2 Opinion The key question for readers of this column is "If I want to work in or teach a course in crypto , then should I read this book?" The answer is an emphatic YES for the following reasons . 1. The need for public key crypto is realized vividly when contrasted with the history of th e field . One can say that public key crypto has solved an 3000-year old open problem . 2. Many "unbreakable code" have been broken . This reinforces the need for rigor and at th e same time gives us a healthy skepticism of that rigor . 3. There are many stories here to tell a class to liven up a lecture . 4. It is good to have a notion of which systems were actually used . My class was surprised that 1-time pads were ever actually used they had assumed they were just some weir d theory-thing . In summary, I recommend this book for anyone interested in teaching or doing research i n crypto . Too often we forget the origins of the problems we are working on . This book is a n excellent solution
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