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The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park: The Secret Intelligence Station that Helped Defeat the Nazis
' Turing writes on codebreaking with understandable authority and compelling panache. '
- Michael Smith, bestselling author of Station X .
At Bletchley Park, some of Britain's most talented mathematicians, linguists, and intellectuals were assembled to break Nazi codes. Kept secret for nearly thirty years, we have now come to realise the crucial role that these codebreakers played in the Allied victory in World War II.
Written by Dermot Turing - the nephew of famous codebreaker Alan Turing - this illustrated account provides unique insight into the behind-the-scenes action at Bletchley Park. Discover how brilliant and eccentric individuals such as Dilly Knox, Alan Turing and Joan Clarke were recruited, the social life that grew up around the park, and how they dealt with the ever-present burden of secrecy.
Including a foreword by Professor Christopher Andrew of Cambridge University, author of MI5's official history The Secret World , this book brings to life the stories of the men and women who toiled day and night to crack the seemingly unbreakable enigma code.
- Michael Smith, bestselling author of Station X .
At Bletchley Park, some of Britain's most talented mathematicians, linguists, and intellectuals were assembled to break Nazi codes. Kept secret for nearly thirty years, we have now come to realise the crucial role that these codebreakers played in the Allied victory in World War II.
Written by Dermot Turing - the nephew of famous codebreaker Alan Turing - this illustrated account provides unique insight into the behind-the-scenes action at Bletchley Park. Discover how brilliant and eccentric individuals such as Dilly Knox, Alan Turing and Joan Clarke were recruited, the social life that grew up around the park, and how they dealt with the ever-present burden of secrecy.
Including a foreword by Professor Christopher Andrew of Cambridge University, author of MI5's official history The Secret World , this book brings to life the stories of the men and women who toiled day and night to crack the seemingly unbreakable enigma code.
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Published March 15, 2020
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About the author
Dermot Turing
35 books15 followersBritish solicitor and author. Nephew of Alan Turing.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 18, 2024
Not what I was hoping for. No clear, structured overview, but rather disjointed episodes interspersed with the short CVs of certain codebreakers.
Not bad, but wanting.
Not bad, but wanting.
October 11, 2020
Bletchley Park in England is an estate that housed the intellectual elite and Cryptologists responsible for breaking German and other codes during World War II. With that said, without these individuals the outcome of World War II could have turned out quite differently.
" The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park" covers a wide array of people that were at Bletchley Park during its time in operation. Many and/or most are given a heading and personal info separate from the mention of their name in the body of the narrative. I found that this made the information more accessible and intriguing. Readers are given a snapshot of an individual's background and personality, keeping this non fiction work from sounding too android. So I liked the way this book is organized.
Women were definitely shortchanged during the 40's in pretty much everything, so I appreciated that the book covers the many women that contributed to the intellectual pursuits of code breaking during World War II. Their stories were amazing!
I rate this a strong 3.5 stars.
There isn't a whole lot of info on Alan Turing in this book. He is given about the same amount of time as everyone else. In one way, and personally this worked out for me, because I learned a lot about other heroic people that helped during this time period; People that I had previously known nothing about. However, some will pick up this book expecting to read more about Alan Turing especially since his picture is on the cover.
Also, this is the first arc I received from Netgalley. I had downloaded it, but could not find it, and found I could not download it again. It's completely my fault because I think too much time had gone by since I received it and started reading it. I'm only stating because then I bought it for my kindle app ( because I did really want to read it) and found some unfinished sentences in the paid version surrounding a few photos such as in locations 1903 and 1618 of 3085.
Thank you Netgalley, Publishers, Dermot Turing for bringing this book to my attention and giving me an arc in exchange for a honest review.
" The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park" covers a wide array of people that were at Bletchley Park during its time in operation. Many and/or most are given a heading and personal info separate from the mention of their name in the body of the narrative. I found that this made the information more accessible and intriguing. Readers are given a snapshot of an individual's background and personality, keeping this non fiction work from sounding too android. So I liked the way this book is organized.
Women were definitely shortchanged during the 40's in pretty much everything, so I appreciated that the book covers the many women that contributed to the intellectual pursuits of code breaking during World War II. Their stories were amazing!
I rate this a strong 3.5 stars.
There isn't a whole lot of info on Alan Turing in this book. He is given about the same amount of time as everyone else. In one way, and personally this worked out for me, because I learned a lot about other heroic people that helped during this time period; People that I had previously known nothing about. However, some will pick up this book expecting to read more about Alan Turing especially since his picture is on the cover.
Also, this is the first arc I received from Netgalley. I had downloaded it, but could not find it, and found I could not download it again. It's completely my fault because I think too much time had gone by since I received it and started reading it. I'm only stating because then I bought it for my kindle app ( because I did really want to read it) and found some unfinished sentences in the paid version surrounding a few photos such as in locations 1903 and 1618 of 3085.
Thank you Netgalley, Publishers, Dermot Turing for bringing this book to my attention and giving me an arc in exchange for a honest review.
June 21, 2021
A relatively straightforward and clearly written history of Bletchley Park written by Alan Turing’s nephew whose real focus is on the individuals involved – with the text proceeding chronologically but broken up by some 50-60 mini-biographies (usually around a page with a photo and which are typically placed at the point at which their connection to Bletchley – normally their work there – enters the story).
I bought the book on a visit to the Park and one of the people in the Bookshop (who was extremely knowledgeable on all the books on sale) recommended it as based on all of the latest knowledge (it was published in 2020). The biographies are scrupulously balanced with no special treatment of the author’s Uncle and with women given prominence alongside men and the historical part is also balanced - comprehensive but not excessive for the casual reader.
My two criticism would be that there is perhaps too much balance – nothing really stands out in the book either in the biographies (particularly as some of the characters are clearly remarkable and/or eccentric individuals) or in the historical detail.
I bought the book on a visit to the Park and one of the people in the Bookshop (who was extremely knowledgeable on all the books on sale) recommended it as based on all of the latest knowledge (it was published in 2020). The biographies are scrupulously balanced with no special treatment of the author’s Uncle and with women given prominence alongside men and the historical part is also balanced - comprehensive but not excessive for the casual reader.
My two criticism would be that there is perhaps too much balance – nothing really stands out in the book either in the biographies (particularly as some of the characters are clearly remarkable and/or eccentric individuals) or in the historical detail.
September 26, 2020
I’m not going to lie, a book by Alan Turing’s nephew about Bletchley Park? I was hoping for a little more behind the scenes or insights into the secret WWII code breaking site and Mr. Turing. Unfortunately, this was a bit dry, and honestly didn’t give the in-depth details I was looking for.
The focus was on the people of Bletchley Park, which of course is the title of the book, but these are very short introductions: so and so came from here. Studied such and such at this university and was recruited by blah blah because of blah blah. They worked on this at BP. After the war they did this job and died on this date. As an American, other than Turing, I had only heard of a couple of these people. Interspersed are some facts and anecdotes about the work done at Bletchley, a bit about how the codes were broken and the machines rebuilt, but nothing really earth shattering.
Even for me, who is a WWII history buff and has read other books about Bletchley and code breaking on both sides of the Atlantic, I’m not sure that I would recommend this to someone as general reading.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for ARC in exchange for a fair review.
The focus was on the people of Bletchley Park, which of course is the title of the book, but these are very short introductions: so and so came from here. Studied such and such at this university and was recruited by blah blah because of blah blah. They worked on this at BP. After the war they did this job and died on this date. As an American, other than Turing, I had only heard of a couple of these people. Interspersed are some facts and anecdotes about the work done at Bletchley, a bit about how the codes were broken and the machines rebuilt, but nothing really earth shattering.
Even for me, who is a WWII history buff and has read other books about Bletchley and code breaking on both sides of the Atlantic, I’m not sure that I would recommend this to someone as general reading.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for ARC in exchange for a fair review.
July 5, 2023
If you're interested in learning about the processes involved in defeating enemy code at Bletchley Park, this would not be the book to read. The author's intent was to highlight the various personalities who served throughout the 1930s through the end of 1945. Since much of the Bletchley Park work was kept top secret until more recent years, the brilliant and brave men and women who served here were not even allowed to discuss their work with family and friends, much less the general public. Men and women from so many different backgrounds truly saved uncounted lives, shortened the war, and should be hailed as heroes. I found the format annoying since I wanted a literal exposition of the work done at Bletchley. The book is a series of biographical summaries of the various people involved, followed with more expository history. I never had a clear, layman's understanding of how the code breaking actually worked.
August 26, 2022
The bulk of the content is comprised of short biographical sketches of key individuals. Historical overview is there, but not in a very satisfying way.
October 25, 2020
Although this book was interesting it wasn’t quite as interesting as I thought it would be. An absolutely great read for those who enjoy the technical stuff of how things work. I loved hearing about the ladies who were there, what their roles were in this important place. It was good to see so many photos enabling the reader to put names to faces. I would have liked a bit more detail about the people and less of the machines! This book would be a great gift for anyone who is fascinated by war, especially what went on behind the scenes. I was given this ARC by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 13, 2024
if you liked The Imitation Game …
You’ll probably like this book. It tells of many other people involved in codebreaking during WW2 in England, men and women. I wanted more about Turing and the characters in the film but it’s still an informative book that will hold your attentikn (and rectify some details the film got wrong or mushed together for the sake of a 2 hour film - but i still like the film a lot.)
You’ll probably like this book. It tells of many other people involved in codebreaking during WW2 in England, men and women. I wanted more about Turing and the characters in the film but it’s still an informative book that will hold your attentikn (and rectify some details the film got wrong or mushed together for the sake of a 2 hour film - but i still like the film a lot.)
March 17, 2022
Follow Up After Visiting
Bletchley Park had long been on my ‘Bucket List’ and after visiting I looked for a book on the subject and this one came recommended.
It is in chronological order and includes ‘pen portraits’ of all the relevant people.
I found the book interesting and informative and a good companion to anyone visiting Bletchley Park.
Bletchley Park had long been on my ‘Bucket List’ and after visiting I looked for a book on the subject and this one came recommended.
It is in chronological order and includes ‘pen portraits’ of all the relevant people.
I found the book interesting and informative and a good companion to anyone visiting Bletchley Park.
December 31, 2023
6.9/10 better than Dermot Turing's "Alan Turing Decoded"
May 12, 2024
An interesting look at the personalities at Bletchley.
Jumped around a LOT though.
Jumped around a LOT though.
February 11, 2025
It was a well documented book which kept the reader on a chronological path. The authors could have described the revival of Bletchley Park and how it has become an active tourist attraction.
April 13, 2020
"The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park" gives readers some of the history of the now famous Bletchley Park and the people behind the amazing work. It gives us a strong basis in Britain's codebreaking during the first World War and how Bletchley Park began with many of the same people from the first War's group before expanding to the thousands of mathematicians, historians, physicists, and language experts who stayed through the war. Every few pages, in a separate section from the main text, Turing provides a short biography of one of the people he's currently talking about- their education, what they did after the war, etc. When these biographies were fitted into ongoing text they became a bit distracting, but if they were at the end of a text section it worked better.
I went into this book figuring that Dermot Turing, as the nephew of famous Bletchley Park alum Alan Turing, would focus mostly on Alan and those who came into his orbit. It would have been understandable. But I was pleasantly surprised by the expanse of people talked about, with in fact no emphasis on Turing at all. That said, the people mostly blended together for me after awhile, and by the end of the book I don't think I could point out one unique fact about any of the people involved. The discussions about the machines designed, built, and used were fairly basic, and while I learned a bit about the different Enigma machines used and how different techniques were needed to break each one, that was about it. Sadly, the book wasn't as interesting as I had hoped and didn't really add to my limited knowledge or understanding of Bletchley Park or the people who broke some of the most important codes in the war.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I went into this book figuring that Dermot Turing, as the nephew of famous Bletchley Park alum Alan Turing, would focus mostly on Alan and those who came into his orbit. It would have been understandable. But I was pleasantly surprised by the expanse of people talked about, with in fact no emphasis on Turing at all. That said, the people mostly blended together for me after awhile, and by the end of the book I don't think I could point out one unique fact about any of the people involved. The discussions about the machines designed, built, and used were fairly basic, and while I learned a bit about the different Enigma machines used and how different techniques were needed to break each one, that was about it. Sadly, the book wasn't as interesting as I had hoped and didn't really add to my limited knowledge or understanding of Bletchley Park or the people who broke some of the most important codes in the war.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 15, 2020
Received from Net Gallery! "The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park" is and always has interested me on All the secret works these men and women did during WorldWarll,to rid the world of evil and have from the Nazis to Hitler to the Devil! These people never got the thanks that they are due so along with the story,you get to meet some of the hero's that helped make our world a little bit safer. I got a little mixed up but one I figured out how the book was laid out! Fantastic!! Come into a world that only people have heard about or read about or written about! Very many different characters that you will learn to know and you can tell so much research went into this story! Don't be surprised if what you read and learn! If we find out you tell someone,better look over your shoulder,you funny know who may be coming for you! Such a historical fiction story you just can't pass up and not read! Maybe you will become a code breaker or even a spy!
March 20, 2020
Of course there's a lot of denoting the whos, wheres, and whys of decoding enemy communications from early WW1 and beyond. But the most enthralling stuff is not only the what and where or the little tidbits of daily life, it's the rather complex bios of EACH person who made up the team despite the misogynism of the time. As data is given, it is also clear that the vast majority lived into their late 80s or longer. Considering the work, it's also no surprise that many of the more brilliant people were a bit eccentric. I found this book fascinating because I center on people first and deeds second, but everything in it is remarkable!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Arcturus Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Arcturus Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!
March 27, 2020
An easy to read and informative history of the world famous Bletchley Park and the dedicated staff who helped to save so many lives throughout the 20th century.
Fascinating to read about the role of women at Bletchley and how they also participated at every level of analysis and code breaking - not simply in the roles of clerks and admin but truely in a hands on capacity.
The detailed bios of many figures from Bletchley Park, make for an interesting addition to the book and I would recommend to anyone wishing to learn about the history of cryptography in Europe and WII.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Fascinating to read about the role of women at Bletchley and how they also participated at every level of analysis and code breaking - not simply in the roles of clerks and admin but truely in a hands on capacity.
The detailed bios of many figures from Bletchley Park, make for an interesting addition to the book and I would recommend to anyone wishing to learn about the history of cryptography in Europe and WII.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
March 23, 2020
NetGalley
Member Review
The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park
by Dermot Turing
Pub Date: 15 Mar 2020
Review by
jeanie m, Reviewer
Last updated on 22 Mar 2020
My Recommendation
Thanks netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review.
Fascinating mesmerising and intriguing all come to kind with this fabulous read what amazing work was done at this iconic house the pressure must have been horrendous and so many people's lives at risk at the same time
An excellent read and can highly recommend.
Member Review
The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park
by Dermot Turing
Pub Date: 15 Mar 2020
Review by
jeanie m, Reviewer
Last updated on 22 Mar 2020
My Recommendation
Thanks netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review.
Fascinating mesmerising and intriguing all come to kind with this fabulous read what amazing work was done at this iconic house the pressure must have been horrendous and so many people's lives at risk at the same time
An excellent read and can highly recommend.
May 14, 2020
I didn’t find it particularly interesting. Lots of detail about technical side of code breaking. Lots of mini biographies of characters at Bletchley but didn’t get a feel for the place and the people which is what would have interested me more.
June 4, 2023
I have been looking for a book on Bletchley Park that doesn't focus only on Alan Turing and this is it.
July 23, 2023
Absolutely brilliant from start to finish. How much brain power it took.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews