"MIKE SHAW" wrote on 1999-06-01 15:43 UTC:
> Can anyone recommend some entry level cryptography books?
> I'm looking for something that will just start to get into the
> nitty-gritty of the math involved.
Those who are more comfortable with reading German than Mathematics and
who are looking for a really entry-level book will enjoy
Alfred Beutelspacher: Kryptologie.
Vieweg, 1996, ISBN 3-528-48990-1, 34.00 DEM, 179 p.
"Eine Einfuehrung in die Wissenschaft vom Verschl�sseln, Verbergen
und Verheimlichen; ohne alle Geheimniskr�merei, aber nicht ohne
hinterlistigen Schalk, dargestellt zum Nutzen und Erg�tzen des
allgemeinen Publikums."
This is a very well-written book by a German professor of mathematics
that specifically addresses the non-specialist reader that is scared by
mathematics but has a desire to learn about cryptography and its
applications. Lots of nice bed-time reading stories about Alice, Bob,
and friends, covering a surprising range or cryptographic protocols with
extremely little formal ballast in a rather entertaining way.
I don't know unfortunately, whether someone has translated it already
into English.
[Canonical answers:
Schneier, "Applied Cryptography"
Menezes & Oorschot, "Handbook of Applied Cryptography".]
Scheier is a book for the applied mind (programmer and application
designer) without much interest in theoretical foundations, Menezes &
Oorschot is for someone looking for a comprehensive treatment of the
field. "Stinson: Cryptography - Theory and Practice, CRC Press" is also
a good addition to that list, especially if it is for a university
course, since it does provide a better fundamental treatment than
especially Schneier without trying to be as comprehensive as Menezes &
Oorschot.
Markus
--
Markus G. Kuhn, Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, UK
Email: mkuhn at acm.org, WWW: <http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/>
