Allen & Unwin Turing and the Universal Machine (Icon Science) book Science & nature English Paperback 160 pages

Part of the new Icon Science series, which collects many of the most fascinating and groundbreaking moments in science history.

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.

Jon Agar is Professor of Science and Technology Studies at University College London, where he teaches history of science and technology. He is also the author of Science in the Twentieth Century and Beyond (Polity, 2012) and Constant Touch: a Global History of the Mobile Phone (Icon, second edition 2012).