This book gives a broad overview of public-key cryptography, covering its essence and advantages, various public-key cryptosystems and protocols. It also gives a comprehensive introduction to classical cryptography and cryptanalysis. The book is self-contained and suitable both as a text and as a reference. It starts from the beginning but also includes some 1989 developments. The presentation is in many ways new, with some new results. The treatment is rigorous but avoids unnecessary formalism. The plaintext examples in the book form a package of basic knowledge.

---

Cryptography, secret writing, is enjoying a scientific renaissance following the seminal discovery in 1977 of public-key cryptography and applications in computers and communications. This book gives a broad overview of public-key cryptography - its essence and advantages, various public-key cryptosystems, and protocols - as well as a comprehensive introduction to classical cryptography and cryptoanalysis. The second edition has been revised and enlarged especially in its treatment of cryptographic protocols. From a review of the first edition: "This is a comprehensive review ... there can be no doubt that this will be accepted as a standard text. At the same time, it is clearly and entertainingly written ... and can certainly stand alone." Alex M. Andrew, Kybernetes, March 1992