The Mechanical Turk: The True Story of the Chess-Playing Machine that Fooled the World - Softcover

Standage, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 014029919X ISBN 13: 9780140299199

Publisher: Penguin, 2003

Synopsis

The true story of the Turk, the imfamous eighteenth-century automation, links an unlikely cast of historical characters, from Napoleon, Beethoven and Poe to the pioneers of the computer age. A remarkable story in its own right, the Turk's chequered career also provides an accessible way of examining the complex relationship between magic, man, mind and machine, from the Enlightenment to the computer age.

About this title

Review:

"A fascinating account." -- Daily Telegraph

"Excellent." -- Time Out

"Filled with delightful stories...a subject that is not only fascinating, but which also resonates with contemporary issues." -- The Guardian

"Gripping...a rattling good yarn told by a natural entertainer." -- Daily Mail

"This is fascination, obsession, inquiry, storytelling and literary magic at it very best." -- Simon Winchester

Synopsis:

This title tells the true story of the Turk, the infamous 18th-century automation. The story links an unlikely cast of historical characters, from Napoleon, Beethoven and Poe to the pioneers of the computer age, and provides an accessible way of examining the complex relationship between magic, man, mind and machine, from the Enlightenment to the computer age.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 014029919X
• ISBN 13: 9780140299199
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288