Unsolved!: The History and Mystery of the World's Greatest Ciphers from Ancient Egypt to Online Secret Societies

by Craig P. Bauer

Overview

A mathematical tour of some of the greatest unsolved ciphers of all time

In 1953, a man was found dead from cyanide poisoning near the Philadelphia airport with a picture of a Nazi aircraft in his wallet and an enciphered message taped to his abdomen. In 1912, a book dealer named Wilfrid Voynich came into possession of an illuminated cipher manuscript once belonging to Emperor Rudolf II, who was obsessed with alchemy and the occult. Wartime codebreakers tried—and failed—to unlock the book’s secrets, and it remains an enigma to this day. In this lively and entertaining book, Craig Bauer examines these and other vexing ciphers yet to be cracked. Some may reveal the identity of a spy or serial killer, provide the location of buried treasure, or expose a secret society—while others may be elaborate hoaxes. He lays out the evidence surrounding each cipher, describes the efforts to decipher it, and invites readers to try their hand at puzzles that have stymied so many others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691192291
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	06/18/2019
Pages:	640
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Craig P. Bauer is professor of mathematics at York College of Pennsylvania. He is editor in chief of the journal Cryptologia, has served as a scholar in residence at the NSA’s Center for Cryptologic History, and is the author of Secret History: The Story of Cryptology.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

1 A King’s Quest 1

2 Ancient Ciphers 89

3 Dorabella 127

4 Zodiac 155

5 More Killer Ciphers 195

6 From the Victims 245

7 From Beyond the Grave? 316

8 A Challenge Cipher 347

9 More Challenge Ciphers 372

10 Long Ciphers 470

11 ET and RSA 495

Notes 531

References and Further Reading 557

Photo and Illustration Credits 599

Index 607

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The Da Vinci Code has nothing on this exhaustive collection of cryptographs and codes—because these are real.”—Discover Magazine

“A thoroughly engaging read.”—Brian Clegg, Popular Science

“Unsolved! spans a huge arc of time and space, from Julius Caesar’s simple substitution cipher to composer Edward Elgar’s 1897 Dorabella Cipher.”—Andrew Robinson, Nature

“Bauer proves an able and entertaining guide to the world of real-life ciphers, codes, and encryption. . . . Unsolved! is suited to all who enjoy the thrill of the chase.”—Peter Dabbene, Foreword Reviews

“An in-depth guide to history’s greatest unsolved conundrums.”—BBC Focus

“I am blown away by this book. I have never read a non-fiction book before that is so thrillingly entertaining.”—Adhemar Bultheel, European Mathematical Society

Editorial Reviews

"The Da Vinci Code has nothing on this exhaustive collection of cryptographs and codes—because they are real. From a still-indecipherable 14th-century manuscript to spy communications to the infamous coded taunts of the Zodiac Killer, Bauer shows how experts try to crack the case."

Discover Magazine

"He carefully introduces numerous encryption techniques as he goes along, from simple substitution ciphers – according to which each letter corresponds to another – right through to the modern RSA cryptosystem, which relies on the ease of multiplying prime numbers but the difficulty of factorizing a large number as a product of primes. He gives examples, and works through the steps clearly and carefully, so that the explanations will be accessible to a wide audience, not only those with mathematical experience"

Times Literary Supplement

"Bauer is a very enjoyable storyteller. He takes just enough detours into the mathematics of codebreaking to give the book technical depth without moving too far away from the stories, which are often filled with suspense, thrills, and even murder."

Math Horizons

"An in-depth guide to history's greatest unsolved conundrums."

BBC Focus

"Unsolved! spans a huge arc of time and space, from Julius Caesar's simple substitution cipher to composer Edward Elgar's 1897 Dorabella Cipher. . . . The book's combination of convincing logic and . . . speculation is a familiar mix to those of us interested in undeciphered writing."—-Andrew Robinson, Nature

From the Publisher