Codebreaking: A Practical Guide, now available!

[proto57]

The new book by Elonka Dunin and Klaus Schmeh is now available around the world, from this site:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Codebrea ... 1472144218

I had been waiting for a US Amazon release... apparently there is no USA outlet yet, not on Amazon in any case... except for one Amazon seller also from Great Britain. But the above linked source, from The Book Depository, states,

"US$23.86
Free delivery worldwide Available. Dispatched from the UK in 2 business days
Expected to be delivered to the United States by Christmas".

So I just ordered my copy from them. At some point the authors will be signing book plates, and sending them to purchasers to add to their copies.

Full disclosure: I'm happy to say I number Elonka and Klaus among my friends. But this is a book that I would have on my cipher shelf, no matter who the authors. As I wrote when first announcing the book, in another post,

"There will be a section on the Voynich Manuscript, which makes sense as it is probably the most famous unsolved cipher/code/language, and also, because our friends Elonka and Klaus are two of the world's premiere Voynich experts.

What seems to set this book apart is that it does not only contain challenges for the reader, but also instructs them on how to solve, with paper and pencil, many classic ciphers. That is, it has method with it. I find myself at a loss with many classic ciphers, which are described in great detail in many books, and on the web... but then leaving me to determine the best attack for them. But that means re-inventing the wheel each time.

This book gives the methods, and so picks up where many other books leave off. From the Amazon Germany site:

"This practical guide to breaking codes and solving cryptograms by two world experts, Elonka Dunin and Klaus Schmeh, describes the most common encryption techniques along with methods to detect and break them. It fills a gap left by outdated or very basic-level books."

And, "The book's focus is very much on breaking pencil-and-paper, or manual, encryption methods. Its focus is also largely on historical encryption. Although manual encryption has lost much of its importance due to computer technology, many people are still interested in deciphering messages of this kind."