Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Code-breaking Computers - Hardcover

Copeland And Others, B. Jack

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 019284055X ISBN 13: 9780192840554

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2006

Synopsis

At last - the secrets of Bletchley Park's powerful codebreaking computers. This is a history of Colossus, the world's first fully-functioning electronic digital computer. Colossus was used during the Second World War at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, where it played an invaluable role cracking enemy codes. Until very recently, much about the Colossus machine was shrouded in secrecy, largely because the codes that were employed remained in use by the British security services until a short time ago. This book has only become possible due to the recent declassification in the US of wartime documents. With an introductory essay on cryptography and the history of code-breaking by Simon Singh, this book reveals the workings of Colossus and the extraordinary staff at Bletchley Park through personal accounts by those who lived and worked with the computer. Among them is the testimony of Thomas Flowers, who was the architect of Colossus and whose personal account, written shortly before he died, is published here for the first time. Other essays consider the historical importance of this remarkable machine, and its impact on the generations of computing technology that followed.

About this title

About the Author

Jack Copeland is a Reader in Philosophy and Director of the Turing Project at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. A contributor toScientific American, his books include Turing's Machines, Artificial Intelligence, andThe Essential Turing.

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 019284055X
• ISBN 13: 9780192840554
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480