It was formidable, and it was deadly. The nazi Enigma cipher machine, or rather the code that came from it would also have remained indeterminable had an operator not made a very simple error. In this collection of several dozen papers on the machine and its implications in a variety of disciplines, ranging from history to memoir and even foreign relations, with topics such as reviews of historical perspectives, an assessment of why the nazis lost the code war, a description of Bletchley Park where so many brilliant minds worked so very hard, and a number of primary document illustrating the allied reactions to Enigma and its solution. The editors provide a concise introduction to bring readers into synch with the papers here, and a number of contributors offer reviews of related books and other materials. Annotation 2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
