Alan Turing: The Enigma
The Book That Inspired the Film The Imitation Game - Updated Edition
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3.8 • 71 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The official book behind the Academy Award-winning film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley
It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the British mathematician Alan Turing (1912–1954) saved the Allies from the Nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decades—all before his suicide at age forty-one. This New York Times bestselling biography of the founder of computer science, with a new preface by the author that addresses Turing’s royal pardon in 2013, is the definitive account of an extraordinary mind and life.
Capturing both the inner and outer drama of Turing’s life, Andrew Hodges tells how Turing’s revolutionary idea of 1936—the concept of a universal machine—laid the foundation for the modern computer and how Turing brought the idea to practical realization in 1945 with his electronic design. The book also tells how this work was directly related to Turing’s leading role in breaking the German Enigma ciphers during World War II, a scientific triumph that was critical to Allied victory in the Atlantic. At the same time, this is the tragic account of a man who, despite his wartime service, was eventually arrested, stripped of his security clearance, and forced to undergo a humiliating treatment program—all for trying to live honestly in a society that defined homosexuality as a crime.
The inspiration for a major motion picture starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, Alan Turing: The Enigma is a gripping story of mathematics, computers, cryptography, and homosexual persecution.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Andrew Hodges’ biography of Alan Turing—the inspiration behind the 2014 movie The Imitation Game—offers a fascinating portrait of a complicated genius. Following the British mathematician from his time as an ambitious Cambridge student to his 1952 conviction on charges of homosexuality, the book looks at both Turing’s work and personal life in gripping detail. Turing played a pivotal role in helping build one of the world’s first computing devices, which was developed in a wartime effort to break Nazi naval codes. Rich with helpful diagrams and excerpts of personal letters, Alan Turing: The Enigma is a sharply written and furiously researched story.
Customer Reviews
Extremely well researched
This was a dense read. As a gay man I was impressed with Alan Turing and his accomplishments. A true genius. I came away still not knowing much about him. If tabulating 0s and 1s are a life then it is one dimensional. Experts and facts are quoted throughout but very little on his personal life. Turing might be pleased with this account the way it is written. The Imitation Game is based on this and I got far more out the movie about Alan Turing.
Alan Turing the enigma
For those who are savvy in math and engineering
You could stay interested for the whole story
As for myself I was looking for more of a story around breaking the code of the enigma machine during ww2. This really is the story of how the computer came into being, and Allen Turing place in it. In today's world he would have been rich and famous and the founder of Microsoft
Historical
Though the movie isn't anything close to reality it gives a glimpse into the life of Alan Turing. Hodges is exhaustive in his exploration of Alan and the times before, during and after WWII leading to the development of the first digital computer. At times, there is more exploration of who Alan Turing was and it helps to understand his challenges in business not just his lifestyle. Few would understand the politics and global issues of building what was never done before.