Nothing beats archival materials for really learning about a subject. Prof: Alan Turing Decoded is an interesting biography owing to its use of letters from members of the Turing family, including Alan Turing himself.

This shorter biography provides a more personal look at Alan Turing’s life while still being scholarly.ĭermot Turing does an excellent job of telling the story of Alan Turing the man, not the myth born from public perceptions based on various dramatic interpretations. Written by Alan Turing’s nephew, Durmot Turing, Prof: Alan Turing Decoded draws upon material from the family, plus declassified material that was not available when Hodges researched his book. Individually, or collectively, these works allow the reader to learn who Alan Turing was beyond just a few well-known, broad-stroke themes. Collectively, these resources cover his life, both professional and personal, and work others have done to build upon Turing’s ideas. Here are five books and archival material that delve deeply into the life and legacy of Alan Turing.

The name Alan Turing should be familiar to anyone in open source communities: His theories had a huge impact on the development of the field of computer science, and his code-breaking work at Bletchley Park during World War II was the focus of the 2014 film, The Imitation Game, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing.Īnother well-known fact about Turing was his conviction for 'gross indecency' because of his homosexuality, and the posthumous apology and pardon issued over more a half a century after Turing’s death.īut beyond all of this, who was Alan Turing? Recently, Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, announced that Alan Turning would be the new face on the UK£ 50 note.

Alan turing biography book