Prof: Alan Turing Decoded

Following hot on the heels of The Imitation Game, this is the first modern biography of Alan Turing by a member of the family—Alan’s nephew, Sir Dermot Turing

Alan Turing was an extraordinary man who crammed into a life of only 42 years the careers of mathematician, codebreaker, computer scientist, and biologist. He is widely regarded as a war hero grossly mistreated by his unappreciative country and it has become hard to disentangle the real man from the story. It is easy to cast him as a misfit, the stereotypical professor. But actually Alan Turing was never a professor, and his nickname "Prof" was given by his codebreaking friends at Bletchley Park. Now, Alan Turing’s nephew, Dermot Turing, has taken a fresh look at the influences on Alan Turing’s life and creativity, and the later creation of a legend. Dermot’s vibrant and entertaining approach to the life and work of a true genius makes this a fascinating read. This unique family perspective features insights from secret documents only recently released to the UK National Archives and other sources not tapped by previous biographers, looks into the truth behind Alan’s conviction for gross indecency, and includes previously unpublished photographs from the Turing family album.

Sir Dermot Turing was educated at Sherborne and Cambridge, like his uncle, Alan Turing, before him. After completing his DPhil in Genetics at New College, Oxford, Dermot moved into the legal profession, working first for HM Treasury Solicitor’s Department and then for Clifford Chance, where he was a partner from 1999-2014. As Alan Turing’s nephew, Dermot has followed closely the gradual revelation of the achievements of the Bletchley codebreakers from the first release of materials in 1975 and the reopening of Bletchley Park to the public in the early 1990s. He is a serving Trustee of Bletchley Park.