David Koontz writes:

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From: Karl Lui Barrus <klbarrus@owlnet.rice.edu>

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I have this book - "Cryptography and Secure Communications" by Man Young Rhee. It covers basic cryptography (number theory, DES, block ciphers, stream ciphers, public key systems) and also communications (BCH codes, Reed-Solomon Codes, Error control for cryptosystems).

If you like the Meyer/Matras book 'Crptography', you'll like this one.

Hoo boy, I _hate_ the Meyer & Matras "Cryptography" (1982) book! (I shelled out $60 in 1987 for this one, and that was a lot of money for a book back then.) Intensely dry and detailed on DES, with few if any "big picture" analyses, and no mention of modern protocols of the sort that usually interest us. Given the publication date, and the authors' employment at IBM (in the Lucifer/DES group), this is not all that surprising. I've only skimmed the Rhee book. In fact, I almost skimmed it again this afternoon at Barnes and Noble, due to the mention by Karl. My VERY STRONG OPINION (sorry for raising my voice) is that Schneier's book is all ye know and all ye need to know! That is, you folks out there asking about crypto books should immediately acquire Schneier's book...others have said this and it is manifestly so. If you finish Schneier, you'll be well-prepared to evaluate the other books, based on your own special interests and abilities. --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."