Mister Kahn's masterpiece 'The Code Breakers' has always been one of my favorite books. There is a new work out on the market. 'The Code Breaker' by Walter Isaacson. A biography of one of the ladies (Jennifer Doudna) who won a Nobel Prize for her efforts with gene editing. If you think about it, there is not much difference between cryptography and gene repair. I have both books in my library.

A wonderful tribute to David is what Robert Caro, the acclaimed  biographer, recently said about him to a Washington Post reporter.  Decades ago they were both working as reporters at Newsday and contemplating full-time book projects, a step away from a regular paycheck into the unknown.  David took the plunge first, and his example encouraged Mr Caro to do the same.  So David is directly and indirectly responsible for books that changed history -- his own Codebreakers and Mr Caro's books on Robert Moses and then LBJ.   He was always a good friend to other historians, here is a way to gauge just how good a friend he was. He brought out the best in us. RIP, David!

Sorry to learn this gentleman scholar has passed on to his reward. The book he wrote on cryptography is the standard against which all other works will be judged.

I first met Dave in the summer of 1970 at the Military Archive in Freiburg, Germany.  Our paths crossed again at Oxford at few years later.  From then on we were fast friends.   I cherished his generosity -- whether it was sharing friends, contacts, or history lessons -- to say nothing of some very fine dining. He introduced me to my first literary agent, and took me along to meet the likes of Barbara Tuchman and Ladislas Farago.  When I defended my thesis, he sent me a telegram wishing me "what you don't need, luck."  When we fell out of touch for a couple of years, he reached out. Later in life, I happily slept on the floor of his apartment in Hell's Kitchen where Yardley the Cat kept me company.  The apartment was walking distance to the Century Club, where Dave treated me to a number of memorable dinners.  Not least, he gave me the idea for my most recent book.  I will miss him terribly.

In 1974, when I first started to analyze the cryptology/ cryptography holdings of the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel, Germany, practically every document from this vast collection that I viewed carried  on its sign-out sheet David's signature ... .  This is how I first met him, vicariously--and how pleased was I to then meet him in person at numerous conferences in the field, often at the Laurel campus of Johns Hopkins University.  David was the soul of so many discussions, a true gentleman in his carefully worded statements--and, as time progressed and both of us worked on Johannes Trithemius, a 15th-century father of modern cryptology, David became my generous teacher.  The last time we met was at Great Neck, when we gingerly walked up the staircase to his study that needed to be carefully negotiated as it was narrowed by piles of books--and it was that time that he asked me to translate the (Latin) "Polygraphia" for the benefit of the scholarly community--a wish that I have yet to fulfill.  How thankful I am to this very day to have "met" David at Wolfenbüttel, and to have been able to delve into his wisdom both as an author and an unforgettable person.  God rest his soul -"Möge er ruhen in Frieden" 
Gerhard F. Strasser

While taking a class in Cryptography (taught by Cy Deavours at Kean College in 1980) I had the privilege of hearing David Kahn talk about writing The Codebreakers and how important it was to be able to interview the living giants of the arcane and esoteric science that he had so wonderfully documented. He stressed the importance of getting their stories before they had passed on that the secrets they held close might not be forever lost.

My heartfelt thanks to David for bringing the stories of so many from the shadows for all of us to see and my condolences to David's family.

Dear Michael and Shana, I am very sad but have such fine memories of David, my close friend and advisor since 1980

With much love, 

Jon

OBITUARY

David Kahn

February 7, 1930 – January 23, 2024

Riverside-Nassau North Chapels

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