The Soul of a New Machine - Softcover

Kidder, Tracy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 038071115X ISBN 13: 9780380711154

Publisher: Avon Books, 1990

Synopsis

Tracy Kidder's Pulitzer Prize winning phenomenon! From the bestselling author of House and Among Schoolchildren comes the astonishing true story of the "Hardy Boys" and "Microkids" of Data General Corporation--dedicated technological wizards who envisioned the impossible...then battled time, corporate intrigue and the odds to bring their dream to breathtaking lilfe. A momentous achievement, The Soul Of A New Machine is the epic an unforgettable human adventure--an enthralling celebration of the eternal spirit of American invention.

About this title

Review

The computer revolution brought with it new methods of getting work done--just look at today's news for reports of hard-driven, highly motivated young men and women developing software and online commerce who sacrifice evenings and weekends to meet impossible deadlines. Tracy Kidder got a preview of this world in the late 1970s when he observed the engineers of Data General design and build a new 32-bit minicomputer in just one year. His thoughtful, prescient book, The Soul of a New Machine, tells us stories of 35-year-old "veteran" engineers hiring new college graduates and encouraging them to work harder and faster on complex and difficult projects, exploiting the youngsters' ignorance of normal scheduling yet engendering a new kind of work ethic.

These days, we are used to the "total commitment" philosophy of managing technical creation, but Kidder was surprised and even a little alarmed at the obsessions and compulsions he found. From in-house political struggles to workers permitted to tease management to marathon 24-hour work sessions, The Soul of a New Machine explores concepts that already seem familiar, even old-hat, less than 20 years later. Kidder plainly admires his subjects; while he admits to hopeless confusion about their work, he finds their dedication heroic. The reader wonders, though, what will become of it all, now and in the future. --Rob Lightner

Review

"It has the ring of truth....For readers who would like to know what it takes to make a computer, how computers are organized, and who the people are who put them together, I strongly recommend The Soul of a New Machine. I do not know anything quite like it".

--Jeremy Bernstein, New York Review of Books

Edition details

• Publisher: Avon Books
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 038071115X
• ISBN 13: 9780380711154
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 293