Need a Comprehensive Cryptography Text

[DivisionByZro]

As per the title, I need a cryptography book that does not shy away from math. To me it seems like many crypto books are scared of presenting the theory from a mathematician's perspective. I was recommended Cryptography : Theory and Practice by Stinson, can anyone comment on it?

Any help is very appreciated :)

 

[Simon Bridge]

You mean besides the Bruce Schneier ones?

 

[DivisionByZro]

I'm assuming you're alluding perhaps to Practical Cryptography by Schneier and Ferguson? It seems to cover quite a few introductory topics, but exactly how "mathy" does it get? I'll have to drop by our library today to check them out, but recommendations from experienced people is always a plus. Some of the reviews on Amazon for the above book sort of worry me about the quality and mathematical rigor of the text (I take them with a grain of salt nonetheless). Here are a few excerpts from reviews:

"The book has surprisingly little math, if any."

"Recently I spoke with a PhD, from Brown, who performed decades of research in number theory. He recommended "Cryptography in C and C++," by Michael Welschenbach. He also said "I don't know why people think Applied Cryptography is such a good book. He [Schneier] doesn't seem to understand the mathematics very well.""

"At the end of the book, they warn you that a good
implementation is so hard that you really should hire an
expert to do it"

Why am I learning about cryptography if I'm just going to let someone else do the work for me? What kind of book is this??

Ideally I need something along the lines of "Cryptography and Number Theory". I've already taken an intro course in number theory, so it does not have to be a very basic text. Thanks again for the help.

 

[wisvuze]

Here is one:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0387942939/?tag=pfamazon01-20

and another:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/3642083323/?tag=pfamazon01-20 Both by Neal Koblitz, you've probably heard of him. The second book is a little more brief, and requires some algebra knowledge

 

[Simon Bridge]

I'll take that as a "yes" then...

You realize that Practical Cryptography is not the only book he's written?
Applied Cryptography?

But it kinda depends what you want to know - "cryptography" is pretty broad so "introductory" type books will be math-light, describing the field, and "practical" type books will be more like cookbooks - a bit of background theory and a lot of recipes.

OTOH: once you have an overview, you can refine your focus.
Getting these from a library is probably a good idea.

Ideally I need something along the lines of "Cryptography and Number Theory".

Ah, you want to know about mathematical codes and algorithms and the fundamentals of how they work? Then Neal Koblitz would be it :) Cheers wisvuze.

 

[DivisionByZro]

Thanks wis, for some reason I didn't immediately see those on amazon.com. It's pretty much exactly what I wanted to go along with my other book.