Description |
xxxii, 736 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 20 cm |
Contents |
The logical. Esprit de Corps : to 13 February 1930 ; The spirit of truth : to 14 April 1936 ; New men : to 3 September 1939 ; The relay race : to 10 November 1942 -- Bridge passage : to 1 April 1943 -- The physical. Running up : to 2 September 1945 ; Mercury delayed : to 2 October 1948 ; The Greenwood tree : to 7 February 1952 ; On the beach : to 7 June 1954 -- Postscript |
Summary |
A gripping story of mathematics, computers, cryptography, and homosexual persecution. Hodges tells how Turing's revolutionary idea of 1936 -- the concept of a universal machine-- laid the foundation for the modern computer. Turing brought the idea to practical realization in 1945 with his electronic design. 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. Despite his wartime service, Turing 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. |
Notes |
This edition with a new preface by the author |
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"First published by Burnett Books Ltd in association with Hutchinson Publishing Group 1983"--T.p. verso |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
Subject |
Turing, Alan, 1912-1954.
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Mathematicians -- Great Britain -- Biography.
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Gay men -- Great Britain -- Biography.
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Genre/Form |
Biography.
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Reading nook.
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Biographies.
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Author |
Hofstadter, Douglas R., 1945-
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LC no. |
2014952514 |
ISBN |
069116472X (paperback) (acid-free paper) |
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9780691164724 (paperback) (acid-free paper) |
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