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lukerik's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.0
A history of codebreaking from the 19th Century to the end of WWII. It focuses on Bletchley Park and Colossus. Original research. Looking at Gannon’s sources there’s some really dull stuff, but somehow he’s managed to turn them into something really interesting. It’s often technical. Not tables-of-mathematics technical, but still a challenge. Codebreakers will have no problem following along, but I lost sight of the minutiae somewhere along the way. It helps that he opens with 19th Century naval signals using hatches because my brain could follow the switch to electronics with the Vernon cypher. Beyond that, well there’s a reason I’d be working in a supply depot if there was a war. It would have helped if the book had pictures.
Particularly good was his setting of Colossus in it’s historical context. Not to understate the achievement, but it’s been invented with vacuum tubes but not in a vacuum haha. Would recommend to anyone interested in the history of computers or if you want to see WWII from a different perspective.
Particularly good was his setting of Colossus in it’s historical context. Not to understate the achievement, but it’s been invented with vacuum tubes but not in a vacuum haha. Would recommend to anyone interested in the history of computers or if you want to see WWII from a different perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
lordofthemoon's review against another edition
3.0
This book, about the history of codebreaking during the second world war, didn't really grab me, I'm afraid. The eponymous machine itself was barely mentioned until almost half way through and it didn't seem to have focus. That was the point, I suppose, it was providing an overview, but it was never really able to hold my interest properly.
It was interesting to learn about the different types of enciphering that went on during the war, though, and the fact that the British government, when it eventually got around to releasing the papers about them, went out of its way to downplay Colossus and the Ultra code by playing up Enigma.
It was interesting to learn about the different types of enciphering that went on during the war, though, and the fact that the British government, when it eventually got around to releasing the papers about them, went out of its way to downplay Colossus and the Ultra code by playing up Enigma.