Idaho Commission for Libraries

The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder

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Book Summary | Author Biography | Bibliography | Other links

Summary

In the late 1970s, a group of computer engineers at Data General Corporation were teamed to create a new 32-bit super microcomputer, dubbed the Eagle, that was faster and more powerful than its predecessors. In narrative fashion, the book tells the story of the computer's creators: "the Hardy Boys," the engineers who created the hardware, and "the Microkids," who developed the microcode which enabled the computer to run its software programs. Full of company intrigue, personal sacrifice, and raw energy, the book captures the new work ethic of the technological age on its cusp. Juxtaposing personal stories of the engineers with the actual process of developing the computer, Kidder reveals real life drama as the engineers race against the clock to create their machine. Although not a technical book, it is sprinkled with details about a computer's insides that are interesting even to a non-scientific audience. Part chronicle of a scientific endeavor, part celebration of the triumph of human intelligence and creativity, The Soul of a New Machine won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction in 1982.

Biography of Tracy Kidder

Tracy Kidder, a free lance journalist, is recognized as a leading writer of nonfiction, for which he has won numerous awards. Born in 1946 in New York City into an upper middle class family, Kidder's father was a lawyer and his mother was a teacher. He graduated from Harvard and served for a year in Vietnam. He began his career doing free lance writing for The Atlantic Monthly. The hallmark of Kidder's writing is his meticulous research which enables him to go beneath the surface to examine the details of human lives that tell a more complete story. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Sources: see web site links below

Bibliography

• The Road to Yuba City: A Journey into the Juan Corona Murders (1974)
• The Soul of a New Machine (1981)
• House (1985)
• Among School Children (1989)
• Old Friends (1993)
• Home Town (1999)

Web Sites

Read a profile of Tracy Kidder and his writing: "In His Element: Tracy Kidder" by Elaine Hines, 2000: www.andover.edu/publications/bulletinwinter2000/kidder/kidder.htm

Another profile in the April, 1999, issue of The Atlantic Monthly: www.theatlantic.com/issues/99apr/990477.htm

The computer game "Adventure" plays a role in the debugging of the Eagle. Visit this link to find out how the game was created: people.delphi.com/rickadams/adventure/a_history.html

Visit this web site created by the University of Denver to learn more about what computer engineers study: www.engr.du.edu/guide/undergrad1.html

Read reviews of The Soul of a New Machine:

On the Discovery Channel Canada's web site, a review by from David Smillie, July 4, 2000, "The Soul of a New Machine, by Tracy Kidder." exn.ca/Stories/2000/07/04/54.cfm

Published in the New York Times, August 23, 1981: "The Hardy Boys and the Microkids Make a Computer," a review by Samuel C. Florman: www.nytimes.com/books/99/01/03/specials/kidder-soul.html

A viewpoint from a freelance software programmer, "Eran Tromer's Book Reviews: 'The Soul of a New Machine'" www.forum2.org/eran/shelf/soul-machine.html

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