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rb3221
Jan 22, 2016rb3221 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is not an easy read for the non-mathematician and occasionally I was bored and confused but fascinating story of Alan Turing took me through to the end. Turing simply wanted to be a mathematician and be left alone. He expected the male world to work for him but it didn't and he was baffled that as a gay man he couldn't live simply without taking a public stand. We learn that he was a very principled man described by a friend as having "a lack of reverence for everything except the truth." As a free thinker detached from the conventions of society Turing played the pawn and ultimately obeyed the rules and thereby paid the ultimate price. His genius brought him to the war effort where he was instrumental in breaking down the German enigma codes and thereby shortened the war saving thousands of lives. His work also led to the creation of today's computers. Alan Turing simply wanted to be left alone with his thoughts, his research and his homosexuality. But it was not to be!! Alan Turing: a genius and an enigma!!