(Including Amazon links, but just for convenience, buy wherever you want)

Code by Petzold (https://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Softw...) - non-technical (in the sense it isn't something to "work through"), covers a lot of interesting topics. Especially approachable for that age.

Elements of Computing Systems by Nisan & Schoken (https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Computing-Systems-second-Pri...) - more technical (has content to work through). I've read the first edition, not the second. Has a companion site: https://www.nand2tetris.org. It's well-written, and a motivated high schooler could work through it.

The Code Book by Singh (https://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptograph...)

The Codebreakers by Kahn (https://www.amazon.com/Codebreakers-Comprehensive-History-Co...)

I was always interested in ciphers and such as a kid so those two books got my attention when I found them in high school/college. I'm a bit fuzzy, now, about which one I was more interested in but both were good books. (I still have them, may give them a re-read next month.)

There are a few others I have in mind, but just can't recall the titles at the moment.

I recently read Simon Singhs book "The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography" [1]: it is very fun and readable about this (and many other) cipher.

https://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptograph...

This looks like it could have been inspired by the Cipher Challenge[1] from The Code Book[2], which starts with monoalphabetic substitution problems.

1. http://simonsingh.net/cryptography/cipher-challenge/the-ciph...

2. http://www.amazon.com/The-Code-Book-Science-Cryptography/dp/...

Another good book, but broader than just Enigma, The Code Book by Simon Singh:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Code-Book-Science-Cryptography/dp/...

Yep, sorry I wasn't at my computer when I posted the message. Here it is: http://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptography...

The American Black Chamber (there's some controversy surrounding the author, too)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Black_Chamber

Enigma: The Battle for the Code (I think that's the one I read)

http://www.amazon.com/Enigma-Battle-Code-Hugh-Sebag-Montefio...

I know I read one specifically about breaking Purple, but can't seem to track it down (I don't believe it's the William F. Friedman bio).

I haven't read this one, but it also seems to be what you're looking for (and has a decent rating):

http://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Secret-History-Code-breaking...

(You might check a public/university library for these and related titles--that's where I found them.)

Naked links offer varying level of affordance on different platforms. I've frequently been on systems (or networks) in which following through on individual links is a pain. What's particularly annoying in this case is that Amazon's full links do include item descriptions (for books: the title) in them, though you'd have to click through to the links here, search the fucking title and then click on that link before you get what you're looking for:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743217349 fully expanded is:

http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Wits-Complete-Story-Codebreakin...

e12e's comment was helpful: it supported the original post and included additional information of use to others. And as it happens, Singh's The Code Book was not included in the original list. You can find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptography...

munin would have performed a superior service (remember: writing is for the benefit of the reader) if he'd at least included descriptive URLs, if not the titles of the works in question.

And your attitude could use considerable improvement.

Simon Singh's "The Code Book" is a good overview and well written.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Code-Book-Science-Cryptography/dp/...

For those interested in learning more, Simon Singh's "The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography"[1] has a great chapter explaining in detail the creative breakthroughs that allowed Turing to break the Enigma machine when it was stumping pretty much everyone else at Bletchley Park.

--

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Code-Book/dp/0385495323

If you'd like a great non-technical tour of how computers really work conceptually, starting from simple morse-code switches through to assembler, Charles Petzold's "Code" is awesome:

http://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Softwa...

Even having understood for years how computers work in principal, nothing quite put it together for me like this book.

There's a similarly great book on the history/methods of cryptography called "The Code Book" by Simon Singh that I recommend too - http://www.amazon.com/The-Code-Book-Science-Cryptography/dp/... It's great because it traces the history but also walks you through how the cyphers actually worked, and provides the best intros I've ever seen to public key and quantum cryptography.

"The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography" http://www.amazon.com/The-Code-Book-Science-Cryptography/dp/... has a chapter about the Enigma. This book is easy to read as a nice intro to many crypto topics.

"Alan Turing: The Enigma" http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Turing-Enigma-Andrew-Hodges/dp/08... , supposedly the best biography of Turing, I enjoyed it. There's quite a bit on his work on the Enigma but not technical.

I highly agree with linguist on this point. It's very unlikely a homophonic substitution was used here. It's more complicated than you'd think. A great read on the subject can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptography... if anyone's interested in learning more about cryptography. Very interesting.

If you're looking for an overview of cryptography in an easy-to-digest format, take a look at:

  The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptography...

It is light on the math but Simon Singh does a great job reviewing cryptography over the last 4000 years. It was a fun summer read.

Is the book you were referring to "The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography" by Simon Singh?

Amazon link - http://amzn.to/dlNAeO

It's on my reading shelf right now, but I have not gotten around to reading it. I think your comment just might make that happen. Thanks for the recommendation

Simon Singh is the star speaker. His specialty is taking very dry subjects and writing about them in a way that makes them fascinating. "The Code Book" is his best IMO http://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptography...

tangental - Simon Singh (the guy being sued) is the author of this excellent book on cryptography http://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptography...

And there is a lot of its history on the Code Book http://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptography...