books tagged “codes”

books tagged “codes”


Find signed collectible books by ''

English

  • Gardner, Martin: Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writing
  • Parkinson, R. B.: Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment
    Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment
    by R. B. Parkinson, M. Fisher, Whitfield Diffie, Robert S. Simpson
    ISBN 0520222482 (0-520-22248-2)
    Softcover, Univ of California Pr

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment'
    Book summary:

    In 1799, while Napoleon's troops battled the fierce Mamelukes in Egypt's Western Delta, a French engineer discovered a giant granite slab that contained strange symbols and Greek letters. Two Egyptologists, the British-born Thomas Young and the astounding young French linguistic polymath Jean-François Champollion, fought to decipher the confounding script in an epic scientific battle. In 1822 Champollion finally broke through 3,000 years of mystery and revealed the Egyptian demotic and hieroglyphic system of writing--forever changing our view of history in the process.

    Cracking Codes, by Richard Parkinson, the British Museum's assistant keeper of Egyptian antiquities, is a companion volume for the museum's bicentennial exhibition of what has come to be known as the Rosetta stone. With 32 color and 200 black-and-white illustrations ranging from limestone fragments to whole statues, illustrated papyrus, and evocative wall paintings, Parkinson shows how Champollion's piercing of the mists of time has enabled the ancient Egyptians to speak to modern civilizations. Parkinson's essays on the importance of writing to human civilization and the birth of Egyptology are equally insightful. "The decipherment of the Egyptian scripts is not a single event that occurred in 1822," he writes, but "a continuous process that is repeated at every reading of a text or artifact. Like any process of reading, it is a dialogue." --Eugene Holley Jr. [via]

  • Fischer, M.: Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment
    Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment
    by M. Fischer, R. B. Parkinson, R. S. Simpson, Whitfield Diffie
    ISBN 0714119164 (0-7141-1916-4)
    Hardcover, British Museum Press

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment'
  • Cryptonomicon
    by Neal Stephenson
    ISBN 0060512806 (0-06-051280-6)
    Softcover, Harpercollins

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'Cryptonomicon'
    Book summary:

    Neal Stephenson enjoys cult status among science fiction fans and techie types thanks to Snow Crash, which so completely redefined conventional notions of the high-tech future that it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. But if his cyberpunk classic was big, Cryptonomicon is huge... gargantuan... massive, not just in size (a hefty 918 pages including appendices) but in scope and appeal. It's the hip, readable heir to Gravity's Rainbow and the Illuminatus trilogy. And it's only the first of a proposed series--for more information, read our interview with Stephenson.

    Cryptonomicon zooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods--World War II and the present. Our 1940s heroes are the brilliant mathematician Lawrence Waterhouse, cryptanalyst extraordinaire, and gung ho, morphine-addicted marine Bobby Shaftoe. They're part of Detachment 2702, an Allied group trying to break Axis communication codes while simultaneously preventing the enemy from figuring out that their codes have been broken. Their job boils down to layer upon layer of deception. Dr. Alan Turing is also a member of 2702, and he explains the unit's strange workings to Waterhouse. "When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first.... Of course, to observe is not its real duty--we already know exactly where the convoy is. Its real duty is to be observed.... Then, when we come round and sink them, the Germans will not find it suspicious."

    All of this secrecy resonates in the present-day story line, in which the grandchildren of the WWII heroes--inimitable programming geek Randy Waterhouse and the lovely and powerful Amy Shaftoe--team up to help create an offshore data haven in Southeast Asia and maybe uncover some gold once destined for Nazi coffers. To top off the paranoiac tone of the book, the mysterious Enoch Root, key member of Detachment 2702 and the Societas Eruditorum, pops up with an unbreakable encryption scheme left over from WWII to befuddle the 1990s protagonists with conspiratorial ties.

    Cryptonomicon is vintage Stephenson from start to finish: short on plot, but long on detail so precise it's exhausting. Every page has a math problem, a quotable in-joke, an amazing idea, or a bit of sharp prose. Cryptonomicon is also packed with truly weird characters, funky tech, and crypto--all the crypto you'll ever need, in fact, not to mention all the computer jargon of the moment. A word to the wise: if you read this book in one sitting, you may die of information overload (and starvation). --Therese Littleton [via]

  • The Da Vinci Code
    by Dan Brown
    ISBN 1400079179 (1-4000-7917-9)
    Softcover, Bantam Books

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'The Da Vinci Code'
    Book summary:

    With The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown masterfully concocts an intelligent and lucid thriller that marries the gusto of an international murder mystery with a collection of fascinating esoteria culled from 2,000 years of Western history.

    A murder in the silent after-hour halls of the Louvre museum reveals a sinister plot to uncover a secret that has been protected by a clandestine society since the days of Christ. The victim is a high-ranking agent of this ancient society who, in the moments before his death, manages to leave gruesome clues at the scene that only his daughter, noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and Robert Langdon, a famed symbologist, can untangle. The duo become both suspects and detectives searching for not only Neveu's father's murderer but also the stunning secret of the ages he was charged to protect. Mere steps ahead of the authorities and the deadly competition, the mystery leads Neveu and Langdon on a breathless flight through France, England, and history itself.

    Brown (Angels and Demons) has created a page-turning thriller that also provides an amazing interpretation of Western history. Brown's hero and heroine embark on a lofty and intriguing exploration of some of Western culture's greatest mysteries--from the nature of the Mona Lisa's smile to the secret of the Holy Grail. Though some will quibble with the veracity of Brown's conjectures, therein lies the fun. The Da Vinci Code is an enthralling read that provides rich food for thought. --Jeremy Pugh [via]

  • Digital Fortress
    by Dan Brown
    ISBN 0312335164 (0-312-33516-4)
    Hardcover, St. Martin's Press

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'Digital Fortress'
    Book summary:

    In most thrillers, "hardware" consists of big guns, airplanes, military vehicles, and weapons that make things explode. Dan Brown has written a thriller for those of us who like our hardware with disc drives and who rate our heroes by big brainpower rather than big firepower. It's an Internet user's spy novel where the good guys and bad guys struggle over secrets somewhat more intellectual than just where the secret formula is hidden--they have to gain understanding of what the secret formula actually is.

    In this case, the secret formula is a new means of encryption, capable of changing the balance of international power. Part of the fun is that the book takes the reader along into an understanding of encryption technologies. You'll find yourself better understanding the political battles over such real-life technologies as the Clipper Chip and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) software even though the book looks at the issues through the eyes of fiction.

    Although there's enough globehopping in this book for James Bond, the real battleground is cyberspace, because that's where the "bomb" (or rather, the new encryption algorithm) will explode. Yes, there are a few flaws in the plot if you look too closely, but the cleverness and the sheer fun of it all more than make up for them. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and a lot of high, gee-whiz-level information about encryption, code breaking, and the role they play in international politics. Set aside the whole afternoon and evening for it and have finger food on hand for supper--you may want to read this one straight through. [via]

  • Digital Fortress: A Thriller
    by Dan Brown
    ISBN 0312263120 (0-312-26312-0)
    Softcover, Griffin

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'Digital Fortress: A Thriller'
    Book summary:

    In most thrillers, "hardware" consists of big guns, airplanes, military vehicles, and weapons that make things explode. Dan Brown has written a thriller for those of us who like our hardware with disc drives and who rate our heroes by big brainpower rather than big firepower. It's an Internet user's spy novel where the good guys and bad guys struggle over secrets somewhat more intellectual than just where the secret formula is hidden--they have to gain understanding of what the secret formula actually is.

    In this case, the secret formula is a new means of encryption, capable of changing the balance of international power. Part of the fun is that the book takes the reader along into an understanding of encryption technologies. You'll find yourself better understanding the political battles over such real-life technologies as the Clipper Chip and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) software even though the book looks at the issues through the eyes of fiction.

    Although there's enough globehopping in this book for James Bond, the real battleground is cyberspace, because that's where the "bomb" (or rather, the new encryption algorithm) will explode. Yes, there are a few flaws in the plot if you look too closely, but the cleverness and the sheer fun of it all more than make up for them. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and a lot of high, gee-whiz-level information about encryption, code breaking, and the role they play in international politics. Set aside the whole afternoon and evening for it and have finger food on hand for supper--you may want to read this one straight through. [via]

  • El pendulo de foucault
    by Umberto Eco
    ISBN 9872060940 (987-20609-4-0)
    Softcover, Sudamericana

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'El pendulo de foucault'
  • El pendulo de foucault/Foucault's Pendulum
    by Umberto Eco, Ricardo Pochtar, Helena Lozano Miralles
    ISBN 8497592670 (84-9759-267-0)
    Softcover, Random House Mondadori

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'El pendulo de foucault/Foucault's Pendulum'
    Book summary:

    En un primer momento dicha relación se mantiene estrictamente profesional, pero poco apoco van estrechándose los lazos. Editores y autores inventan juntos, por puro juego, un complejo «plan», urdido supuestamente por los templarios siete siglos atrás. Pero alguien toma demasiado en serio el juego, y todos ellos se verán inmersos en una inquietante pesadilla. [via]

  • Harris, Robert: Enigma
    Enigma
    by Robert Harris
    ISBN 1568952759 (1-56895-275-9)
    Hardcover, Wheeler Pub Inc

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'Enigma'
    Book summary:

    literate and savvy . . . Brims with wartime intrigue."--the washington post book worldengland 1943. Much of the infamous nazi enigma code has been cracked. But shark, the impenetrable operational cipher used by nazi u-boats, has masked the germans' movements, allowing them to destroy a record number of allied vessels. Feeling that the blood of allied sailors is on their hands, a top-secret team of british cryptographers works feverishly around the clock to break shark. And when brilliant mathematician tom jericho succeeds, it is the stuff of legend. . . ."a tense and thoughtful thriller."--san francisco chronicleuntil the unthinkable happens: the germans have somehow learned that shark has been cracked. And they've changed the code. . . ."suspenseful and fascinating."--the orlando sentinelas an allied convoy crosses the u-boat infested north atlantic . . . As jericho's ex-lover claire disappears amid accusations that she is a nazi collaborator . . . As jericho strains his last resources to break shark again, he cannot escape the ultimate truth: there is a traitor among them. . . . "gripping . . . Captivating ."--new york daily news"elegantly researched . . . Readers will find themselves perfectly placed to experience one of britain's finest hours."--people"satisfying . . . Harris does a crackerjack job here, playing his characters' lives off historical events in surprising ways."--entertainment weekly"suspenseful . . . Fiendishly clever."--detroit free press [via]

  • Enigma
    by Alan Turing
    ISBN 3211826270 (3-211-82627-0)
    Hardcover, Springer

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'Enigma'
    Book summary:

    Alan Turing, Enigma ist die Biographie des legendären britischen Mathematikers, Logikers, Kryptoanalytikers und Computerkonstrukteurs Alan Mathison Turing (1912-1954). Turing war einer der bedeutendsten Mathematiker dieses Jahrhunderts und eine höchst exzentrische Persönlichkeit. Er gilt seit seiner 1937 erschienenen Arbeit "On Computable Numbers", in der er das Prinzip des abstrakten Universalrechners entwickelte, als der Erfinder des Computers. Er legte auch die Grundlagen für das heute "Künstliche Intelligenz" genannte Forschungsgebiet. Turings zentrale Frage "Kann eine Maschine denken?" war das Motiv seiner Arbeit und wird die Schlüsselfrage des Umgangs mit dem Computer werden. Die bis 1975 geheimgehaltene Tätigkeit Turings für den britischen Geheimdienst, die zur Entschlüsselung des deutschen Funkverkehrs führte, trug entscheidend zum Verlauf und Ausgang des Zweiten Weltkriegs bei. [via]

  • Il Pendolo Di Foucault
    by Umberto Eco
    ISBN 884524749X (88-452-4749-X)
    Softcover, Distribooks Inc

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'Il Pendolo Di Foucault'
    Book summary:

    ...questo romanzo magico sulla magia, questo romanzo misterioso sul segreto e sulla creatività della finzione, questo romanzo tumultuoso, questo romanzo luminoso su un mondo sotterraneo...Jacques Le Goff, L'espresso [via]

  • In Code: A Mathematical Journey
    by Sarah Flannery, David Flannery
    ISBN 1565123778 (1-56512-377-8)
    Softcover, Algonquin Books

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'In Code: A Mathematical Journey'
    Book summary:

    In January 1999, Sarah Flannery, a sports-loving teenager from Blarney in County Cork, Ireland, was awarded Ireland's Young Scientist of the Year for her extraordinary research and discoveries in Internet cryptography. The following day, her story began appearing in Irish papers and soon after was splashed across the front page of the London Times, complete with a photo of Sarah and a caption calling her "brilliant." Just sixteen, she was a mathematician with an international reputation.

    IN CODE is a heartwarming story that will have readers cheering Sarah on. Originally published in England and cowritten with her mathematician father, David Flannery, IN CODE is "a wonderfully moving story about the thrill of the mathematical chase" (Nature) and "a paean to intellectual adventure" (Times Educational Supplement). A memoir in mathematics, it is all about how a girl next door, nurtured by her family, moved from the simple math puzzles that were the staple of dinnertime conversation to prime numbers, the Sieve of Eratosthenes, Fermat's Little Theorem, googols-and finally into her breathtaking algorithm. Parallel with each step is a modest girl's own self-discovery-her values, her burning curiosity, the joy of persistence, and, above all, her love for her family. [via]

  • Thomas, Scarlett: Popco
    Popco
    by Scarlett Thomas
    ISBN 1841157635 (1-84115-763-5)
    Softcover, Fourth Estate

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'Popco'
    Book summary:

    PopCo tells the story of Alice Butler-a subversively smart girl in our commercial-soaked world who grows from recluse orphan to burgeoning vigilante, buttressed by mystery, codes, math, and the sense her grandparents gave her that she could change the world.

    Alice-slight introvert, crossword compositor- works at PopCo, a globally successful and slightly sinister toy company. Lured by their CEO to a Thought Camp out on the moors, PopCo's creatives must invent the ultimate product for teenage girls. Meanwhile, Alice receives bizarre, encrypted messages she suspects relate to her grandfather's decoding of a centuries-old manuscript that many-including her long-disappeared father-believe leads to buried treasure. Its key, she's sure, is engraved on the necklace she's been wearing since she was ten. Using the skills she learned from her grandparents and teaching us aspects of cryptanalysis, Alice discovers the source of these creepy codes. Will this lead her to the mysterious treasure or another, even more carefully guarded secret?
    [via]

  • The Rule Of Four
    by Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason
    ISBN 1844130053 (1-84413-005-3)
    Hardcover, Century

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'The Rule Of Four'
    Book summary:

    A New York Times Bestseller

    An ivy league murder, a mysterious coded manuscript, and the secrets of a Renaissance prince collide - a brilliant work of fiction that weaves together suspense and scholarship, high art and unimaginable treachery. Princeton. Good Friday, 1999. On the eve of graduation, two students are a hairsbreadth from solving the mysteries of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, a Renaissance text that has baffled scholars for centuries.

    Famous for its hypnotic power over those who study it, the book may finally reveal its secrets - to Tom Sullivan, whose father was obsessed with it, and Paul Harris, whose future depends on it - when an ancient diary surfaces. Armed with the final clue, the two friends delve into a world of forgotten erudition, strange sexual appetites, and terrible violence. But just as they begin to realize the magnitude of their discovery, the campus is rocked: a longtime student of the book has been murdered.

    Ian Caldwell was Phi Beta Kappa in history at Princeton University. He lives in Newport News, Virginia. Dustin Thomason won the Hoopes Prize at Harvard University. He lives in New York City. They began writing The Rule of Four after graduating in 1998. The two have been best friends since they were eight years old. [via]

  • Kahn, David: Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the German U-Boats Codes, 1939-1943
  • Zimmermann Telegram
    by Barbara Tuchman
    ISBN 0345324250 (0-345-32425-0)
    Softcover, Ballantine Books

    Find This Book

     

    Find signed collectible books: 'Zimmermann Telegram'
    Book summary:

    In the dark winter of 1917, as World War I was deadlocked, Britain knew that Europe could be saved only if the United States joined the war. But President Wilson remained unshakable in his neutrality. Then, with a single stroke, the tool to propel America into the war came into a quiet British office. One of countless messages intercepted by the crack team of British decoders, the Zimmermann telegram was a top-secret message from Berlin inviting Mexico to join Japan in an invasion of the United States: Mexico would recover her lost American territories while keeping the U.S. occupied on her side of the Atlantic. How Britain managed to inform America of Germany's plan without revealing that the German codes had been broken makes for an incredible, true story of espionage, intrigue, and international politics as only Barbara W. Tuchman could tell it. [via]

  • Spanish

    French

    Italian