Parameters
- 272 pages
- 10 hours of reading
More about the book
On an autumn day in 1769, Hungarian nobleman Wolfgang von Kempelen attended a conjuring show at the court of Maria Theresa, empress of Austria-Hungary. Unimpressed by the performance, he claimed he could do better. Maria Theresa challenged him, granting six months to prepare his own show. Kempelen returned the following spring with a mechanical man, known as the Turk, crafted from wood, powered by clockwork, and dressed in a Turkish costume, capable of playing chess. This invention quickly gained fame, and Tom Standage's book chronicles its remarkable journey across Europe and America over the next eighty-five years. The Turk became associated with historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Catherine the Great, and Napoleon Bonaparte, and it inadvertently inspired advancements such as the power loom and the computer. Its exhibitions baffled audiences and sparked debates about machine intelligence, leading to rival theories that only fueled the controversy. Blending historical narrative with biography, the book explores the Turk's intriguing career amidst the industrial revolution, a period that redefined human-machine relationships. In today’s computer age, the Turk's legacy remains significant as discussions about machine intelligence continue, highlighting its role in the history of technology.
Book purchase
The Turk, Tom Standage
- Language
- Released
- 2002
- product-detail.submit-box.info.binding
- (Hardcover)
Payment methods
No one has rated yet.
- Title
- The Turk
- Subtitle
- The Life and Times of the Famous Eighteenth-Century Chess-Playing Machine
- Language
- English
- Authors
- Tom Standage
- Publisher
- Walker Books
- Released
- 2002
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 272
- ISBN10
- 0802713912
- ISBN13
- 9780802713919
- Series
- Tags
- Non-Fiction, Historical Themes, History, Religion & Spirituality, Technology & Engineering, Science, New Age & Spirituality, Magic, Technology, Spiritualism & Witchcraft, Chess, Microhistory
- Original title
- The Turk
- Description
- On an autumn day in 1769, Hungarian nobleman Wolfgang von Kempelen attended a conjuring show at the court of Maria Theresa, empress of Austria-Hungary. Unimpressed by the performance, he claimed he could do better. Maria Theresa challenged him, granting six months to prepare his own show. Kempelen returned the following spring with a mechanical man, known as the Turk, crafted from wood, powered by clockwork, and dressed in a Turkish costume, capable of playing chess. This invention quickly gained fame, and Tom Standage's book chronicles its remarkable journey across Europe and America over the next eighty-five years. The Turk became associated with historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Catherine the Great, and Napoleon Bonaparte, and it inadvertently inspired advancements such as the power loom and the computer. Its exhibitions baffled audiences and sparked debates about machine intelligence, leading to rival theories that only fueled the controversy. Blending historical narrative with biography, the book explores the Turk's intriguing career amidst the industrial revolution, a period that redefined human-machine relationships. In today’s computer age, the Turk's legacy remains significant as discussions about machine intelligence continue, highlighting its role in the history of technology.