From Stephen Levy—the author who made hackers a household word—comes this account of a revolution that is already affecting every citizen in the twenty-first century. Crypto tells the inside story of how a group of crypto rebels—nerds and visionaries turned freedom fighters—teamed up with corporate interests to beat Big Brother and ensure our privacy on the Internet. Levy''s history of one of the most controversial and important topics of the digital age reads like the best futuristic fiction.
^Steven LevyCrypto : Secrecy and Privacy in the New Code War by Steven Levy (2001, Paperback)ISBN 9780140244328 (revised Apr 2015)
^Steven Levy (2001). Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital Age, Penguin (Non-Classics). Amazon. ISBN 9780140244328 (revised Nov 2014)
^ (2015). Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government--Saving Privacy in the Digital AgeBiggerBooks. ISBN 9780140244328 (revised Jan 2024)
^Crypto: How The Code Rebels Beat The Government--saving Privacy In The Digital AgeIndigo. ISBN 9780140244328 (revised Oct 2022)
This book is an entertaining account of many of the people and episodes involved in making cryptography and cryptanalysis a respectable and important topic of work for scientists and engineers not affiliated with any government agency. The incidents recounted that I happen to know about personally are well and accurately described here. But there are a couple of gaps.
Steve Levy presents an accurate picture of the events surrounding todays crypto debate in his book "Crypto." Unfortunately, he does it with the same narrative style he uses for his magazine articles. The result is that the events are correct, but the story unfolds more like a textbook, not a novel.
Levy is one of my favorite essayists. He finds a compelling story, researches it exhaustively, and then shares his excitement. The history of Internet cryptography is a perfect subject for Levy, who delights in recounting stories about technoradicals with new ideas who see them through to fruition.
