This is an exceptionally well-written book. I read it very quickly and found it informative and useful in my daily life. I purchased several copies for myself, friends and family. It would make a nice "Thinking of You" gift for someone going through tough times in their life. I highly recommend this book to anyone that needs encouragement.

This book goes into considerable detail regarding what was done but provides almost no information on how it was accomplished. Rowlett was one of a small group of mathematicians who were introduced to cryptography by the legendary William Friedman. As recounted in the book, the group had remarkable success in breaking both Red and Purple,the Japanese diplomatic codes in use prior to WW II. Rowlett describes how the group was trained under Friedman's direction but supplies no information what so ever regarding the nature of the training. This is the case throughout the book as it relates to how every issue of importance was analyzed. The section of the book which describes the construction of the device to decode Purple is excellent in recreating the intensity of the event. One can almost smell the odor of burning electrial equipment when the contacts on the first version of the device melt and then fuse. Rowlett was obviously acutely aware of the importance of protecting the technical information related to the activities he was engaged in ; however, in doing so he produced a document which although descriptive is not at all informative. It is highly unlikely, because of antiquated security considerations, that the full story of this remarkable accomplishment will ever be presented at a level of granularity it deserves.

Frank Rowlett's story is an intense day-by-day account of life as a cryptanalyst in the Signal Intelligence Service during the years leading up to WW II. This story puts together important pieces of the historical puzzle. As a story, it is exciting, and brings history alive.

This book was published as a well bound, hardback, dust jacketed book by Aegean Park Press, a publishing house well known for re-printing (keeping available and alive) important Cryptanalytical, Cryptological, Cryptograhic publications in softcover 8-1/2" x 11" format. Just the way this particular publishing house, who specializes in crypto works is treating this book "screams" the high regard they have for it.

If you're looking for crypto course work, the how-to-do-it, Aegean Park Press has it, (though not in this book). If you are looking for the taste and feel, the heart and soul of real cryptanalysts enjoying their work, that IS the form & substance of this book; as well as being an important historical work.

This book by a pioneer cryptanalyst gives a fascinating insight into how Army cryptanalysts developed the skills and techniques that lead to the breaking of the high level Japanese Diplomatic code "Purple". It describes how the team lead by Rowlett duplicated the complex Japanese Purple cipher machine from manually broken intercepted messages - a feat that astonished Navy cryptanalysts. It describes how Rowlett developed the concepts for a code machine used by the United States during World War II that was never broken by enemy cryptanalysts. The overall account is exciting. It gives the reader a behind the scene look at the numerous obstacles American cryptanalysts faced both internally and externally - and how they overcame them. It is written by a man who for security reasons remained in the shadows for years but in the world of secret communications stood as a giant. After reading The Story of Magic one should read Hitler's Japanese Confidant by Carl Boyd. The reader can then begin to fully appreciate how reading Japanese diplomatic messages contributed to the United States diplomatic and military successes.

You might like this book, I didn't. As a developer I found it way too light on design, and missing a key part of design. This looks like a book that is not for developers. Maybe requirements people or managers will like it. The design artifact of greatest use to a programmer goes by different names: object interaction diagram, interaction diagram, collaboration diagram, and so on. A sequence diagram is similar. This book mentions sequence diagrams very briefly, but this most useful concept is largely missing. As a software developer, I prefer this new book: "UML and the Unified Process" by Jim Arlow and Ila Neustadt. Don't buy this without first looking at a real copy. You might love this book, but you really need to look it over first.

First of all, this book is good if you are a very patient reader. The book is not about pure Object Oriented Technology. Rather, the author tries to bring together a process which is much more practical and makes sense. It is a fast paced book, so you might have to go back and read couple of chapters more then once to get the concepts straight.

The book uses UML for all diagrams. It explores different options that the software architect can choose from depending on the type of project and the comfortability level. For eg., the author explains the usage of state machines, decision tables and sequence diagrams during the Analysis phase of a system. Any of these processes can be used by the reader. It explains the logic behind constructing class diagrams from use cases, how to establish relation between classes and deriving the database table structures from classes. It lays emphasis on testing the finished product and how to go cover different test cases .

The book does include some case studies which many readers might find helpful and use them as "templates" in tackling their projects.

I have done two projects using this book and have been able to bang in the time estimates. Also it has helped me in the actual coding much easier.

In a nutshell, I would give a good rating to this book since it has really helped me to get into the Object Oriented world of programming and develop into a much better and efficient programmer.

The book is very detailed and gives numerous examples of the deliverables created in the process. It starts out overviewing process models (waterfall, iterative, incremental) and talks about the criteria for a robust process (complete, consistent, verifiable,traceable, incremental and testable). The author recommends using an incremental process with use cases. To me this is the best way to start out since your requirements, analysis and design are established and your team can progress without change issues. Change management and control are documented and implemented in future releases.

The book has chapters on requirements definition, analysis, use case design, class design, persistence,implementation, testing, user interface, maintenance, project management and over 100 pages dedicated to a case study with 4 increments (very detailed and helpful).

The book uses UML diagrams as examples and touches upon subjects such as the importance of correctness, of having a data dictionary, planning, and it has a good summary and glossary at the end. It even gives an example on how to build an estimating model spreadsheet using metrics and statistical correlation.

One topic that is missing is security and how it fits into applications. Also, the chapter on requirements definition is a little weak since it blends into use cases right away and does not give the reader a clear message on how to reduce ambiguity, what a requirements specification should contain, etc. But there are good books on requirements that can be bought.

Overall a really good book that can help any manager or developer with getting started using OO concepts.

I have to agree that this book was poorly written and VERY biased. Unbelievable that the publishers would allow it to go to publishing like this, it's so blatant that it doesn't even make an attempt to hide the venomous attacks and outright lies. No Darlee Rutier is not a very sympathetic character but I do not think she was proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

I really liked this book. Despite the "poor Darlie" supporters who bashed this book, I picked it up and thought it presented a good overview of the case and some real insight into Darlie's character or lack thereof. She very vividly described the behavior of the Routier/Kee family during the trial. Having seen it on my local news during the trial, Ms. Springer didn't exaggerate a thing. No one in Texas had ever seen a group behave like that at trial. The tacky tatoo which Darin Routier proudly displayed ranked up there with the Silly String video. The family suddenly got religion and beat it to death by constantly singing hymns outside the courtroom. Everyone wanted to be a star. In addition, Ms. Springer obviously had some good sources among neighbors and people who knew the Routiers in Rowlett. I love the Darlie supporters who criticize the editing and minimal typos in this book but highly tout the self-published pro-Darlie Media Tried, Justice Denied which has to include some of the worst English ever published. This book is well worth reading and I highly recommend it.

Having seen the author along with Darin Routier on Geraldo, I decided to give this book a try. While, not well-written, it gives a good accounting of the investigation and trial. Obviously the author got her information from reliable sources and it is hard to sympathize with Darlie or Darin Routier after having read this book. Darin comes across as a man more interested in describing his wife's breasts to the police the night of the murders than inquiring about his sons. And, Darlie. . . well, she coaxed Darin into consenting to an abortion by enlarging her breasts! According to Ms. Springer's accounts Darlie is one sick mother. I don't believe in the death penalty based on circumstantial evidence and neither does Ms. Springer. Hopefully, on appeal, Darlie will get life in prison.

This book contained way too many ideas that are either not biblically based, or directly against what is spelled out in the Bible as far as our relationship with Christ and our prayer life goes. Many new-age ideas have crept their way into her writing, and the prayers that she uses to "help" you learn to pray better are very rigid, structured, and formal. Ms. Rowlett could herself use a good study in what true conversation with God is.