Alexander Stanoyevitch is a professor at California State University--Dominguez Hills. He completed his doctorate in mathematical analysis at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and has held academic positions at the University of Hawaii and the University of Guam. Dr. Stanoyevitch has taught many upper-level classes to mathematics and computer science students, has published several articles in leading mathematical journals, and has been an invited speaker at numerous lectures and conferences in the United States, Europe, and Asia. His research interests include areas of both pure and applied mathematics.
I perused the structure, the writing, the pedagogical approach/layout: I can recognize a labor of pedagogical love when I see one. Certainly, the colloquial but still rigorous approach makes the concepts accessible, and the worked out solutions for the student, the much-needed and appreciated chapter on finite fields, and the division of problems into theory and programming are sensible. But it is the little thoughtful touches that make the book truly shine: the position of the notation index right on the front cover; the historical excursions as mental relief to keep students' interest peaked; judicious use of accessible examples plus step-by-step worked out math to illustrate concepts; and whitespace in the margin for notes, the text layout with breathing room to offset the inevitable terseness of mathematical cryptology. It is apparent that Prof. Stanoyevitch put a lot of pedagogical and intellectual effort into making a textbook -- a book aimed at students that makes life easier for the instructor. In addition, the book's companion site features short MATLAB m-files and applets for quick demos. The Index of Algorithms is useful. In short, this is a very well done, thoughtful introduction to cryptography. --Daniel Bilar, Department of Computer Science, University of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA