Books and Things
This link will be used to post the title of books, articles and references to material that might be of interest to those that like to read about NSA, its history and cryptology in general. If you come across such material and you think others might be interested, send the information to ncmfweb@aol.com and it will be added to this page
Special Note: The items listed on this page are provided for the information of visitors to the web site – the NCMF is not endorsing or promoting the purchase of anything listed here.
Menwith Hill Station - posted 8/27/10
When most of us were at the Agency, "Menwith Hill" was merely the name of a station in England but most of us knew nothing more than that about it. But now, by going to the http://cndyorks.gn.apc.org/mhs/ you can see a variety of pictures of it (including a satellite view), and read extensive information about its history, its functions, its targeting, etc. in unbelievable detail.
Inside the Red Machine: Movie Explores WWII Espionage & Codebreaking - posted 8/6/10
The new independent film The Red Machine is a World War II espionage thriller aimed at puzzlers. Five-time American Crossword Puzzle Tournament champ Tyler Hinman delves into what makes this film tick.
To read more about the film go to: http://www.redmachinethemovie.com/about.html
Last WWII American Indian Code Talker from North Dakato Dies - posted 6/30/10
The last of the American Indian code talkers of South Dakota who served
during World War II has been laid to rest.
Clarence Wolf Guts of Wanblee was buried Tuesday in Black Hills National
Cemetery near Sturgis. The 86-year-old died June 16 at the South Dakota
Veterans Home in Hot Springs.
Wolf Guts was one of 11 Lakota, Nakota and Dakota code talkers from
South Dakota. During the war, they transmitted messages from an Army
general to his chief of staff in the field using their native language,
which the Germans and the Japanese could not translate.
For additional information, including a photo of Mr. Guts, go to:
http://themoderatevoice.com/77785/last-of-the-code-talkers-dies/
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_9668c6fe-7a8a-11df-ab6b-001cc4c002e0.html
Arlington (VA) woman helped break coded German messages, including those about D-Day
As one of the first women admitted into the Navy in 1942, known as WAVES, Jimmie Lee Long worked as a code-breaker in a department that eventually became the National Security Agency. Hundreds of women served with her, their efforts classified and unsung for years.
Read more at: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/06/05/2242321/arlington-woman-helped-break-coded.html#ixzz0qCM79e8d
Famous Unsolved Codes and Ciphers
The site referenced below provides an unofficial list of well-known unsolved codes and ciphers. A couple of the better-known unsolved ancient historical scripts are also thrown in, since they tend to come up during any discussion of unsolved codes. There has also been an attempt to sort this list by "fame", as defined by a loose formula involving the number of times that a particular cipher has been written about, and/or how many hits it pulls up on a moderately-sorted web search.
Go to: http://elonka.com/UnsolvedCodes.html
Chaocipher Clearing House
The site below hosted by Moshe Rubin is a clearing house for general information about Chaocipher. It presents fact, fiction and folklore about John Byrne's legendary invention.
http://www.mountainvistasoft.com/chaocipher/
SpyCruise ® to the Eastern Caribbean
SpyCruise ® is a private group aboard a cruise ship where members attend exclusive lectures on intelligence, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, and national security issues given by retired experts from the CIA, FBI, DOD, RCMP, KGB as well as renowned authors and historians. The next scheduled cruise, to the Eastern Caribbean, will be from 13 to 20 November 2010. Notable speakers on this cruise are Porter Goss, former Director of Central Intelligence, and GEN Michael Hayden, former Director of CIA and NSA.
Two awards that will honor our fallen intelligence and military warriors will be presented at a special ceremony during the cruise. The award for our fallen military warriors will be accepted by Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Michael Thornton, Ret, Navy Seal Team Six, on behalf of the Scott Vallely Soldiers' Memorial Fund that was founded by Major General Paul Vallely,U.S. Army, Ret. The award in recognition of our fallen intelligence officers will be accepted by retired CIA Operations officer Meredith Woodruff on behalf of the CIA Officers' Memorial Foundation. We are certain that all SpyCruise® passengers will be proud to have attended and will find this event inspirational.
SpyCruise® is a unique opportunity for anyone interested in the topics of national security and intelligence to meet and learn from real experts in the intelligence field, as well as others who share the same interest in this topic as well as in history, world affairs, etc. Lectures are normally once or twice a day and the rest of the time is yours to enjoy the cruise ship and its excursions at different destinations.
For more information go to http://spytrek.com/spycruise.html
Stories From the Black Chamber, 1935 NBC Radio Show
The show was loosely based on Herbert Osborn Yardley's book The American Black Chamber and it appears that Yardley and Tom Curtan may have been advisors to the show. The show ran for 13 episodes before it was cancelled. One or more of the episodes were titled "Secret Ink."
To read more go to: http://www.otrr.org/FILES/Articles/Jim_Widner_Articles/Black_Chamber.htm
The Secret Sentry by Matthew Aid
Barnes and Noble Review
“Matthew Aid is an indefatigable researcher, poring over documents in government and private archives and conducting interviews with former officials of the National Security Agency…Aid also delivers excellent accounts of key battles and the role of SIGINT in supporting military maneuvers that were decisive in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the two engagements with Iraq…By the end of this work, the reader will have a much clearer idea of what the NSA does and how it accomplishes its mission, as well as insights about why the NSA needs to restructure itself so that in the future it will be able to accomplish more and do so with less resources.”
9800 Savage Road by M.E. Harrigan
"{In this} taut, timely thriller, Harrigan has done what multiple Directors of NSA have been unable to do: put a human face on one of America's most secretive and most valuable intelligence organizations. M. E. Harrigan dishes up suspense, espionage and patriotism all in one serving."
-- Gen. Michael V. Hayden, U.S Air Force (ret), Director of NSA (1999-2005)
Link: http://www.meharrigan.com
Library of Congress Digitization Effort
Nearly 60,000 books prized by historians, writers and genealogists, many too old and fragile to be safely handled, have been digitally scanned as part of the first-ever mass book- digitization project of the U.S. Library of Congress (LOC), the world's largest library. Anyone who wants to learn about the early history of the United States, or track the history of their own families, can read and download these books for free.
The digitized books can be accessed through the Library's catalog Web site (http://catalog.loc.gov/ ) and the Internet Archive ( http://www.archive.org/ ) (IA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and maintaining a free online digital library.
The Library of Congress has digitized many of its other collections - more than 7 million photographs, maps, audio and video recordings, newspapers, letters and diaries can be found at the Library's Digital Collections site http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html
More information is available from a Library of Congress video
( http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4763 ).
