Colossus : the secrets of Bletchley Park's codebreaking computers / B. Jack Copeland and others ; edited by B. Jack Copeland.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Copeland, B. Jack, 1950- editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Government Code and Cypher School (Great Britain)--History.

Government Code and Cypher School (Great Britain).

Lorenz cipher system.

World War, 1939-1945--Electronic intelligence--Great Britain.

World War, 1939-1945.

Cryptography--Great Britain--History.

Cryptography.

Computers--Great Britain--History.

Computers.

Electronic intelligence.

History.

Great Britain.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi 462 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations (black and white)

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2020.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

The world's first fully-functioning electronic digital computer, Colossus was used during World War 2 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 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 is published here for the first time.

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2006.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and publisher information

Other Format:

Print version

ISBN:

9780191917936

0191917931

OCLC:

1222774623

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.