Mastodawn

"His most lauded book, 'The Soul of a New Machine,' introduced readers to the physical parts and electronic bits that go into creating a business computer. The book arrived just as the PC revolution was gearing up.

When he took on the project, he told a reporter for The New York Times, he was not familiar with the field and relied on his subjects at Data General Corporation to teach him.

While he had to get the technology right, it was not what he most cared about. 'It was the people themselves,' he said, 'their incredible passion for this thing.'"

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/books/tracy-kidder-dead.html

Tracy Kidder, Author of ‘The Soul of a New Machine,’ Dies at 80

A Pulitzer Prize-winning narrative journalist, he wrote deeply reported books that often focused on heroic goodness in people.

The New York Times

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Brian Vastag 8h ago

@jalefkowit "Mountains Beyond Mountains" is such a good book.

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Jessamyn 4h ago

@jalefkowit I feel a little bad for his family that the clout-chasers at the NYT decided that his Pulitzer-winning book was the one they should mention in the headline. He did so much with his writing career. The Boston Globe has a better balance. (have I mentioned I'm Tom West's daughter to you? I must have.)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/25/metro/tracy-kidder-obituary-nonfiction-writer/

Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, dies at 80

Mr. Kidder’s best-selling books, such as “Among Schoolchildren” and “The Soul of a New Machine,” expanded the range and popularity of narrative nonfiction.

The Boston Globe

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Obot 50549535 1h ago

@jalefkowit I remember that book.

I especially remember the intro. The team of engineers invite him to go for a sail. Gale winds, driving rain, huge swells, and he thinks, if this is what these people do for fun, what do they do for work?

And though it's true that it was published at the same time the IBM PC was released, the subject of the book was a very different computer.