Practical Cryptography 

If you're interested in learning how to do cryptography, this might be a good book. It begins by introducing basic cryptography concepts such as authentication, PKI, digital signatures and public key encryption. It discusses message security and tells where block ciphers fit in, and moves on to explaining use of hash functions, message authentication codes, etc. It also explains how to implement secure channels and covers the key issues in implementing cryptographic solutions. Though the book does not have visuals, practice questions or important notes sections, diagrams are used in some chapters to make concepts clear. It delves into practical issues in implementing cryptography.