History?s amazing secrets and codes?and how to crack them yourself. This fascinating look at history?s most mysterious messages is packed with puzzles to decode and ciphers that kids can use themselves. Here are the encrypted notes of Spartan warriors, the brilliant code-crackers of Elizabeth I, secret messages of the American Revolution, spy books of the Civil War, the famous Enigma Machine, and the Navajo code talkers. As computers change the way we communicate, codes today are more intriguing than ever. From invisible ink to the CIA, this exciting trip through history is a hands-on, interactive experience? so get cracking!

Gary L. Blackwood sold his first story when he was nineteen, and has been writing and publishing stories, articles, plays, novels, and nonfiction books regularly ever since.His stage plays have won awards and been produced in university and regional theatre.Nonfiction subjects he's covered include biography, history, and paranormal phenomena.His juvenile novels, which include WILD TIMOTHY, THE DYING SUN, and THE SHAKESPEARE STEALER, are set in a wide range of times and places, from Elizabethan England to a parallel universe.Several have received special recognition and been translated into other languages. He and his wife and kids live outside Carthage, MO.