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'Ten essential books on technology' --New Statesman
Book Description
The full story behind the persecuted genius of wartime codebreaking and the computer revolution.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read that shed enormous light on a figure I knew about only dimly before, having studied Turing Machines as part of my degree. This is a good book on many levels, provoking thought about the history of computing as well as that of Britain 1939-1954. Above all it is a book about a complex individual who did not fit easily into society for a number of reasons. In this sense the book has something to say to us all.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an immense book; a staggeringly thorough biography; the author appears to have left no stone unturned in his search for the real man behind the 'enigma'. Alan Turing emerges as a man who was ahead of his time in his ideas of machine intelligence and his understanding of his own sexuality; but one who was paradoxically also 'born too late', for the breadth of his interests might have sat better in the Victorian era than within the twentieth century cult of the expert.
It is definitely worth reading if you can commit the necessary time and attention to it (I read it while recovering from surgery). Not only is it a thick volume with very small print, but it abounds with highly technical descriptions of Turing's work. Otherwise, wait a couple of years from the time of this review and there will no doubt be a profusion of potted biographies to celebrate Turing's centenary year in 2012.
It is definitely worth reading if you can commit the necessary time and attention to it (I read it while recovering from surgery). Not only is it a thick volume with very small print, but it abounds with highly technical descriptions of Turing's work. Otherwise, wait a couple of years from the time of this review and there will no doubt be a profusion of potted biographies to celebrate Turing's centenary year in 2012.
36 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Hodges' biography manages to paint not only the story of Turing the scientist and his contribution to computing and cryptography, but also Turing the man - shy, witty, persecuted for his homosexuality. The scenes - Cambridge, Bletchley Park, Manchester - are all painted in detail, with the part Turing played in the development of mathematics, cryptography and computing clearly explored against personal and historical contexts.
A degree of mathematical literacy helps one to obtain more from this superb biography, but it should all be accessible to the non-specialist. Hodges tells a compelling story in a readable style.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Reminded me of school exercise books
For the most part this is not a book about Alan Turing, the man - more a book for the mathematically educated mind; the number of graphically illustrated, mind-boggingly difficult... Read more
Published 3 months ago by michael taylor
Enigma
Excellent book. Good mixture of the humanity behind the story and the thinking / technology that helped shorten the war.
Published 4 months ago by Mr. S. Patel
Alan Turing - a great biography
I cannot recall my first meeting with Alan Turing (in books) but I have been fascinated since, on two levels; firstly, Bletchley Park was so shrouded in secrecy (still seems to be... Read more
Published 5 months ago by RR Waller
Alan Turing - The Enigma
A superb book. Good mixture of some of the maths he used in problem-solving, with personal details of the Great Man's life. Read more
Published 7 months ago by M. D. Leith
Enigma
A good read, thorough and sensitively written. Cheap print acceptable (bearing in mind the price of this edition) and a tad small for ancient eyes.
Published 19 months ago by Mike
Wonderful
This is a marvellous book.Turing's life becomes almost Shakespearian ,as if a set of scenes from a world drama in which he is the main character. Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2010 by S. Moore-Bridger
Book about Turing NOT Poles
With respect to the previous reviewer this book is about Alan Turing. It is not called "How the Poles broke Enigma". Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2007 by A. Morrison
Some important missing points
I appreciate the great work of Andrew Hodges, the book is quite detailed and interesting. However, it is widely known that it was not Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park scientists... Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2005 by Mr. Radoslaw Szmit
A classic work, worthy of space on any bookshelf
Truly wonderful book whether you are interested in computer theory, intelligence work, mathematics or sexual politics.
Published on 14 Mar 2005 by "amazon6160"
A very detailed and enjoyable read ...
This book on Alan Turing is a very detailed biography. I especially liked the fact that the author seems to understand how to explain some technical stuff in a very easy to... Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2003 by Jurgen Van Gael
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