The Man who Knew Too Much
Alan Turing and the Invention of the Computer
“A poignant depiction of Turing the man.” —New Yorker
Could the Nazi’s intricate code be broken? Alan Turing’s brilliant solution to one of the great mathematical problems of his day was to propose an imaginary “computing machine.” Then he successfully designed and built just such a machine, ensuring the Allied victory and opening the door to the computer age. Turing became a champion of artificial intelligence, but his life and work were cut short. As an openly gay man at a time when homosexuality was illegal in England, he was convicted and forced to undergo a humiliating “treatment” that may have led to his suicide.
With a novelist’s sensitivity, David Leavitt portrays Turing in all his humanity—his eccentricities, his brilliance, his fatal candor—and elegantly explains his work and its implications.
“Skillful and literate . . . a promising combination [of author and subject]” —New York Times Book Review
“With lyrical prose and great compassion, Leavitt has produced a simple book about a complex man involved in an almost unfathomable task that is accessible to any reader” —Publishers Weekly