Alan Turing: The Enigma
Published on 5. March 1992
Book
Paperback/Softback
768 pages
978-0-09-911641-7 (ISBN)
Description
Includes a new foreword by the author and a preface by Douglas Hofstadter.
Alan Turing was the extraordinary Cambridge mathematician who masterminded the cracking of the German Enigma ciphers and transformed the Second World War. But his vision went far beyond this crucial achievement. Before the war he had formulated the concept of the universal machine, and in 1945 he turned this into the first design for a digital computer.
Turing's far-sighted plans for the digital era forged ahead into a vision for Artificial Intelligence. However, in 1952 his homosexuality rendered him a criminal and he was subjected to humiliating treatment. In 1954, aged 41, Alan Turing committed suicide and one of Britain's greatest scientific minds was lost.
Alan Turing was the extraordinary Cambridge mathematician who masterminded the cracking of the German Enigma ciphers and transformed the Second World War. But his vision went far beyond this crucial achievement. Before the war he had formulated the concept of the universal machine, and in 1945 he turned this into the first design for a digital computer.
Turing's far-sighted plans for the digital era forged ahead into a vision for Artificial Intelligence. However, in 1952 his homosexuality rendered him a criminal and he was subjected to humiliating treatment. In 1954, aged 41, Alan Turing committed suicide and one of Britain's greatest scientific minds was lost.
Reviews / Votes
One of the finest scientific biographies I've ever read: authoritative, superbly researched, deeply sympathetic and beautifully told * Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind * Andrew Hodges' book is of exemplary scholarship and sympathy. Intimate, perceptive and insightful, it's also the most readable biography I've picked up in some time * Time Out * A first-rate presentation of the life of a first-rate scientific mind * New York Times Book Review * One of the finest scientific biographies ever written * New Yorker * A first-rate presentation of the life of a first-rate scientific mind...it is hard to imagine a more thoughtful and warm biography than this one -- Douglas Hofstadter * New York Times Book Review * One of the finest scientific biographies I've ever read: authoritative, superbly researched, deeply sympathetic and beautifully told * Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind * Andrew Hodge's book is of exemplary scholarship and sympathy. Intimate, perceptive and insightful, it's also the most readable biography I've picked up in some time * Time Out * One of the finest scientific biographies ever written * New Yorker * Save your money for the forthcoming new edition of Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges, regarded by many as one of the greatest biographies of anyone, let along Turing -- Robert Matthews * BBC Focus Magazine * This book stands the test of time. It is a labour of love...compelling * Energy and Technology *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
1
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 43 mm
Weight
569 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-09-911641-7 (9780099116417)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Andrew Hodges
Alan Turing: The Enigma
E-Book
11/2012
1st Edition
Vintage Digital
€10.99
Available for download
Person
Andrew Hodges is Tutor in Mathematics at Wadham College, Oxford University. His classic text of 1983, since translated into several languages, created a new kind of biography, with mathematics, science, computing, war history, philosophy and gay liberation woven into a single personal narrative. He is an active contributor to the mathematics of fundamental physics, as a follower of Roger Penrose. See www.turing.org.uk for further material.