The Enigma Story: The Truth Behind the 'Unbreakable' World War II Cipher

by Dermot Turing

'Turing writes on codebreaking with understandable authority and compelling panache.'
- Michael Smith, bestselling author of Station X.

The Enigma cipher was supposed to be the German's impenetrable defence for its military communications against prying eyes during World War II. All manner of secrets were entrusted to it. When the Allies finally managed to crack the code, it heralded a turning point in the war.

Written by Dermot Turing - the nephew of famous codebreaker Alan Turing - The Enigma Story reveals the efforts of the codebreakers at Bletchley Park, the machines called 'bombes' specially designed to break it, and the vast resources devoted in America to decrypting German messages. From the cloak-and-dagger heroics of men like Hans-Thilo Schmidt and Gustave Bertrand to the brilliant mathematical discoveries of men like Henryk Zygalski and Dilly Knox to the fraught decision-making of Allied High Command, the battle for the code was at the heart of the Allied victory in World War II.

This extraordinary tale of intrigue, ingenuity and courage brings to life the complete story of the Enigma in a lively and entertaining narrative.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, World War II, Historical

226 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2022

About the author

British solicitor and author. Nephew of Alan Turing.

Reviews

[T.R. Preston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of this was very interesting, but there was not nearly enough Alan Turing. He is only mentioned in passing a handful of times. I understand that it was not just him involved in this process, but you can illustrate that better than basically just leaving him out of the book. Don't put his picture on the bloody cover if you're going to do that.

[Jennifer Troy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too technical for me!

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Dermot Turing https://dermotturing.com is the nephew of Alan Turing and the author of eight books. The Enigma Story: The Truth Behind the ‘Unbreakable’ World War II Cipher was published in 2022. It is my 67th book to complete in 2022.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of delivering a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! I categorize this book/novel as G.

The book covers the development of the Enigma machine and gives considerable credit to the Polish code-breaking effort. It goes on to detail the work by the British at Bletchley Park and the efforts by Alan Turing to break the German code. The Bombe machines developed to break the code are described. The book also describes the American resources devoted to breaking the German codes.

I enjoyed the 6 hours I spent reading this 226-page WWII history. My career was spent working with computers. I am always amazed at what those at Bletchley Park were able to accomplish! I like the chosen cover art. I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

[Lyazzat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinated book.

The layout is in sequency to follow from beginning to the end. Plus side it describes separately briefly autobiography of codebreakers who was involved into cipher resolution and what happened after Enigma project was closed.

There are some tags in society which we follow by default, what had amazed my thinking and changed it, is one short paragraph from the book:

"Joan Clarke survived Jock, and died in 1996 aged 79. Joan Clarke was one of Bletchley's pre-eminent codebreakers, and one of the first to hammer on the glass ceiling of a male-dominated establishment (GCHQ -Government Communications Headquarter has never had a woman director). Unfortunately, Joan Clarke is more frequently remembered on account of her short engagement to Alan Turing. Even GCHQ's website gives this fact equal prominence to her work on Banburismus; she deserves better recognition, and in her own right."

Gosh, I wonder if Enigma code cipher will be ever published from German side to see more insides of actual machine and details when rotors were updated with additional ciphers and mechanism of it. Surely, all people who were working into enciphering it. As far as I know it is silent topic.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is written by a relative of Alan Turing who never met him. I picked up the book as I thought it may have some personalized stories about Alan (it doesn't). I've never read about Enigma and only know about Enigma and BP through limited documentaries so the history behind how the machine was made, the English government/military not thinking it would be worthwhile before WW2, and the efforts of the Polish mathematicians was very informative. It doesn't really focus on Turing at all, which kind of highlights the point that he was just 1 person from a team that collectively helped the war effort (even though he created the BOMB which was instrumental, this was already made originally by the Polish mathematicians). Its a fascinating read, the only negatives are that the author has tried to detail the maths behind the machines and how code breakers work, which is far more complicated that what I could understand. Just glad there are mathematicians out there who could wrap their heads around that in WW2.

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Enigma Story by Dermot Turing presents the codebreaking story in both cryptologic and personal terms. In other words, it is about the people (his uncle was Alan Turing) as well as the process and results.

I honestly don't know how much "new" information is here and I don't really care. Although I've read a number of books on the topic, I never committed details to memory so I can't speak to those. But even knowing a lot of the story, this is still a very interesting read and the telling of a lot of it with the people as centered as the work makes for a wonderful perspective.

Whether this is your first dive into the story or another dive because it is so interesting, I think you will enjoy the book. There is enough depth to keep those interested in cryptography engaged and enough narrative arc to keep those interested in the people engaged.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Alexander Vreede · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book written by Alan Turings cousin (who never actually met him) is very informative on the total history of code breaking at Bletchley Park during WW II. It’s emphasis is on the Enigma but it also points out that - although the Enigma story is central in the publics eye - there was much more to codebreaking at BP than just Enigma.
In the first chapters the author really tries to explain the Enigma code itself and how it was being decrypted, in my case unfortunately in vain. I’m still struggling to understand the gist of it.

[Ron Baumer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An thoroughly engrossing story about how the Allies broken the German codes in WW2. The story provides great insights into the various individuals involved as well as first hand accounts. This is a great read for all history enthusiasts.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Carl Hanger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A particular view of the efforts of Bletchley Park during WW2.

[Raven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst probably very interesting, a lot of it was very complicated and went completely over my head. Probably best for those who want to know exactly how enigma worked rather than the overall idea.

[Mirrordance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un racconto molto tecnico ma poco avvincente.

[Tim P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book was really focused on the technical side of things and not really the human story which i really enjoyed but im sure that angle isnt for everyone.