> I am doing a math project (7th grade)on Ciphers. Could you give me
> some info on how they work, and maybe some history on them?

i suggest a trip to your local library or a good bookstore. in the
library, try the keywords "codes", "ciphers", and "cryptography". in
the bookstore, try the computer or math sections.

two of my favorite books on the subject are Bruce Schneier's
_Applied_Cryptography_ and David Khan's _The_Codebreakers_. however,
these might be a little heavy for a 7th grader. take a look at them
and see what you think. the good news is that a lot of books related
to cryptography have been published in the last few years.

Simon Singh's _The_Code_Book_ covers much of the same ground as Khan,
but with less gory detail and better storytelling. Steven Levy has a
new book called _Crypto_. i've not read it yet, but it gets good
reviews.

finally, amazon.com makes a pretty good research tool, even if you
plan to get the books out of your library.

good luck.

--mkb

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