Prerequisites for

Cryptology: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Deavours, Cipher A. (Editor) / Kahn, David (Editor) / Kruh, Louis (Editor) / Mellen, Greg (Editor) / Winkel, Brian J. (Editor). 1987 (Currently out of print). 519 pages.
Categories: Biographical, Cryptanalysis, History
The 1st volume of selected papers from the CRYPTOLOGIA journal (see also "Cryptology: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" and "Selections from Cryptologia: History, People, and Technology").
All three volumes are unsurpassed in their highly illustrated analysis of historically significant cryptography machines. The many topics in this volume include:
* Biographical information on cryptographically important individuals including William Friedman and Franke Rowlett.
* Excellent commentary on Yardley’s "The American Black Chamber" book.
* A couple of articles on unicity, with unicity points computed for many different ciphers.
* A few big names submitting articles, such as Rivest, and another by Robert Morris, a giant in cryptography (though you’re probably more familiar with his son Robert Morris Jr. and his internet worm of '88).
* A couple of articles on the automated analysis of cryptograms.

Recommended prerequisite books:
N/A
Suggested mathematical background in:

-  Probability and Statistics
Suggested computer language experience:

-  BASIC