Its only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan turing 19121954 saved the allies from the nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decades all before his suicide at age 41. The engima, otherwise known as the definitive biography of mathematician, computer scientist, and code breaker alan turing. This is the official story that has inspired the british film, the imitation game, a nailbiting race against time following alan turing, the pioneer of modernday computing and. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan turing 19121954 saved the allies from the nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decadesall. The book also tells how this work was directly related to turings leading role in breaking the german enigma ciphers during world war ii, a scientific triumph that was critical to allied victory in the atlantic. Hodges examined available primary sources and interviewed surviving witnesses to elucidate turings multiple dimensions. In 1992, when vintage uk published a new british paperback edition, i had the opportunity to include a short updating preface. Enigma is a new seductive and menacing thriller that sets new standards to judge thrillers. Its a thriller most people would like to finish it in one sitting.
The book that inspired the film the imitation game hodges, andrew, hofstadter, douglas isbn. But turings vision went far beyond the desperate wartime struggle. It is intense and packed with action and inventive fantasy catherine coulter is known for. The classic biography of the founder of computer science. German uboats were inflicting heavy losses on allied shipping and the need to understand their signals was crucial. Both turings cracking of the enigma code and his prosecution of gross indecency are mis portrayed in the film. A guided tour through alan turings historic paper on computability and the turing. The book that inspired the film the imitation game. The american 2014 film the imitation game is loosely based on the book, with dramatization. The enigma by andrew hodges, the code book by simon singh, codebreakers by f.
At the same time, this is the tragic account of a man who, despite his wartime service, was eventually arrested, stripped of his. Site maintained by publisher princeton university press. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan turing 19121954 saved the allies from the nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decadesall before his suicide at age fortyone. Thanks to the movie the imitation game, alan turing has emerged from historys shadows, where his memory had languished for decades. If one has seen the movie and liked it, one is going to love this too. But his vision went far beyond this crucial achievement.
His turing test of intelligence dates from this period, and is still widely misunderstood. This is a long book of considerable complexity but if you really want to understand turings life and the critical role he played in ww2 then you have to read it. The official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read alan turing. With the help of captured enigma material, and turings work in developing a technique he called banburismus, the naval. His breaking of the german uboat enigma cipher in world war ii ensured alliedamerican control of the atlantic. The enigma 1983 is a biography of the british mathematician, codebreaker, and early computer scientist, alan turing 19121954 by andrew hodges. The alan turing law is now an informal term for a 2017 law in the united kingdom that retroactively pardoned men cautioned or convicted under historical legislation that outlawed homosexual acts. Alans experiences were what they were because of who he was, and, in turn, these experiences made him into the man, the enigma he. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Includes a new foreword by the author and a preface by douglas hofstadter. The book that inspired the film the imitation game updated edition paperback november 10, 2014.
The book that inspired the film the imitation game updated edition kindle edition by hodges, andrew, hofstadter, douglas, hodges, andrew. Queen elizabeth ii granted turing a posthumous pardon in 20. He was already working parttime for the british governments code and cypher school before the second world war broke out. Taken on by british intelligence in 1938, as a shy young cambridge don, he combined brilliant logic with a flair for engineering. The conflicted life of an ordinary english homosexual atheist mathematician. Turing s rehabilitation from over a quartercenturys embarrassed silence was largely the result of andrew hodgess superb biography, alan turing. This classic biography of the founder of computer science, reissued on the centenary of his birth with a substantial new preface by the. Alan turing 191254 was a british mathematician who made history. The enigma, is the indispensable guide to turings life and work and one of the finest biographies of a scientific genius ever written. Turing is most famous for his cryptanalysis work at bletchley park during the second world war.
Alan turing was the extraordinary cambridge mathematician who masterminded the cracking of the german enigma ciphers and transformed the second world war. The enigma by andrew hodges is an enigma in its own right. The enigma of alan turing central intelligence agency. Hodges examined available primary sources and interviewed. A brief panic over running out of things to read led me to poll my twitter followers for suggestions, andrew hodges biography of alan turing, alan turing. View trailer and tracks stay home, stay up to date. The book first appeared in octobernovember 1983 as. The book that inspired the film the imitation game the annotated turing. In 1940 his machines were breaking the enigmaenciphered messages of.
It is a bit ironic that a book whose title implies that alan turing himself is the biggest enigma manages to leave him still an enigma in many ways, but that is the case. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading alan turing. Time out described this biography as exemplary, ssholarly, sympathetic, intimate, perceptive and insightful. Andrew philip hodges 1949 in london ist ein britischer mathematischer physiker. Hut 8, bletchley park turing also worked to decrypt the more complex german naval communications that had defeated many others at bletchley. The official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley alan turing was the mathematician whose ciphercracking transformed the second world war. Turings rehabilitation from over a quartercenturys embarrassed silence was largely the result of andrew hodgess superb biography, alan turing. Alan turing and the invention of the computer david. As one might expect of a book with an introduction by douglas hofstadter, it is an examination of both function and form.
The film focuses on turings heroics in world war ii, when he worked for the british intelligence service and played the key role in breaking the german enigma code. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of algorithm and computation with the turing machine, which can be. This added some material and some new perspectives which had emerged in the 1980s. The enigma the book that inspired the film the imitation game. The book also tells how this work was directly related to turings leading role in breaking the german enigma ciphers during world war ii, a. Hinsley and alan stripp, the 39 steps by john buchan and from russia.
The book that inspired the film the imitation game andrew hodges, reading, paperback book online now at the australian based sanity movie store. The official book behind the academy awardwinning film, the imitation game, which stars benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley. The enigma was published in the uk and the us in 1983. I was inspired to read the book in part because ive been reading lots of airelated books this year 1 and in just about every one of those books, alan turing is mention in some. The enigma of alan turing alan turingan english mathematician, logician, and cryptanalystwas a computer pioneer. This book is turings memorial, and one that does justice to the subject. This must be next on your reading list if you love to read thrillers. Alan turing was the mathematician whose ciphercracking transformed the second world war. This classic biography of the founder of computer science, reissued on the centenary of his birth with a substantial new preface by. The book could be simpler and could meet the need of a great biography. Often remembered for his contributions to the fields of artificial intelligence and modern computer science before either even existed, turing is probably best known for what is now dubbed the turing test. A new york times bestseller the official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley.
What the imitation game didnt tell you about turings. Before the war he had formulated the concept of the universal machine, and in 1945 he turned this into the. Scott, new york times one of the finest scientific biographies ever written. The official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley alan turing was the. Whilst the title describes turing as an enigma, the author has put together and very sensitive and credible view of alan turing, the person, portraying him as a man deeply conflicted due to his pivotal position in the secret war effort at a time when male homosexuality was illegal. The enigma, is the indispensable guide to turings life and work and one of the finest biographies of a scientific. The official book behind the film, the imitation game, this is a dramatic portrayal of the life and work of alan turing, one of britains most extraordinary unsung heroes, and one of the worlds greatest innovators. Its subject, the british mathematical genius who contributed to the cryptanalysis of the nazi enigma code and to the beginnings of the computer, was not an easy subject. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan turing 19121954 saved the allies from the nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decadesall before his.
How alan turing cracked the enigma code imperial war museums. Born in london in 1912, he studied at both cambridge and princeton universities. A missing message from alan turing surfaces as part of the celebrations for his 100th birthday. Jim holt, new yorker andrew hodges 1983 book alan turing. Hodges examined available primary sources and interviewed surviving witnesses to elucidate turing s multiple dimensions.
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