"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain." --John Adams (1735 - 1826)

John Adams: revolutionary leader, America's first ambassador to England, first vice president, second president, media darling. The recent and ambitious seven-part TV miniseries — based on the biography by David McCullough — that chronicled Adams’ life and the birth of the United States, was an undeniable hit. As to whether the founding father's philosophy of furthering and narrowing an interdisciplinary education is an admirable goal for anyone, for the Adams family at least — who must be well along into the program 280 years after Adams' death -- subjects might be running dry. This week, fortunately, brings with it some history books covering topics from the arcane to the intriguing — all quite fascinating — and all of which add insight to larger fields of sociological, cultural, and scientific study, among others.

In Hidden Codes & Grand Designs: Secret Languages from Ancient Times to Modern Day Pierre Berloquin, one of France’s leading puzzle book authors, takes you on a journey of discovery deep into codes, ciphers, and other secret communication systems. Ingenious methods for encoding secrets have taken fascinating twists and turns throughout history, from the Masons to the Bible, the military signals the Romans flashed from hilltop to hilltop to modern day ATM computer codes. For extra added features, the book contains more than 150 brain-teasing problems for readers to solve for themselves.

At the same time, the historical popularization of evolutionary theory, as discussed in God - or Gorilla: Images of Evolution in the Jazz Age -- in the Medicine, Science, and Religion in Historical Context series — may have seemed to many to take the form of a secret communication system needing to be deciphered for public consumption. Presenting a look at both 1920’s popular culture and the role of science, Constance A. Clark‘s shows how biologists and anti-evolutionists deployed schematics, cartoons, photographs, sculptures, and paintings to win the battle for widespread acceptance. Noting that scholars still debate the most appropriate way to teach evolutionary theory, Clark explains how changes in the concept are absorbed into the education system and the general public.