Dimensions
135 x 206 x 26mm
The True Story of the Chess-Playing Machine that Fooled the World.
On an autumn day in 1796, a Hungarian nobleman, Wolfgang von Kempelen, was summoned to witness a conjuring show at the imperial court of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria-Hungary. So unimpressed was Kempelen by the performance that he impetuously declared he could do better himself. It was a boast that would change the course of his life.
Six months later his extraordinary mechanical man made his debut. The Turk, as the automan became known, was fashioned from wood and dressed in a Turkish costume. But, most astonishing of all, it was capable of playing chess.
Kempelen's contraption was a huge success in Europe and America. Along the way, this strange creation unwittingly helped to bring about the development of the power loom, the computer and the detective story. But how did it work?
Part historical detective story, part real-life fairy tale, the mystery of The Turk has assumed a new significance in the computer age, as scientists and philosophers continue to debate the possibility of machine intelligence.
