecy are *NOT* technical but *SOLELY* political. There
are no convincing reasons for keeping cryptology in the closet (as the NSA
would wish) and some historical evidence that it is in the public good to bring
it into the open.
The book will appeal most to people with cryptology in the blood (er, on the
brain?) and to professional historians. If you're after nuts and bolts, this
is not the book for you. If you want to put the field into perspective, as
it were broaden your mind somewhat, I heartily recommend it. Cryptology is
still treated like an arcane art, and Kahn performs a handy job of
demystification. If the issues *are* only political, you need to know.
--
Richard Outerbridge <outer@utcsrgv.UUCP> 416 978 2742