L'enigma di un genio: La storia vera di Alan Turing, il matematico inglese che decrittò il codice nazista

by Nigel Cawthorne, Fabio Bernabei (Translator)

According to Winston Churchill, Alan Turing made the single biggest contribution to the Allied victory over Nazi Germany with his code-breaking machine. The world is also indebted to Turing's genius for the modern computer. It was clear that Turing had a remarkable mind from an early age. He taught himself to read in just three weeks. At his first school, the headmistress said, 'I have had clever and hardworking boys, but Alan has genius.' In 1954, he was found dead, poisoned by an apple laced with cyanide. This is the story of his life.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Science, History, Ebooks

190 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2014

About the author

Nigel Cawthorne is an Anglo-American writer of fiction and non-fiction, and an editor. He has written more than 80 books on a wide range of subjects and has contributed to The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph Daily Mail and The New York Times. He has appeared on television and BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Many of Nigel Cawthorne's books are compilations of popular history, without footnotes, references or bibliographies. His own web site refers to a description of his home as a "book-writing factory" and says, "More than half my books were commissioned by publishers and packagers for a flat fee or for a for a reduced royalty".

One of his most notable works was Taking Back My Name, an autobiography of Ike Turner, with whom he spent a number of weeks working with him on, taking up residence in Turner's house. The book caused much controversy, resulting in court cases for three years following its release.

Cawthorne currently lives in Bloomsbury, London with his girlfriend and son, Colin (born 1982).

Reviews

[Tahmineh Baradaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

چهره برجسته انگلیسی ریاضیات وکُدشکنی رمزها درجنگ دوم جهانی ، ازبانیان مفاهیم کامپیوتر واینترنت . شیفته دویدن با خلق وخوی خاص افراد باهوش وبرجسته . که بدنبال حکم دادگاه برای مصرف هورمون زنانه برای سرکوب تمایلات نامتعارفش در چهل ودوسالگی با مصرف سیب آلوده به سیانور خودکشی کرد یا مسموم شد .دلیل قطعی ظاهرا" مشخص نیست . علیرغم علاقه به ریاضیات ، از توضیحات فنی کتاب چندان فهمی عایدم نشد. چندسال پیش فیلم " بازی تقلید " با بازیگری "بندیکت کامبربچ " را دوبار دیده بودم وبازمیخواهم ببینم .درفیلم فشار روحی وارده براو در کاروزندگی شخصی توسط بازیگرانگلیسی بسیارخوب تصویرشده است . چهارامتیاز وبلکه پنج امتیازبه شخص "تورینگ " است .

[Ettore1207 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un genio inadatto a vivere nei confini stabiliti dalla nostra società, descritto in una biografia breve e scorrevole, con il pregio di non entrare in dettagli tecnici (crittografia, macchina Enigma ecc.) che alla lunga sarebbero risultati noiosi.

[Dj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Turning is considered one of the Fathers of Modern Computers, after reading the book he was at best a difficult individual to deal with but one that was brilliant at any task he set his mind to. This book doesn't do any deep dives into his life, but it does very well at giving a quick overview that lets the reader get a good idea of the man and his accomplishments. Many of those accomplishments couldn't be brought up during his lifetime due to the Official Secrets Act. It looks at the fact that he was Homosexual with an even and unjudgemental hand, including his trial for that since at the time just being Homosexual was against the law. The only real question it brings up is his death, which was ruled a deliberate suicide. The author seems to lean more toward the judgment of his family who believed it more likely to be accidental.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A whistle-stop tour of Alan Turing's life. Good to get a basic understanding of his work and biography, but sometimes reads like an extended Wikipedia entry.

[John Naylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit I am fascinated by Alan Turing. He was a genius by any definition of the word. This biography just fails to do his genius justice.

This account works as a guide of what to research further and also to give a guideline of Turing's life. It just lacks the depth needed to properly appraise his life. It probably would need five times the length to do this.

I would recommend this as a good starting point for those interested in Turing. There is so much more you can learn about him elsewhere after you finish this.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

over the moon...some of it was over my head, though. good despite a gross spelling error. Alan's first love was Christopher MORCOMBE not MORCOM

[Kaspars Laizans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turing Light

Very heavy focus on Turing's sexual preferences. Arguably they did have a huge effect on his life, but there are other more interesting things about AT on which author could have focused.
Reasonably well written, a breeze to read. Not too technically heavy, mainly talks about social aspects of protagonists life

[Texx Norman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The autobiography had all the information but it was not going to be like the current movie. The drama was missing. It reads like a record of the man's life. That was want I wanted and that is what I got

[Pat Newman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dense for me vis-à-vis the mathematics and science behind the machinery, but worth reading. Am glad to know about this amazing man and the effect he had on our world.

[Basmaish · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief and interesting introduction on Alan Turing's life.

[Narinder Bhatia · Rating 3 out of 5]

a nice read.No doubt gives you much more but gets very technical at many places.
A good read for those interested in cryptology/ cryptography.

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonable introduction to Alan Turing. One day it would be great to read a book about him that does not focus on his homosexuality, but rather his contribution to computing science.

[Pier Stefano · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a short and concise biography of Alan Turing, highlighting his main life events, war time contributions and scientific achievements. An introductory book into the life of a genius.

[BronwenEve · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.
I can’t imagine a lot of young people these days know the name Alan Turing. It’s a oversight on the part of educators that his man is not more widely know for his incredible achievements both during WWII and after its conclusion. Not only did Turing break an unbreakable code but his efforts shortened the war by two years saving millions of lives. He was also the first to theorise and actualise Turing Machines, you may know them as computers. What I loved about this book was that it didn’t shy away from his homosexuality as so many books do. Instead, it celebrates his bravery living as an openly gay man in a time when homosexuality was illegal. His experiences with the law and oestrogen therapy are horrifying to read about, but it really is a tribute to him and other men given the same treatment that it didn’t beat him into subservience and he kept being the man he knew he was. The life of this incredible man has for so long been neglected, this book is an important read for those who recognise and appreciate everything he has done for our history, our present, and our future.

[Nilo Di Stefano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finisco questo libro all’indomani della morte di un altro mio idolo Stephen Hawking. Alan Turin insieme a pochi altri miei “miti” terreni è la figura più importante della tecnologia pre e post bellica. È strano come Turing, così come Olivetti , veri padri indiscussi del computer, siano passati quasi inosservati per anni e anni. Questo libro mette splendidamente in evidenza il genio assoluto di Alan Turing. Non solo la genialità, ma le stranezze , i modi di interpretare la vita è il lavoro, senza mai cadere nelle banalità o in stravaganti storie romanzate, attenendosi scrupolosamente a dati e fatti. Ho trovato questa biografia interessante , scorrevole ed un’ottima base di partenza per conoscere meglio l’uomo che con la sua mente ha aperto le porte dell’informatica ed ha chiuso quelle della Germania Nazista. Un eroe cui la GB ha restituito dignità non da tantissimo e che ha pagato a caro prezzo la propria omosessualità in un periodo in cui questa era illegale. Ottima lettura

[Timothy OBriant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but informative book about Alan Turing. Having been a computer programmer myself since the late 1970's, I knew Turing's name, but not very much about his contribution to the field. I, unfortunately, saw the movie "The Imitation Game" before reading this book. It paints a somewhat different picture of Turing than does this book.

My sense of Cawthorne's book is that the author was very sympathetic to Turing. His portrait seemed to put Turing in the best light as far as he could.

In all, the overall story was brief but comprehensive which is what I was looking for. In the end, Cawthorne catalogs the honors, books, films, plays and so forth related to Turing since his untimely death. It seemed a fair overview of the man and his life.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quickie Turing biography

The market is flooded with Turing biographies. Books, Movies, and whatnot.
This is one more. However, each book has a different angle on the story of Alan Turning.

You cannot overlook Nigel Cawthorne. The book is small but has the essential information and several photographs to boot.

“Turing was asked if he would say the computer was conscious if it passed the Turing test. His reply was: ‘I would say it was conscious or otherwise I would be punished.’”

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Nonfiction, Biography, History)

I was inspired to read Enigma Man after seeing the film The Imitation Game. This short biography of Alan Turing, genius of Bletchley Park and Britain’s chief codebreaker during WWII is the book on which the movie was based.

The book is a little dry, but short and worthwhile to have some background knowledge on this mastermind.

3½ stars

[Konstantinos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an enjoyable book covering most of Alan Turing's life.

As you can expect from the book's length, the author does avoid going into too much detail but most points you would expect are covered and a great number of characters are introduced. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the included information but none of it stood out compared to what I was already more or less aware of about Alan Turing.

All in all, it is a great starting point for further reading and definitely enough to draw some inspiration from Turing's fascinating work.

[David McFarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This smallish book (128 pages) is well written and very informative. I would recommend it to those journalists who think of Alan Turing as only a two dimensional figure. The book not informs you on Alan, but puts him in context in history both in the Uk, USA and the world. It also has an excellent index at the end and a further reading section.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfectly written account of Turing's life and achievements.
This book clearly explained the technical and allowed the reader a glimpse into
the private life of his genius. It made me wish I could have known Turing. I would have liked him.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audio book, and the reader was amazing! Great content for the inquiring mind and a great expansion on the life of this socially awkward genius. The mystery of his death is fascinating.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

این کتاب به روایت و مرور زندگی یکی از نوابغ ریاضی و برجسته‌ترین دانشمندانی که جهان تاکنون به خود دیده می‌پردازد؛ فیلسوف، منطق‌دان و رمزنگاری که پایه‌گذار کامپیوترهای امروزی است و نقشی به سزا در زمینه‌ی هوش مصنوعی ایفاکرده‌است.

[Mike Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book about the life and contributions of an enormously bright guy. I must say that while I didn’t (and don’t) understand some of the explanations in this book it is clear that without Turing, WWII could’ve gone much differently

[Steven Northover · Rating 5 out of 5]

This easily read book appealed to me. Turing, a genius, was not like everyone around him. He did not do easily and well those things most of us do without thinking about them. He was socially awkward. He had many detractors.

His approach and success in codebreaking kept Great Britain in the war, bloodied, but not defeated.

After WWII Turing continued to use his extraordinary brain to develop approaches and concepts that continue to influence our lives today.

Before reading this book I believed Turing committed suicide. After reading it I believe it is far more likely Turing died accidently.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the top secret war behind the Allied successes in WWII, in codebreaking, or in Turing himself.

[Rhys Cisuelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting, a short and concise book regarding Alan - I’ve learnt a lot :)

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A relatively short book about a man who heavily influenced the computer all rely on.
Informative and extremely interesting.

[Karen B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great biography..

Great biography

I don r like being told I have to submit 18 more words. This is a great biography period.

[Ines · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short, incomplete history

[Ashkan · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب خیلی خوبیه
من خوشم اومد فقط مشکلی که داره اینه که بعضی جاها بشدت پیچیده صبت می کنه و میهم جوری که اادم گیج میشه
به جز اونم کتاب در سطح عادی ای بود
خوندنش لذت بخش بود ولی :)