Geniuses at War

Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of the Year
Winner, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Middleton Award

“A remarkable book. Highly accessible, with many historical details formerly unknown to me. The book is empathetic and engaging with a three-dimensional and rich texture. I felt as if I were there. What was accomplished, especially with Colossus, is nothing short of amazing. Reading excerpts from correspondence about predictions for artificial intelligence and networks was astonishing for its accuracy looking back nearly 75 years. Price deserves great praise for a historical gem.” —Vint Cerf, father of the Internet

“David Price has produced the riveting story of how a team of colorful geniuses in Bletchley Park, England broke the most secure German World War II codes. The tale of Alan Turing and the Enigma machine is well known, but Price describes the very secret code-breaking project that Turing and his colleagues tackled later in the war, which involved building the world’s first electronic computer. Thus was the digital age born.” —Walter Isaacson, author of The Innovators

“World War II opened two legendary gateways to the modern age: Los Alamos and Bletchley Park. A declassified report on the construction of the atomic bomb was released just six days after Hiroshima, while the Official Secrets Act lingered for thirty years over the codebreaking at Bletchley Park. David Price has distilled the available knowledge into an authoritative yet fast-paced account, lending the characters behind Colossus a voice that was silenced for far too long.” —George Dyson, author of Turing’s Cathedral

“A methodical account of the secret British code-breakers working to decode Adolf Hitler’s wartime communications. . . . Gripping. . . . A narrative worthy of James Bond.” —Foreign Policy

“[Price] weaves a superb narrative, at once compelling and relatable. . . . Incredibly well-written and well-researched, this fast-paced book reads like a novel. Highly recommended to readers with an interest in World War II and 20th-century history, as well as anyone looking for an exciting story of code breaking and intrigue.” —Library Journal (starred)

“Fresh. . . . Page-turning. . . . Price delivers a fascinating account of the problems Flowers and his team overcame before the massive machine called Colossus arrived. . . . He tells a terrific story. An entertaining history of brilliant minds at work against the Nazi behemoth.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“An entertaining introduction to Bletchley Park and the era’s technological innovations.” —Publishers Weekly