The history of the computer is entwined with that of the modern world and most famously with the life of one man, Alan Turing. How did this device, which first appeared a mere 50 years ago, come to structure and dominate our lives so totally? An enlightening mini-biography of a brilliant but troubled man.
Contents1 Universal Machines
2 The Blue Pig
3 Prolific Piglets: Computers everywhere
4 A World Out of Control
5 Babbage: A 'Difference Engine' that made a difference?
6 The Analytical Engine
7 Accidental Information
8 Information on the Masses
9 The Spur of War
10 Zuse in Nazi Germany
11 American Speed
12 Turing in Secret Britain
13 Foundations Shaken
14 Mathematics: Truth or game?
15 Crisis Looms
16 Turing and the Decision Problem
17 Government Codes
18 The Computer
19 Minding the Gap: Many universal machines
20 Cold War Minds
21 Materialisation Further Reading
