The American Black Chamber

Indianapolis, IN: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1931. First Edition [stated]. Presumed first printing. Hardcover. fair to good. 375,[11[ pages. Illustrations. Footnotes. Boards somewhat scuffed, spine worn and small pieces missing at top edge, slight darkening to text. The author was the founder and head of the Cipher Bureau, in which cryptanalysts broke Japanese diplomatic codes. Stated "First Edition" of this significant book. Herbert Osborn Yardley (April 13, 1889 - August 7, 1958) was an American cryptologist. He founded and led the cryptographic organization the Black Chamber. Under Yardley, the cryptanalysts of The American Black Chamber broke Japanese diplomatic codes and were able to furnish American negotiators with significant information during the Washington Naval Conference of 1921-1922. Recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal. He wrote The American Black Chamber (1931) about his experiences there. He later helped the Nationalists in China (1938-1940) to break Japanese codes. After his work in China, Yardley worked for the Canadian government, helping it set up a cryptological section (Examination Unit) of the National Research Council of Canada from June to December 1941. Yardley was let go due to pressure either from the Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson or from the British. The book describes the inner workings of the interwar American governmental cryptography organization called the Black Chamber. The cryptography historian David Kahn called the book "the most famous book on cryptology ever published." By describing the inner workings of the organization, the book created large interest and heightened public awareness of the United States's cryptographic abilities. In particular, the Japanese government became aware of the extent of experience that the American government had with cryptography and increased the strength of their own knowledge in cryptography in response. Reviewers suggested the book may have cost the United States significantly in the Pacific theater against Japan in World War II. The author was the founder and head of the Cipher Bureau, in which cryptanalysts broke Japanese diplomatic codes. His career in cryptology began with his work in the code room, as he broke the U.S. government codes that crossed his desk. The weakness of American codes worried Yardley, especially considering the war in Europe, so in May 1916 he began writing a hundred-page "Solution of American Diplomatic Codes", which he gave to his boss. American participation in the war gave Yardley an opportunity to convince Major Ralph Van Deman of the need to set up a section to break other countries' codes. In June 1917, Yardley became a 2nd lieutenant in the Signal Corps and head of the newly created eighth section of military intelligence, MI-8. Yardley proved to be a very good administrator and during the war the people of MI-8 performed well. After the war, the American Army and the State department decided to jointly fund MI-8 and Yardley continued as head of the "Cipher Bureau". After almost a year, Yardley and his staff finally managed to break the Japanese codes and were still reading Japanese diplomatic traffic when Washington hosted the Washington Naval Conference in 1921. The information the Cipher Bureau provided the American delegation regarding the Japanese government's absolute minimum acceptable battleship requirements was instrumental in getting the Japanese side to agree to a 5:3 ratio instead of the 10:7 ratio the Japanese Navy really wanted. This allowed Japan only 18 battleships to 30 for the U.S. and 30 for Great Britain instead of the 21 battleships Japan desired. This was the height of Yardley's cryptanalytic career. It was moral indignation that finally doomed the bureau. When Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of State under President Herbert Hoover, found out about Yardley and the Cipher Bureau, he was furious and withdrew funding, summing up his argument with "Gentlemen do not read each other's mail". With Yardley's esoteric skills in very low demand, he took up writing about his experiences in codebreaking to support his family. His memoirs, The American Black Chamber, were published by Bobbs-Merrill in 1931. The book outlined the history of the first U.S. Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization, described the activities of MI-8 during World War I and the American Black Chamber in the 1920s, and illustrated the basic principles of signals security. This work was instantly popular. Its critics at the time concluded that it was "the most sensational contribution to the secret history of the war, as well as the immediate post-war period, which has yet been written by an American. Its deliberate indiscretions exceed any to be found in the recent memoirs of European secret agents." In the U.S., 17,931 copies were sold, with 5,480 more sold in the U.K. It was translated into French, Swedish, Japanese, and Chinese. This book was an embarrassment to the U.S. government and compromised some of the sources Yardley and his associates used. Through this work an estimated 19 nations were alerted that their codes were broken. Much of the post-World War I codebreaking was done by obtaining copies of enciphered telegrams sent over Western Union by foreign diplomats, as was the custom before countries had technology for specialized communications devices. William F. Friedman, considered the father of modern American signals intelligence (SIGINT) gathering, was incensed by the book and the publicity it generated in part because sources and methods were compromised. The U.S. Government considered prosecuting him, but he had not technically violated existing law regarding protection of government records. In 1933, the Espionage Act was amended, PL 37 (USC Title 18, section 952), to prohibit the disclosure of foreign code or anything sent in code. The American Black Chamber represents an early example of the exposé national security books that would appear after World War II, such as The Codebreakers and The Puzzle Palace, which also focus on U.S. SIGINT operations and organizations.