Alan Turing is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century But who was Turing & what did he achieve during his tragically short life of 41 years? Best known as the genius who broke Germany's most secret codes during the war of 1939-45 Turing was also the father of the modern computer Today all who 'click-to-open' are familiar with the impact of Turing's ideas Here B Jack Copeland provides an account of Turing's life & work exploring the key elements of his life-story in tandem with his leading ideas & contributions The book highlights Turing's contributions to computing & to computer science including Artificial Intelligence & Artificial Life & the emphasis throughout is on the relevance of his work to modern developments The story of his contributions to codebreaking during the Second World War is set in the context of his thinking about machines as is the account of his work in the foundations of mathematics