Book Review: Cryptography is both a science and an art

Don’t let the catchy title fool you: this crash course is an engaging, perfectly paced introduction to cryptography. Computer scientist Panos Louridas jokingly describes cryptography as “the art and science of keeping and revealing secrets.” Cryptography isn’t just a hacker’s language; it’s essential to the security technologies we use every day, from our search history to our gym locker codes. This book covers both the history and principles of the field, complete with well-designed diagrams that will put your crypto skills to the test. In just five chapters, Louridas unravels how to organize a wide range of topics into something that can be overwhelming, in an easy-to-understand, fun way.