Summary

In this 2013 winner of the prestigious R.R. Hawkins Award from the Association of American Publishers, as well as the 2013 PROSE Awards for Mathematics and Best in Physical Sciences & Mathematics, also from the AAP, readers will find many of the most significant contributions from the four-volume set of the Collected Works of A. M. Turing . These contributions, together with commentaries from current experts in a wide spectrum of fields and backgrounds, provide insight on the significance and contemporary impact of Alan Turing's work.

Offering a more modern perspective than anything currently available, Alan Turing: His Work and Impact gives wide coverage of the many ways in which Turing's scientific endeavors have impacted current research and understanding of the world. His pivotal writings on subjects including computing, artificial intelligence, cryptography, morphogenesis, and more display continued relevance and insight into today's scientific and technological landscape. This collection provides a great service to researchers, but is also an approachable entry point for readers with limited training in the science, but an urge to learn more about the details of Turing's work.

Choice Review

In many respects, this work can be summarized by the first sentence of the introduction: "This is an unusual book." The massive volume is a collection of Turing's key publications as well as commentaries about the papers. The volume is organized in four parts, with each section arranged by publication year of the papers. Sections are titled "How Do We Compute? What Can We Prove?," "Hiding and Unhiding Information," "Building a Brain," and "Mathematics of Emergence." Cooper (Univ. of Leeds, UK) and van Leeuwen (Utrecht Univ., Netherlands) have engaged 70 prominent scientists and mathematicians, many of whom knew Turing, to write on his life and works. This book is not for casual readers; more than a passing knowledge of Turing's work is essential to appreciate the insight provided through the many authors' various contributions. Given the number of minds involved in this undertaking, the editors must be congratulated. The book does not contain a bibliography. Instead, the editors reference the definitive collection of publications by or about Turing, compiled by Nelson Beebe and updated weekly, available at ftp://ftp.math.utah.edu/pub/bibnet/authors/t/turing-alan-mathison.pdf and ftp://ftp.math.utah.edu/pub/bibnet/authors/t/turing-alan-mathison.html. A very helpful 35-page index supports the text. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. J. Beidler University of Scranton