Unsolved! - by Craig P Bauer (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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.

From the Back Cover

"Exceptional. Not only are these ciphers fascinating individually, but together they provide a comprehensive picture of the different methods and types of encryption, which Bauer explains and guides readers through in turn. I thoroughly enjoyed this book."--Todd S. Sauter, National Cryptologic Museum

"A great book and a major contribution."--Klaus Schmeh, author of Cryptography and Public Key Infrastructure on the Internet

"A welcome addition to the growing popular literature on cryptology. Bauer explains concepts very clearly and illustrates them with examples, so that the book is self-contained and requires little prerequisite mathematical or cryptological background knowledge on the part of the reader."--John W. Dawson, Jr., author of Logical Dilemmas: The Life and Work of Kurt Godel

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Review Quotes

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

"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

"A thoroughly engaging read."--Brian Clegg, Popular Science

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

"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

"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

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.