Thomas F. (hardtack) -
I am fascinated by the history of codes. The strategic and tactical impact of the codes wars on the actual fighting is still not understood by most people. It wasn't until 30 years after World War II the story began to emerge. I bet the 'great' military leaders had a hand in this. After all, almost anyone can be a great general or admiral if they are reading the other side's secrets on a daily basis.
So I have an entire shelf or more devoted to books on the code wars.
While this is also a good book, which reveals some aspects of the code wars I was unfamiliar with, it did present me some problems. My fascination with the code wars does not extend to the making and breaking of codes themselves. I've tried, many times, to understand the basic principles, but am just not capable of doing so. This book spends about half its time explaining how codes work and how they were broken. I ended up just skipping those sections.
If I was ever selected to assist a code group, my best effort would be to just sweep up the crumpled paper from the floor and keep the work space neat. The author gives an example of an American, who was declared unfit for service due to flat feet, who had less than a high-school education, who was hired to stamp coded intercepts with a date marker. His resulting interest in codes led to him being in charge of a code breaking group within a few months. He may not have gone to college, but the mind God gave him was suited to code work.
The book also gives a more detailed discussion of the amazing efforts of the Polish officers and graduate students who broke the German Enigma code. It also discusses what happened to them after Poland, and then France, fell. This is only mentioned briefly in other books. If not for these brave and brilliant Poles, the war might have taken a nasty turn.
So I have an entire shelf or more devoted to books on the code wars.
While this is also a good book, which reveals some aspects of the code wars I was unfamiliar with, it did present me some problems. My fascination with the code wars does not extend to the making and breaking of codes themselves. I've tried, many times, to understand the basic principles, but am just not capable of doing so. This book spends about half its time explaining how codes work and how they were broken. I ended up just skipping those sections.
If I was ever selected to assist a code group, my best effort would be to just sweep up the crumpled paper from the floor and keep the work space neat. The author gives an example of an American, who was declared unfit for service due to flat feet, who had less than a high-school education, who was hired to stamp coded intercepts with a date marker. His resulting interest in codes led to him being in charge of a code breaking group within a few months. He may not have gone to college, but the mind God gave him was suited to code work.
The book also gives a more detailed discussion of the amazing efforts of the Polish officers and graduate students who broke the German Enigma code. It also discusses what happened to them after Poland, and then France, fell. This is only mentioned briefly in other books. If not for these brave and brilliant Poles, the war might have taken a nasty turn.
