The soul of a new machine

by
No cover

Tracy Kidder: The soul of a new machine (1990, Avon)

293 pages

English language

Published Aug. 13, 1990 by Avon.

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5 stars (3 reviews)

"The Soul of a New Machine" is a non-fiction book written by Tracy Kidder and published in 1981. It chronicles the experiences of a computer engineering team racing to design a next-generation computer at a blistering pace under tremendous pressure. The machine was launched in 1980 as the Data General Eclipse MV/8000. The book won the 1982 National Book Award for Non-fiction and a Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.

16 editions

reviewed The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder

Cautionary tale of the tech industry told as an adventure story

4 stars

Still a wild tale, I’m no longer in awe of it and it’s obvious everyone involved got screwed and feels good about it (though that might be the authors bias). The love of the work “I’d take a pay cut to be involved in a project like this again” when already underpaid. It’s wild.

"West" one of the project leaders goes into “business development” answering the question “what happens to engineers over 40” writes Kidder. Fuck that. He doesn’t want to be exploited any longer, that’s what happens when you get over 40. Seems he’s still in engineering anyway consulting with other teams.

Overall this is a Wild take on a time in engineering that is not dissimilar to some companies today. I’ve worked at Data General clones, it sucks and isn’t worth it. Don’t get romanced. This is a cautionary tale told as an adventure story. I’m glad to …

reviewed The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder

The Soul of an (Not So) New Machine

5 stars

Tracy Kidder recounts the uber-enjoyable events of an engineering team racing to build a microcomputer, making it feel like you're the geeked intern spectating at all the engineers in wonder and delight. The personalities, the hardware, the business, the goofs and the gaffes pull you in and never really lets go. Now, forty years later, the book is old and the technology is practically archaic, however, nothing seems to have really changed.

reviewed The soul of a new machine by Tracy Kidder

Review of 'The soul of a new machine' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This book is beautifully written. I reads like a wistful memoir for the life of a machine. The story is of the creation of Project Eagle in the Late 70's/Early 80's at Data General. If you are interested in computers, their history, or how they were dreamed up and made, this is essential reading. I loved reading about the creation of a computer during the age when people thought that they were going to be the impetus of revolution. This is really a love letter for the wild-west age of computing.

Subjects

  • Data General Corporation
  • Computer engineering -- Popular works