Enigma Myth Deciphered : Codebreakers, Commanders and Politicians / by Marek Grajek.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grajek, Marek.

Series:

History of Information Security, 2662-7566

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Data protection.

Data and Information Security.

Local Subjects:

Data and Information Security.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (509 pages)

Edition:

1st ed. 2025.

Place of Publication:

Cham : Springer Nature Switzerland : Imprint: Springer, 2025.

Summary:

This unique new volume analyses source documents both previously known and recently declassified, generating an extremely broad and original synthesis about Enigma. The author uses his experience as a cryptologist to fill in gaps in the sources or to correct misguided interpretations, also adding the passion of a journalist, drawing a vivid picture of the characters and the story. As a Pole, he presents this story through the lens of the fate of the Polish mathematicians who were the first to break the cipher as early as 1932 and laid the foundations for the subsequent Allied success. The book’s coverage ranges from the mathematical foundations of codebreaking, through the complex fates of the people and organisations involved in the attacks on the Enigma ciphers, the impact of decrypts on the fate of the major campaigns of the Second World War, to the role that wartime cryptology and codebreakers played in the birth of digital civilisation. The Polish mathematicians’ story is presented in the full context of the struggle with the cipher, including the complex interplay between codebreakers, military commanders and politicians of the UK, US, Poland, France, and the Third Reich. By looking at events through the eyes of a cryptologist rather than solely as a historian, the reader is given a glimpse into the backstage of the cryptologic workshop; a better understanding of the scale and nature of the challenges codebreakers faced; and insights into their responses to those challenges, as well as the emotions, dilemmas, disappointments, and triumphs involved. Dr. Marek Grajek holds an M.Sc. in computer science, a Ph.D. in economics, and an M.A. in journalism. His research, authoring, and journalistic activities relate to the history of cryptology and the secret services. His related Polish-language book, Enigma: Bliżej Prawdy, was the Polish History Book of the Year in 2008.

Contents:

Introduction

Dawn of the Machine Cryptography

Mechanical Challenge

Flying Start

Codebreakers

Breakthrough Time

Race

Transfusion of Hope

First Game

In the Darkness

Concerto Without Audience

Bombe

Britannia Rules the Waves

Sikorski's Tourists

Relatives Come to the Fore

Ocean Hunting

Mediterranean Interlude

The Americans Are Coming

Black Hole

Danger

Intelligence Factory

Postscriptum: Men, Machines, Ideas

Index

Bibliography.

Other Format:

Print version: Grajek, Marek Enigma Myth Deciphered

ISBN:

9783031654756

OCLC:

1472980117