Alan Turing was the most notable genius behind the efforts of the
British during WWII to break top secret German codes. Codebreakers at
NCR in Dayton became a crucial part of that effort. May 8th was the 80th
anniversary of VE Day as the war ended in Europe. Codebreaking surely
shortened that war and the work of Alan Turing was a huge part of that
effort. His nephew, Sir Dermot Turing, has written extensively about
codebreaking and his uncle's work. His most recent book is "The Enigma
Traitors: The Struggle to Lose the Cipher War." But we did not talk
about that during our recent interview. Our focus was a book he wrote
some years ago: "X, Y and Z: The Real Story of How Enigma Was Broken."
That book focuses on the essential contributions that were made by
Polish codebreakers. This true story reads like a great espionage novel.
I had the pleasure to meet the author this week. He came to town to do a
number of events. During an event at the Dayton International Peace
Museum a member of the audience made a statement about the bombing of
Coventry, England. Turing responded with a deeply informed and factual
analysis of what actually occurred before the Germans attacked that
city. He was fearless in his response, setting the record straight. I
was greatly impressed.
The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public Library, Clark County Public Library, Dayton Metro Library, Wright Memorial Public Library, and Tipp City Public.
