Learning about Cryptography

I am interested in learning more about cryptography. Where could I obtain
some good, recent books on cryptography for the beginner.


--
"... In Germany they first came for the Communists and I
didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came
for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak
up because I wasn't a trade unionist.  Then they came for
up because I wasn't a trade unionist.  Then they came for
Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me-and by that time no one was left to
speak up..." Pastor Martin Niemoller

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* 		Matthew Murphy	------------ eggplant@inlink.com	                      *
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eggplant@inlink.com (eggplant) writes:
>
> I am interested in learning more about cryptography. Where could I obtain
> some good, recent books on cryptography for the beginner.

A number of people on this list will shout in unison, Schneier!, and they'll
probably be wrong.

For an absolute beginnger I'd suggest Abraham Sinkov, Elementary
Cryptanalysis, MAA: New mathematical library, ISBN 0-888385-622-0,
and Lawrence Dwight Smith, Cryptography, Dover, ISBN 0-486-20247-x.
If you want to learn more about the history of the field, try to
get the hardcover (unabridged) edition of David Kahn's _Codebreakers_.

(It might be a worthwhile project on run Kahn's book through an OCR
and to place it on Internet. :-)

If you want to understand the communication theory that underlies
modern cryptography, check out Dominic Welsh, Codes and Cryptography,
Oxford, ISBN 0-19-853287-3.

If you're teaching an undergraduate C course and are looking for examples
of badly written C code, then get Schneier's book. :-)

---

Dr. Dimitri Vulis
Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps