Journal Entry 1 by anechka from London , Greater London United Kingdom on Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Good read, a bit difficult at first and follow all the details. Still it was interesting to read something how WW2 was fought behind the battles in the West.  

Journal Entry 2 by weebly from Hartwell, Northamptonshire United Kingdom on Friday, February 20, 2004

Thank you for the RABCK of this book. I am going to offer it to my parents to read while I try and reduce the pile of TBR's on my shelf. I think my hubby would like it too.

Note to self - Send on to Chelseagirl once read! 

Journal Entry 3 by weebly from Hartwell, Northamptonshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, April 07, 2004

My hubby stayed up to some ungodly hour last night to finish this book. He says it was a most enjoyable book which he expected to find a bit boring, but was written in such a way as to make it very exciting.

We live near Milton Keynes, and the book has meant he would now like to visit Bletchley Park and take a look round the site and museum.

I am holding this book now for my neice to read when she returns to Malaysia in early June, and I will also see if my Dad wants to read it too. They enjoyed the Enigma film very much. 

Journal Entry 4 by Katweeble from Wolverhampton, West Midlands United Kingdom on Saturday, August 07, 2004

Another one I forgot to post when I first received it! Must get my systems worked out.

Loved the book- read it in just over a day as found extremely hard to put down. Fascinating insight to the work of the code breakers in the war and the decisions that had to be made to protect their work.

Will pass on to my daughter Sandyundead to read 

Journal Entry 5 by sandyundead from Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear United Kingdom on Saturday, August 07, 2004

This was passed to me by katweeble, but it will be a while until I read it as Mount TBR is currently absolutely huge! :s I will pass it on to Chelseagirl once I have read it. 

Journal Entry 6 by sandyundead from Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear United Kingdom on Sunday, December 05, 2004

Despite being thought-based, rather than action-based, this was a very good thriller. It was nice to be familiar with some of the places it mentioned as well. I would really like to see the film now. I will pass this on to chelseagirl if she still wants it! 

Journal Entry 7 by sandyundead from Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear United Kingdom on Saturday, December 11, 2004

Posted to chelseagirl yesterday. 

Journal Entry 8 by chelseagirl from Faringdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, December 14, 2004

My great uncle was part of the Enigma decoding team at Bletchley Park; he wrote to me once about it, saying that the team thought they were wasting their time but probably were responsible for the outcome of the war when it came to it. Sadly he's not around anymore, and I never found out enough about what he did there. I'm looking forward to reading more about it! Thanks, sandyundead. 

Journal Entry 9 by chelseagirl from Faringdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, January 12, 2005

After a slow start, I found this a fascinating look at the work that went on at Bletchley Park and a real rollercoaster of a read. At first I had fears that it was going to degenerate into a romance, but as soon as I realised that it wasn't, I was reeled into the unfolding tale and was unable to tear myself away from the last half of the book, staying up into the wee small hours to finish it. At times I found it rather hard to understand the machinations of the Enigma machines, and it might have helped if the more detailed explanations had been given earlier in the novel, but the book gives a real sense of the atmosphere in Bletchley Park, with more than a few heartstopping moments, though not in the conventional way.

As a novel based on facts, it's not clear how much of the decoding action is realistic; reading Enigma has spurred me on to look for more books about the work that went on and to question my dad about my great uncle's involvement.

Many thanks for the book. I'll try and drum up some more readers so it can continue its journey! 

Journal Entry 10 by chelseagirl from Faringdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Going on to the folliwing people. I'll add names if anyone else is interested!

catrionamoore
ziggythecat

On its way as soon as I have an address. 

Journal Entry 11 by catrionamoore from Ellistown, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Thursday, January 20, 2005

Arrived this morning thank you very much. An unexpected surprise as I'd forgotten about it. 

Journal Entry 12 by catrionamoore from Ellistown, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Thursday, January 27, 2005

The synopsis (pinched from Amazon) of Enigma just in case no-one has heard of the film or the book is as follows.

A gripping World War II mystery novel with a cryptographic twist, Enigma's hero is Tom Jericho, a brilliant British mathematician working as a member of the team struggling to crack the Nazi Enigma code. Jericho's own struggles include nerve-wracking mental labour, the mysterious disappearance of a former girlfriend, the suspicions of his co-workers within the paranoid high-security project, and the certainty that someone close to him, perhaps the missing girl, is a Nazi spy. The plot is pure fiction but the historical background, Alan Turing's famous wartime computing project that cracked the German U-boat communications code, is real and accurately portrayed.

When I watched the film I enjoyed the work of the cryptoanalysts and the fast pace of them working together to break the Enigma code to try and save a large shipping convoy from the US. I felt that the romance got in the way of the plot and left far too many things unexplained. When the opportunity arose to read the book I jumped at it, hoping it would fill in the gaps.

For me the book was far superior to the film, and it filled in the gaps, including the rather large hole in my understanding. Enigma is written with the backdrop of the Enigma code and the work done in Bletchley Park in a bid to crack the code. I particularly enjoyed the trip taken by Tom and Hester to Beaumanor Hall as it is fairly close by and most of the training events I attend are held there as it remained government property after the war and is now used mainly by the Education Department. However what I failed to comprehend in the film is that the romance between Tom Jericho and Claire Romilly is the story of Enigma, not a sideline to keep the romanticists in the audience happy. That and the enigma isn’t Enigma, although the true enigma is clearly apparent to anyone who reads the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I’m keen to raid my Father-in-Law’s bookcase for more by Robert Harris.

I sent the book to ziggythecat yesterday. 

Journal Entry 13 by ziggythecat from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Friday, January 28, 2005

Arrived safely this morning - Thanks for sending this on to me. 

Journal Entry 14 by ziggythecat from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Like Catrionamoore I saw the film of Enigma first, which I enjoyed and which made me want to get the book and read the story 'properly', lol, with a bit more detail and background. The book didn't disappoint. Lots of info about code-breaking and about its involvement in the war, without blinding you with too many technicalities. Good story with a great last couple of chapters too.

Thanks all who've passed this on. Where to now?? 

Journal Entry 15 by ziggythecat at on Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Released 6 yrs ago (3/15/2005 UTC) at

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Chelseagirl is happy for it to go off on its travels. Hope someone finds it, its a good read.
Market day today so not quite sure where it'll be released. Probably going to try a bank service-till.

Update: released at the Halifax service-till.