Prof: Alan Turing Decoded

Dermot Turing

History Press, Sep 15, 2015 - Biography & Autobiography - 304 pages

Alan Turing was an extraordinary man who crammed into a life of only 42 years the careers of mathematician, codebreaker, computer scientist and biologist. He is widely regarded as a war hero grossly mistreated by his unappreciative country and it has become hard to disentangle the real man from the story. It is easy to cast him as a misfit, the stereotypical professor. But actually Alan Turing was never a professor, and his nickname Prof was given by his codebreaking friends at Bletchley Park. Now, Alan Turing s nephew, Dermot Turing, has taken a fresh look at the influences on Alan Turing s life and creativity, and the later creation of a legend. For the first time it is possible to disclose the real character behind the cipher-text: how did Alan s childhood experiences influence the man? Who were the influential figures in Alan s formative years? How did his creative ideas evolve? Was he really a solitary, asocial genius? What was his wartime work after 1942, and why was it kept even more secret than the Enigma story? What is the truth about Alan Turing s conviction for gross indecency, and did he commit suicide? What is the significance of the Royal Pardon granted in 2013? In Dermot s own style he takes a vibrant and entertaining approach to the life and work of a true genius.

About the author

Sir Dermot Turing was educated at Sherborne and Cambridge, like his uncle, Alan Turing, before him. After completing his DPhil in Genetics at New College, Oxford, Dermot moved into the legal profession, working first for HM Treasury Solicitor's Department and then for Clifford Chance, where he was a partner from 1999-2014. As Alan Turing's nephew, Dermot has followed closely the gradual revelation of the achievements of the Bletchley codebreakers from the first release of materials in 1975 and the reopening of Bletchley Park to the public in the early 1990s. He is a serving Trustee of Bletchley Park.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Prof: Alan Turing Decoded
• Author: Dermot Turing
• Publisher: History Press, 2015
• ISBN: 075096524X, 9780750965248
• Length: 304 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Historical; Biography & Autobiography / Military; Biography & Autobiography / Science & Technology; History / Military / World War II