<i>Maybe someday Schneier will write a book which I can recommend to people who are getting started in cryptography, but I'm not holding my breath.</i><p>Schneier wrote <i>Applied Cryptography</i>, which is the best way to get started in the field. I picked it up while I was still learning programming (and not exactly confident in my math abilities) and still found it incredibly well written and understandable.<p><a href="http://www.schneier.com/book-applied.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.schneier.com/book-applied.html</a><p>From the Preface:<p>"I wrote Applied Cryptography to be a both a lively introduction to the field of cryptography and a comprehensive reference work."