The Turing Guide

{{Infobox book

| name = The Turing Guide

| title_orig =

| translator =

| image = The Turing Guide cover.jpg

| image_size =

| caption =

| author = Jack Copeland, Jonathan Bowen, Mark Sprevak, Robin Wilson, et al.

| illustrator =

| cover_artist = Peter Fitzpatrick, Vicki Hyde

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| series =

| subject = Alan Turing (1912–1954)

| genre = Non-fiction, history of science

| publisher = Oxford University Press

| pub_date = January 2017

| media_type = Print (hardcover, paperback, e-book)

| pages = xv+546

| isbn = 978-0-19-874783-3

| dewey =

| congress =

| oclc = 958479379

| preceded_by =

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}}

The Turing Guide, written by Jack Copeland, Jonathan Bowen, Mark Sprevak,{{cite web| url=http://www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/people/mark-sprevak | title=Mark Sprevak | publisher=University of Edinburgh | location=UK }} Robin Wilson, and others and published in 2017, is a book about the work and life of the British mathematician, philosopher, and early computer scientist, Alan Turing (1912–1954).

Overview

The book includes 42 contributed chapters by a variety of authors, including some contemporaries of Alan Turing. The book was published in January 2017 by Oxford University Press,{{cite book| url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-turing-guide-9780198747833 | title=The Turing Guide | publisher=Oxford University Press | date=2017 | isbn=978-0-19-874783-3 }} in hardcover, paperback, and e-book formats.

The Turing Guide is divided into eight main parts, covering various aspects of Alan Turing's life and work:{{cite web| url=https://dblp.uni-trier.de/db/books/collections/CBSW2017.html | title=The Turing Guide 2017 | work=DBLP | accessdate=21 May 2019}}

Biography: Biographical aspects of Alan Turing.
The Universal Machine and Beyond: Turing's universal machine (now known as a Turing machine), developed while at King's College, Cambridge, which provides a theoretical framework for reasoning about computation, a starting point for the field of theoretical computer science.
Codebreaker: Turing's work on codebreaking during World War II at Bletchley Park, especially the Bombe for decrypting the German Enigma machine.
Computers after the War: Turing's post-War work on computing, at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and at the University of Manchester. He made contributions to both hardware design, through the ACE computer (later implemented as the Pilot ACE) at the NPL, and software, especially at Manchester using the Manchester Baby computer, later the Manchester Mark 1 and Ferranti Mark 1.
Artificial Intelligence and the Mind: Turing's pioneering and philosophical contribution to machine intelligence (now known as Artificial Intelligence or AI), including the Turing test.
Biological Growth: Morphogenesis, Turing's last major scientific contribution, on the generation of complex patterns through chemical processes in biology and on the mathematics behind them, foundational in mathematical biology.
Mathematics: Some of Turing's mathematical achievements, including one of his most significant influences, Max Newman.
Finale: Turing in a wider subsequent context, including his influence and legacy to science and in the public consciousness.

The book includes a foreword by Andrew Hodges, a preface, notes on the contributors, endnotes, and an index.

Contributors

The following 33 authors contributed to chapters in the book:

Reviews

The book has been reviewed by a number of journals, magazines, and professional organizations, including:{{cite book| url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-turing-guide-9780198747826?cc=gb&lang=en&# | title=The Turing Guide: Reviews and Awards | date=26 January 2017 | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=978-0-19-874782-6 | accessdate=10 December 2017 }}

Engineering & Technology.{{cite journal| last=Lenton | first=Dominic | url=https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2017/03/book-review-the-turing-guide-alan-turings-life-and-work/ | title=Book reviews: The Turing Guide, Alan Turing's life and work | journal=Engineering & Technology | date=14 March 2017 }}
European Mathematical Society.{{cite web| url=https://euro-math-soc.eu/review/turing-guide | first=Adhemar | last=Bultheel | title=The Turing Guide | publisher=European Mathematical Society | date=13 March 2018 }}
Formal Aspects of Computing.{{cite journal| authorlink=Cliff Jones (computer scientist)| last=Jones | first=Cliff | title=The Turing Guide | journal=Formal Aspects of Computing | volume=29 | pages=1121–1122 | year=2017 | issue=6 | doi=10.1007/s00165-017-0446-y | s2cid=253687837 }}
Mathematical Association of America.{{cite web| last=Schulte | first=Tom | url=https://www.maa.org/press/maa-reviews/the-turing-guide | title=The Turing Guide: MAA Review | publisher=Mathematical Association of America | date=4 July 2017 }}
New Scientist.{{cite journal| authorlink=W. Andrew Robinson | last=Robinson | first=Andrew | url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23331072-700-the-turing-guide-last-words-on-an-enigmatic-codebreaker/ | title=The Turing Guide: Last words on an enigmatic codebreaker? | journal=New Scientist | date=4 January 2017 }}
Notices of the American Mathematical Society.{{cite journal| url=https://www.ams.org/journals/notices/201904/rnoti-p556.pdf | first=Bjørn | last=Kjos-Hanssen | title=Book Review: Only Human | journal=Notices of the American Mathematical Society | publisher=AMS | volume=66 | issue=4 | pages=556–561 | date=April 2019 | doi=10.1090/noti1844 | s2cid=240967344 }}
Nuncius.{{cite journal| last=Petrocelli | first=Carla | url=http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/18253911-03301015 | title=The Turing Guide, by Jack Copeland, Jonathan Bowen, Mark Sprevak, and Robin Wilson | journal=Nuncius | volume=33 | number=1 | pages=166–168 | doi=10.1163/18253911-03301015 | publisher=Brill | date=2018 | hdl=11586/207513 | hdl-access=free }}
Physics World.{{cite journal| authorlink=Vint Cerf | last=Cerf | first=Vint | url=http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/indepth/2018/jan/18/the-man-behind-the-machine | title=The man behind the machine | journal=Physics World | date=January 2018 | volume=31 | issue=1 | pages=38–39 | doi=10.1088/2058-7058/31/1/32 | bibcode=2018PhyW...31a..38C }}
Resurrection.{{cite journal| last=Hayton | first=Dan | url=https://www.computerconservationsociety.org/resurrection/pdfs/res79.pdf | title=Book Review: The Turing Guide | journal=Resurrection | publisher=Computer Conservation Society | volume=79 | page=29 | date=Autumn 2017 }}
SIAM News.{{cite journal| last=Davis | first=Ernest | url=https://sinews.siam.org/Details-Page/paying-tribute-to-alan-turings-life-and-work | title=Paying Tribute to Alan Turing's Life and Work | journal=SIAM News | date=19 July 2017 }}

The book has also been featured online internationally, including in China.{{cite web| last=Han | first=Bao | url=https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/JcdromoslivadmFmEf8SVQ | title= 枷锁与馈赠|认识真实的图灵，一位如谜的解谜者 | language=Chinese | publisher=Tencent QQ | date=3 April 2018 }}

Cover

This artwork for the book's cover came about after a mock-up digital artwork in the style of the multiple images of Andy Warhol was produced.{{cite conference| first=Jonathan P. | last=Bowen | title=Alan Turing: Virtuosity and visualisation | work=EVA London 2016: Electronic Visualisation and the Arts | publisher=BCS | series=Electronic Workshops in Computing | date=2016 | doi=10.14236/ewic/EVA2016.40 | doi-access=free }} Jack Copeland then organized a more professional artwork,{{cite web| first1=Jack | last1=Copeland | first2=Peter | last2=Fitzpatrick | first3=Vicki | last3=Hyde | title=Turing Diptych | url=https://www.alanturing.net/turing_diptych.jpg | date=2016 | work=AlanTuring.net: The Turing Archive for the History of Computing | accessdate=3 August 2023 }} which became the basis for the eventual book cover.{{cite conference| first1=Jonathan P. | last1=Bowen | first2=Terry | last2=Trickett | first3=Jeremy B. A. | last3=Green | first4=Andy | last4=Lomas | title=Turing's Genius – Defining an apt microcosm | work=EVA London 2018: Electronic Visualisation and the Arts | publisher=BCS | series=Electronic Workshops in Computing | date=2018 | doi=10.14236/ewic/EVA2018.31 | doi-access=free }} In 2023, the artwork was displayed as part of a digital art exhibition organized by the Computer Arts Society at the BCS in London.{{cite web| url=https://computer-arts-society.com/exhibitions/cas-members-2023.html | title=CAS Members' Exhibition 2023, July – November, BCS Moorgate, London | publisher=The Computer Arts Society | work=CAS Exhibitions | date=2023 }}

Other languages

A Chinese edition of the book was published in 2023 by Tsinghua University Press.{{cite book| url=https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/7302633886/bookseaiam | title=The Turing Guide | isbn=978-7302633884 | date=2023 | edition=Chinese | author1=科普兰 | publisher=清华大学出版社 | lang=zh }}