Cracking Codes and Cryptogram For Dummies

John Wiley & Sons, October 2009
ISBN : 978-0-470-591000

Word Searches for Dummies was Denise's second book for Wiley, written in conjunction with Mark Koltko-Rivera.

It can be found on the shelf in American and Canadian bookstores, and bought on your favourite online bookshop!

• Wiley's page for the book
• Dummies Cheat Sheet
• Extra Cryptograms For Dummies by Denise

Reader Review

This is a fantastic book. I bought it so I could write messages to my students in code and found that it is sooo much more. It is very easy to read and really hooks you in right from the beginning.

There is a lot more to this book than first glance. It explained a lot about how to do codes & cryptograms and write them as well for me (at a beginner's level), but it was also really interesting for my husband who has studied formal logic & loves these sorts of brain twisters.

This one is worth buying - I'm thinking of buying another one so we aren't fighting all the time over who gets to read it.

(Amazon review by N. Coleman, 13 November 2009)

Reader Review

Having read "Cracking Codes and Cryptograms for Dummies" I believe that the book has a great deal of historic information. It also gives a lot of general information on how ciphers are made and used from when to now. The book also has a large amount of practice ciphers to help with understanding. I found the book to be extremely enlightening and would recommend it for anyone interested in cryptology.

(Amazon review by David S. Brockman, 17 November 2009)

What's in the book

Cracking Code and Cryptograms For Dummies is a unique puzzle book. Apart from giving you the usual background information on codes and ciphers, and instructions on how to solve them, the book presents three stories, created by Mark Koltko-Rivera. The three stories are set in different periods of American history. They are: The Conspiracy of West Point (1779-1780); The Conspiracy of the Golden Circle (1805-1875); and The Conspiracy of the Organisation (1978-2010).

Each story is told in a series of letters between various parties, including the conspirators. But these letters have been heavily censored! Each 'blank' part of the stories can be revealed by deciphering the cryptogram that is associated with that section of the letters.

This means that, rather than the usual collection of commonly seen quotations that most cryptogram books contain (and this book does contain a goodly number of these sorts of quotations, too), the cryptograms contain fragments of the three stories and letters, which makes the deciphering of them even more of a challenge!

There are around 12 different types of cryptograms, ciphers, and other word puzzles in the book, ranging from the commonly seen letter substitution cryptograms, to puzzles that use the letter keyboard on a mobile phone, and double level puzzles, where the answer to the first puzzle 'unlocks' a key for solving the second puzzle.

There is a hint for each and every cryptogram, anagram, and cryptic clue, to help you on your way, and full answers in the back of the book if you get really stuck.

Part I: Code and Cryptogram Strategies

• Chapter 1: Clueing You In about Codes and Cryptograms. A brief history of cryptography, including early ciphers, ciphers used in the world wars, and Masonic codes and ciphers (Mark)
• Chapter 2: Cracking the Codes. Full instructions on how to crack all of the cryptograms in the book

Part II: Secret Stories, Codes, and Cryptogram Puzzles

• Chapter 3: Solving Three Conspiracies (Mark)
• Chapter 4: Letter Substitution Cryptograms
• Chapter 5: Number Substitution Cryptograms
• Chapter 6: Symbol Substitution Cryptograms
• Chapter 7: Caesar / Shift Ciphers
• Chapter 8: Masonic Ciphers
• Chapter 9: Rail Fence Ciphers
• Chapter 10: Keyboard Codes
• Chapter 11: Assorted Ciphers
• Chapter 12: Anagrams and Cryptic Clues
• Chapter 13: Double Level Puzzles

Part III: Hints and Answers

• Chapter 14: Hints to Help Crack the Cryptograms and Puzzles
• Chapter 15: Answers to All Cryptograms and Puzzles
• Appendix: Historical Background to the Conspiracy Stories (Mark)

Mark Koltko-Rivera, a senior Mason from New York, wrote the chapter on the history of cryptography, and he created the three stories which Denise turned into the cryptograms.

Read some reader reviews on Amazon.

Reader Review

I thought I was familiar with cryptograms - you know, those letter-substitution puzzles found in the paper. And I wondered how one could produce an entire book dedicated to those puzzles. Well, turns out those are just the tip of the cryptogram iceberg. This book has some of those, but also nine more types of cryptograms and ciphers for your puzzling pleasure.

The book starts with a very brief history of cryptograms, ciphers, and codes, and their used throughout history. I do wish there had been a bit more on codebreaking.

But this book is really about solving these types of puzzles, and it has plenty of them. They make up the bulk of the book. From substitution cryptograms to Masonic ciphers to keyboard codes and beyond--this book will keep even the fastest solver busy for months (and those of us who are a bit slower--probably years!). And if you get stuck, there's a section that offers clues to the puzzles.

There's also a twist to all the puzzles: they're all part of a broader story solved by inserting the completed cryptos into the text. This not only gives an incentive to solve all the puzzles, but also adds an element of difficulty: rather than each puzzle being a famous quotation (like the newspaper version), it's instead a seemingly random sentence or phrase.

(Amazon review by EllenE, 18 December 2009)