hooliaquoolia's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very detailed history of the NSA's development from the early WWII years to the height of the Cold War. While its explanations of codes and the personalities behind policies are fascinating, it turns out there's very little that can make sheer bureaucracy exciting. Unfortunately a good chunk of this book was about funding, office politics, and mind-numbing government work. The appendices, however, are extremely interesting for the cryptologically-inclined reader.
myrto229's review against another edition
3.0
I tried to finish this, and I thought I'd love it because of my love of spies and espionage. But this was a super-detailed and researched book, and it was so dense that I just got lost in the details. I'll keep it on my list to try again someday. But for now it goes on my "couldn't finish" list.
detailsandtales's review
4.0
This book was packed full of information and history. It lost my interest more than once, and I almost gave it a 3, but the fascinating explanations in the appendices bumped it back up to a 4 for me.
becksri29's review
2.0
meh. this was kind of all over the place, and got a bit ramble-y at times. if I hadn't been listening to the audiobook as I fell asleep at night, I probably wouldn't have finished it.
kristina4109's review
4.0
As someone who grew up in the greater Washingtonian area, I now know that the old buildings that look like they hold the secrets of decades past, do. I found it super I interesting to read about the history of the NSA, especially given what we know ("know") today. Some of the code breaking tech and terminology went over my head even though the author does an incredible and thorough job explaining it all best he could.
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