Alan Turing Decoded

Description

The return of the high successful biography of a modern legend by Alan Turing's nephew
‘A cracking read. ’ —Nick Smith, Engineering and TechnologyAlan Turing was an extraordinary man who crammed into his 42 years the careers of mathematician, codebreaker, computer scientist and biologist. He is widely regarded as a war hero grossly mistreated by his unappreciative country, and it has become hard to disentangle the real man from the story. It is easy to cast him as a misfit, the stereotypical professor. But actually Alan Turing was never a professor, and his nickname ‘Prof’ was given by his codebreaking friends at Bletchley Park. 

Now Dermot Turing has taken a fresh look at the influences on his uncle’s life and creativity, and the creation of a legend. He discloses the real character behind the cipher-text, answering questions that help the man emerge from his legacy: how did Alan’s childhood experiences influence him? How did his creative ideas evolve? Was he really a solitary genius? What was his wartime work after 1942, and what of the Enigma story? What is the truth about the conviction for gross indecency, and did he commit suicide? In Alan Turing Decoded, Dermot’s vibrant and entertaining approach to the life and work of a true genius makes this a fascinating and authoritative read.

Dermot Turing had a career in the legal profession before turning to writing narrative history, and he has written X, Y & Z and Reflections of Alan Turing. He is a former trustee of the Bletchley Park museum and is chairman of the Turing Trust charity.

Fully updatedA unique family perspective of the life of Alan Turing using the most recently declassified documentation from The National Archives

100 b/w illustrations, including photographs from the Turing family album

A modern legend whose name and reputation continues to grow as his image is attached to the new £50 note in 2021

12/24/13 is the date of the Queen's posthumous pardon for Turing

In 2021 became first gay man on a British bank note: https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/wwii-codebreaker-alan-turing-becomes-1st-gay-man-british-bank-note-rcna1251

Turing's Law (2017), the amnesty law to pardon men convicted under historical anti-gay laws, was broadened in January 2022 to include anyone convicted of "same-sex activities" https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/uk-expands-turings-law-pardon-sex-convictions-rcna11054

Additional information

Dimensions	1 × 5 × 9 in