The Annotated Turing: A Guided Tour Through Alan Turing's Historic Paper on Computability and the Turing Machine (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: universal machine, computable functions, dark hero, Turing Machine, Alan Turing, The Annotated Turing (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Programming Legend Charles Petzold unlocks the secrets of the extraordinary and prescient 1936 paper by Alan M. Turing

Mathematician Alan Turing invented an imaginary computer known as the Turing Machine; in an age before computers, he explored the concept of what it meant to be computable, creating the field of computability theory in the process, a foundation of present-day computer programming.

The book expands Turing’s original 36-page paper with additional background chapters and extensive annotations; the author elaborates on and clarifies many of Turing’s statements, making the original difficult-to-read document accessible to present day programmers, computer science majors, math geeks, and others.

Interwoven into the narrative are the highlights of Turing’s own life: his years at Cambridge and Princeton, his secret work in cryptanalysis during World War II, his involvement in seminal computer projects, his speculations about artificial intelligence, his arrest and prosecution for the crime of "gross indecency," and his early death by apparent suicide at the age of 41.

From the Back Cover

Before digital computers ever existed, Alan Turing envisioned their power and versatility...but also proved what computers could never do.

In an extraordinary and ultimately tragic life that unfolded like a novel, Turing helped break the German Enigma code to turn the tide of World War II, later speculated on artificial intelligence, fell victim to the homophobic witchhunts of the early 1950s, and committed suicide at the age of 41. Yet Turing is most famous for an eerily prescient 1936 paper in which he invented an imaginary computing machine, explored its capabilities and intrinsic limitations, and established the foundations of modern-day programming and computability.

This absorbing book expands Turing's now legendary 36-page paper with extensive annotations, fascinating historical context, and page-turning glimpses into his private life. From his use of binary numbers to his exploration of concepts that today's programmers will recognize as RISC processing, subroutines, algorithms, and others, Turing foresaw the future and helped to mold it. In our post-Turing world, everything is a Turing Machine — from the most sophisticated computers we can build, to the hardly algorithmic processes of the human mind, to the information-laden universe in which we live.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (June 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470229055
• ISBN-13: 978-0470229057
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #100,373 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The kind of book I wish I'd written, July 3, 2008

By	J. Tauber - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Some books entertain, some inform; some confirm what you already knew, some make you change your mind about something. But then there are some books that just make you think "wow! I wish I'd written that".

For me, Charles Petzold's The Annotated Turing falls into that last category (as well, of course, as the informational category). It's a book worth reading not only for the topic itself but the way it's presented.

Petzold provides the necessary background before working through Turing's famous 1936 paper "On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem" with rich annotations at every stage, including biographical details.

If you are interested in the foundation of mathematics, computability, Turing's work, or even just ways of explaining mathematics in a historical context, I highly recommend this book.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars should be on every aspiring mathematician's bookshelf, October 20, 2008

By	Peter De Croos "Praetor Azrael" (Amherst, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

this is a fantastic book. It manages to explain simply and clearly the entirety of turing's landmark paper and providing a thorough grounding on the base mathematical knowledge. though I had taken some set theory in college, I am fairly confident that even a devoted highschooler with some experience in geometry proofs could understand and follow this book. Of course, I should also mention that this book is written extremely well such that at no point did I feel bored. when was the last time you found a math book completely riveting?

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touring one of the most important computing science works, September 1, 2008

By	Dr. Bruce Watson "flying computing scientist" (Palo Alto, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For those touring Turing's work, there's nothing better than a guide. Alan Turing's research in computing science form (along with works by Goedel, von Neumann, etc.) the a "must-see" tour for any serious computer scientist or discrete mathematician. Unfortunately, all such original works are very aged in writing style, terminology, and notation, making them very difficult to read. I have read Turing's work (in my professional work) several times, but this book still gives useful insights and illuminates key points that I'd missed.