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dreaming_ace's review against another edition
4.0
I came to discover Alan Turing through a preview for "The Imitation Game" coming out this fall (Nov 21, 2014) This was the second biography of Alan Turing I have read. I have to say I care deeply for Turings story and see many lessons/parallels for my own life. I will say over all I enjoyed this book. I will say it is a bit long and included a lot of explanations of his theories which were challenging to follow. But Over all I am glad I read this book :)
snippie99's review against another edition
3.0
I loved reading about Alan turings life and how brilliant of a man he was.
badseedgirl's review against another edition
This novel was just to dry for me to finish. When I read a biography I want to feel close to the subject. This novel lacked warmth or a sense of personality and I abandoned it at 100 pages.
jennthegreat251's review against another edition
4.0
Not a book I would normally choose but an awesome interesting read.
trid1977's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of Math! and Computer Science Theory (fortunately that's what my university degree is in). So I found that interesting. I suspect the average person who just saw the Imitation Game would give up!
seclement's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting and informative, but far too long. While the life of Alan Turing is quite an interesting one and there's an engaging story here that is told well, it really does begin to read, after a while, as a book written by a Turing obsessive. I recommend reading it if you are interested in his life, but don't feel bad if you feel like skimming some bits in the middle. The level of detail is excessive, but I suppose this was riding a wave of Turing's popularity, and you might as well get it all out there in one go.
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
4.0
I've had this on my list ever since I saw and was very disappointed by The Imitation Game. The Enigma righted that wrong, giving Turing the complexity he deserves. Rather than an misanthropic genius who closely guarded his sexuality, Turing was sociable, witty and very comfortable with being gay. Although he certainly understood that the wider world rejected his "sexual perversion," the cloistered worlds of English public schools, Cambridge and eventually Bletchley Park all shielded him from this disapproval. He didn't proclaim the fact that he was a gay man, but he also didn't hide it, and it seems that most of his friends were aware of the fact.
I was pleased by the in-depth explanations of Turing machines, the Enigma bombes, and other technically complex subjects, although I still lack a full understanding of how exactly they worked. Hodges succeeded in communicating the genius of Turing's work even though I couldn't totally grasp the specifics.
Turing's post-war life is not as interesting, and Hodges' deep dive into Turing's research about embryonic development and other seemingly ancillary topics lost my interest a bit. Of course, that's no one's fault, except perhaps Hodges' for feeling like he had to spend equal time on these topics.
His account of Turing's death is by necessity dissatisfying, but I was pleased that he didn't speculate too wildly on the reasons behind it. Whatever it was that drove Turing to suicide, it is obviously too late to make any satisfactory discoveries.
Overall I was struck by the playfulness and freedom with which Turing explored the future of computing. It seemed easy for him to imagine a world in which computers played a central role, and although things hasn't quite turned out the way he imagined, he got plenty right. Moreover, his ideas formed the unique blend of mechanical and theoretical that is the foundation of modern computing. He saw incredible potential in what at the time was easy to dismiss as impractical.
I was pleased by the in-depth explanations of Turing machines, the Enigma bombes, and other technically complex subjects, although I still lack a full understanding of how exactly they worked. Hodges succeeded in communicating the genius of Turing's work even though I couldn't totally grasp the specifics.
Turing's post-war life is not as interesting, and Hodges' deep dive into Turing's research about embryonic development and other seemingly ancillary topics lost my interest a bit. Of course, that's no one's fault, except perhaps Hodges' for feeling like he had to spend equal time on these topics.
His account of Turing's death is by necessity dissatisfying, but I was pleased that he didn't speculate too wildly on the reasons behind it. Whatever it was that drove Turing to suicide, it is obviously too late to make any satisfactory discoveries.
Overall I was struck by the playfulness and freedom with which Turing explored the future of computing. It seemed easy for him to imagine a world in which computers played a central role, and although things hasn't quite turned out the way he imagined, he got plenty right. Moreover, his ideas formed the unique blend of mechanical and theoretical that is the foundation of modern computing. He saw incredible potential in what at the time was easy to dismiss as impractical.
professorfate's review against another edition
4.0
An extremely English biography of Alan Turing, a father of the modern-day computer. It does tend to jump around quite a bit (especially later in the book), but it was still quite informative.