Encryption has been a crucial tool for securing military and commercial messages throughout history. Over time, the methods of codebreaking have evolved, from ancient techniques like engraving stone tablets to modern technologies like computers. One example of this evolution is the Enigma machine, which is based on the 15th-century Alberti polyalphabetic substitution cipher disk. This disk, invented by Leon Battista Alberti in 147, was used to encrypt messages for the Vatican and is considered a precursor to modern computers. For more information on Alberti, check out "The Renaissance Man: Portrait of a Spymaster."

If you're interested in improving your pattern recognition and problem-solving skills, you'll love the puzzles in this book. Our cryptograms, word scrambles, word searches, cross sums, cell structures, and number place puzzles will challenge you and help you decode encrypted messages. Start solving today and see how far you can go!

Michael Anthony Alberta