Colossus

The secrets of Bletchley Park's code-breaking computers

B. Jack Copeland,and others

A collection of essays, personal recollections, and very human stories, providing a fascinating history of the world's first electronic computer
Contains information which has until recently been classified wartime material, and important accounts, published here for the first time, from the architect of the computer
Explains in an accessible and engaging way the broader context of code-breaking, computers, World War II, and the legacy of Colossus
Opens with an introductory essay by the acclaimed writer Simon Singh about the history of cryptography, and, for those who would like to dig deeper, the book also contains technical appendices outlining the mathematics

Colossus

The secrets of Bletchley Park's code-breaking computers

B. Jack Copeland,and others

Description

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 only became possible due to the 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.

Colossus

The secrets of Bletchley Park's code-breaking computers

B. Jack Copeland,and others

1:A Brief History of Cryptography from Caesar to Bletchley Park, Simon Singh
2:How It Began: Bletchley Park Goes to War, Michael Smith
3:The German Tunny Machine, Jack Copeland
4:Colossus, Codebreaking, and the Digital Age, Stephen Budiansky
5:Machine Against Machine, Jack Copeland
6:D-Day at Bletchley Park, Thomas H. Flowers
7:Intercept!, Jack Copeland
8:Colossus, Thomas H. Flowers
9:Colossus and the Rise of the Modern Computer, Jack Copeland
10:The PC-User's Guide to Colossus, Benjamin Wells
11:Of Men and Machines, Brian Randell
12:The Colossus Rebuild, Tony Sale
13:Mr Newman's Section, Jack Copeland, with Catherine Caughey, Dorothy Du Boisson, Eleanor Ireland, Ken Myers, and Norman Thurlow
14:Max Newman-Mathematician, Codebreaker and Computer Pioneer, William Newman
15:Living with Fish: Breaking Tunny in the Newmanry and the Testery, Peter Hilton
16:From Hut 8 to the Newmanry, Jack Good
17:Codebreaking and Colossus, Donald Michie
18:Major Tester's Section, Jerry Roberts
19:Setter and Breaker, Roy Jenkins
20:An ATS Girl in the Testery, Helen Currie
21:The Testery and the Breaking of Fish, Peter Edgerley
22:Dollis Hill at War, Jack Copeland, with David Bolam, Harry Fensom, Gil Hayward, and Norman Thurlow
23:The British Tunny Machine, Gil Hayward
24:How Colossus was Built and Operated-One of Its Engineers Reveals Its Secrets, Harry Fensom
25:Bletchley Park's Sturgeon-The Fish That Laid No Eggs, Frode Weierud
26:Geheimschreiber Traffic and Swedish Wartime Intelligence, Craig McKay
A1:Timeline: The Breaking of Tunny
A2:The Teleprinter Alphabet, Jack Copeland
A3:The Tunny Addition Square, Jack Copeland
A4:My Work at Bletchley Park, Bill Tutte
A5:The Tiltman Break, Friedrich Bauer
A6:Turingery, Jack Copeland
A7:Dc-Method, Max Newman
A8:Newman's Theorem, Friedrich Bauer
A9:Rectangling, Frank Carter
A10:The Motor Wheels and Limitations, Jack Good, Donald Michie, and Geoffrey Timms
A11:Motorless Tunny, Jack Good and Donald Michie
A12:Origin of the Fish Cypher Machines, Friedrich Bauer

Colossus

The secrets of Bletchley Park's code-breaking computers

B. Jack Copeland,and others

Author Information

B. Jack Copeland, and others, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, and Director of the Turing Archive for the History of Computing

Contributors:

Simon Singh
Michael Smith
Jack Copeland
Stephen Budiansky
Jack Copeland
Thomas H. Flowers
Jack Copeland
Thomas H. Flowers
Jack Copeland
Benjamin Wells
Brian Randell
Tony Sale
Jack Copeland, with Catherine Caughey, Dorothy Du Boisson, Eleanor Ireland, Ken Myers, and Norman Thurlow
William Newman
Peter Hilton
Jack Good
Donald Michie
Jerry Roberts
Roy Jenkins
Helen Currie
Peter Edgerley
Jack Copeland, with David Bolam, Harry Fensom, Gil Hayward, and Norman Thurlow
Gil Hayward
Harry Fensom
Frode Weierud
Craig McKay
Jack Copeland
Jack Copeland
Bill Tutte
Friedrich Bauer
Jack Copeland
Max Newman
Friedrich Bauer
Frank Carter
Jack Good, Donald Michie, and Geoffrey Timms
Jack Good and Donald Michie
Friedrich Bauer