Books by Center for Cryptologic History

The Central Bureau Brisbane (CBB) and the Fleet Radio Unit Melbourne (FRUMEL) played vital, if largely unheralded, parts in supporting military operations in the Southwest Pacific in World War II. The communications intelligence (COMINT) they produced was often a major factor in decision making by General Douglas MacArthur, his staff, and other senior leaders in the struggle to prevent further Japanese conquests and to retake captured territory. The Quiet Heroes of the Southwest Pacific Theater: An Oral History of the Men and Women of CBB and FRUMEL fills many gaps in our knowledge of CBB and FRUMEL. It presents a unique portrait of the COMINT production process in wartime. COMINT production in World War II was an extremely complex endeavor. One major theme is how diverse aspects of the process combined to produce the intelligence distributed to commanders. Of particular interest is the subtle and supportive interplay between cryptanalysis and traffic analysis. Other factors, such as rudimentary machine processing and lucky discoveries on the battlefield, also contributed to the process. As a complex and cooperative process, however, the production of COMINT depended on a strong organizational structure which could meld components and make them work - and work quickly enough to product COMINT in time for operational use. It is not a contradiction to say that this organization also needed a structure which would get the best out of its brilliant staff. CBB and FRUMEL were successful in both counts.

The Voynich manuscript, often dubbed ¿the world¿s most mysterious manuscript,¿ is a remarkable conglomeration, written in an unknown script and language and profusely illustrated with carefully rendered images of unidentified plants, enigmatic astronomical drawings, and puzzling human figures. Known to have existed since the late 16th century, when it was owned by the physician of that most enigmatic of rulers, the Emperor Rudolf II of Austria, it has been labeled variously as a magical manual, a herbarium, and a hoax. Both scholarly researchers and individual enthusiasts have linked this remarkable document to the Hermetic tradition, astrology, demonic and angelic magic, alchemy, the Cabala, and the history of Hindu-Arabic numerals. Many believe that it is an enormous ¿ and so far indecipherable ¿ book code within which the secrets of one or more of these subjects are concealed. "The Voynich Manuscript: An Elegant Enigma" provides a careful examination of this last hypothesis while also touching upon the myriad other possibilities raised by previous researchers. It gives a brief history of this mysterious work and a detailed discussion of the many unsuccessful attempts to crack the presumed code or cipher, or at least discover whether it is written in a natural or artificial language. This fascinating study from the U.S. National Security Agency also raises the possibility, suggested more frequently in recent years, that the Voynich manuscript is a hoax. It concludes that, if so, the hoaxer must have labored for many years to create it ¿ surely too much effort for very little known return. Also, given the penchant of early modern scientists and philosophers to disguise their researches through the use of symbols and allegory, its obscurity is not unprecedented, although obviously extreme. Whether a hoax, a cipher, or a key to the infinite, this account of the Voynich manuscript and the efforts to probe its true meaning tells a great true story that rivals any bestselling novel. Scholars, puzzle solvers, and anyone interested in historical mysteries will find much to ponder in this indispensable study.