Menezes, A: Handbook of Applied Cryptography

The Handbook of Applied Cryptography serves as a valuable reference for novices as well as for experts. It provides a multifunctional treatment that introduces the more practical aspects of both conventional and public-key cryptography, and offers a valuable source of techniques and algorithms for serious practitioners. The book contains enough abstraction for theoreticians and provides enough detail to actually allow implementation of the algorithms discussed. With outstanding organization that allows easy access to all information, it includes more than 200 algorithms and protocols, extensive cross referencing, and more than 1,250 references that include brief comments on each entry.