Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #496600 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Library Binding
• 112 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up—British mathematician Turing (1912–1954) contributed much to what we now call artificial intelligence and computer science. He worked during World War II as a code breaker and used his skills to solve complex German codes, especially the Enigma cipher. But his life was one of difficulty and challenges that often made it hard for him to work effectively. Sometimes his incredible shyness came across as aloofness. A homosexual relationship in 1952 caused him legal woes. It was against the law, and he pled guilty to gross indecency. He was sentenced to a year of probation and hormonal drug therapy. On June 7, 1954, Turing was found dead in his apartment. His death was ruled a suicide, although his mother claimed it was an accident. It occurred during a far more positive time in the man's life and remains controversial. Although this book is filled with many of the technical aspects of mathematics, it is also a story of one man's brilliance and passion. This well-written biography, complete with good-quality photos, gives insight into a man most readers know little about.—Karen Scott, Valley Intermediate School, Pelham, AL
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From Booklist
Corrigan’s descriptions of English mathematician Turing as sporting “ragged, wrinkled clothes” and few social graces will fit many readers’ mental image of a numbers genius. But other aspects of this portrait push against stereotype, revealing a life marked by a turbulence more typically associated with writers or artists. Following insightful snippets from Turing’s youth, Corrigan guides readers through his subject’s work as an early computing visionary and, later, his now-legendary participation in World War II’s Bletchley Park code-breaking project. Throughout, candid mentions of Turing’s homosexuality help readers contextualize the scandal he endured after running afoul of the era’s discriminatory legislation. Equal sensitivity distinguishes Corrigan’s handling of Turing’s death, officially (but not decisively) a suicide and, bizarrely, apparently staged to resemble a scene in the film Snow White. Illustrated with well-chosen photos, including one of the “father of computer science” casually eating cake at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, this nicely documented title bodes well for the Profiles in Mathematics series’ stated aim to “lift mathematics off the page and out of the calculator.” Grades 7-10. --Jennifer Mattson