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A review by stevenyenzer
Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges
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.