The German Enigma Cipher Machine ― Beginnings, Success, and Ultimate Failure

It was formidable, and it was deadly. The nazi Enigma cipher machine, or rather the code that came from it would also have remained indeterminable had an operator not made a very simple error. In this collection of several dozen papers on the machine and its implications in a variety of disciplines, ranging from history to memoir and even foreign relations, with topics such as reviews of historical perspectives, an assessment of why the nazis lost the code war, a description of Bletchley Park where so many brilliant minds worked so very hard, and a number of primary document illustrating the allied reactions to Enigma and its solution. The editors provide a concise introduction to bring readers into synch with the papers here, and a number of contributors offer reviews of related books and other materials. Annotation c2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)