Popular Science Children's Review - Codes (Murderous Maths)

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Review - Codes: How to make them and break them - Kjartan Poskitt

A good, sound entry to the Murderous Maths series, though it is slightly puzzling that Scholastic, which already had a codes book in its The Knowledge series - Cracking Codes - should bring out another with a very strong overlap of content.

As usual, Kjartan Poskitt absolutely captures a style that will keep the younger reader interested, and gives lots of practical things to do in code making and breaking, as well as taking us through the history of codes and ciphers. Scrambling, substitution, one time pads and grids all make an entrance, as inevitably do both Mary Queen of Scots and the Enigma Machines (you even get the chance to make your own, Blue Peter-style Enigma machine with bits of paper and a pencil).

There are a few moans, but relatively slight ones. As I think has been commented in another review, the longer story sections, featuring Italian (or Italian/American) gangsters are the weakest - not only is the writing less effective than elsewhere, the story is a bit dull. I found the bit about Turing, which delicately skates around the fact that he committed suicide (and why) confusing - it was probably better to explain the facts, or not mention his life at all. When RSA is mentioned, it's a shame that the UK's Clifford Cocks, who devised the approach before the people mentioned, but wasn't allowed to tell anyone because he worked at GCHQ, doesn't get a look in. And it would have been good to have a mention of the quantum side of encryption - both that quantum computers could break the public key system, and that quantum encryption has the potential to be workable unbreakable encryption method - but perhaps that is being too fussy.

These are details, though, and the book should provide a great guide both to what codes and ciphers are and where they came from, and how to use them for fun and (hopefully not criminal) profit.

Only in paperback

Reviewed by Brian Clegg

* Our age range recommendation is an estimated guide, but individual readers outside the range could still enjoy the book!

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