The Code Book by Simon Singh
Published 1999 · 528 pages · 110,000 words · about 7 hours at an average pace · History, Nonfiction, Science & Nature
How hard is The Code Book to read?
The Code Book scores 26 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it relatively accessible. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.
- Vocabulary: 38 out of 100
- Mathematical and cryptographic terminology made accessible.
- Sentence structure: 30 out of 100
- Abstraction: 42 out of 100
- Abstract mathematical concepts explained through historical narrative.
- Information density: 50 out of 100
- Dense with mathematical, historical, and technical content.
- Narrative indirection: 100 out of 100
- Chronological history. Direct exposition.
- Symbolic density: 100 out of 100
- Analytical. Minimal symbolism.
- Ironic distance: 80 out of 100
- Enthusiastic, explanatory tone.
- Resolution withholding: 100 out of 100
- Ends with unsolved problems in quantum cryptography.
- Structural complexity: 28 out of 100
- Chronological with technical digressions.
How The Code Book is regarded
The Code Book holds a literary regard score of 46 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.