The Soul of a New Machine (Modern Library)

Tracy Kidder's "riveting" ( Washington Post ) story of one company's efforts to bring a new microcomputer to market won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and has become essential reading for understanding the history of the American tech industry. Computers have changed since 1981, when The Soul of a New Machine first examined the culture of the computer revolution. What has not changed is the feverish pace of the high-tech industry, the go-for-broke approach to business that has caused so many computer companies to win big (or go belly up), and the cult of pursuing mind-bending technological innovations. The Soul of a New Machine is an essential chapter in the history of the machine that revolutionized the world in the twentieth century. "Fascinating...A surprisingly gripping account of people at work." — Wall Street Journal

winner Of The Pulitzer Prize And The American Book Award, The Soul Of A New Machine Was A Bestseller On Its First Publication In 1981. With The Touch Of An Expert Thriller Writer, Tracy Kidder Recounts The Feverish Efforts Of A Team Of Data General Researchers To Create A New 32-bit Superminicomputer. A Compelling Account Of Individual Sacrifice And Human Ingenuity, The Soul Of A New Machine Endures As The Classic Chronicle Of The Computer Age And The Masterminds Behind Its Technological Advances.
"a Superb Book," Said Robert Pirsig, Author Of Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance. "all The Incredible Complexity And Chaos And Exploitation And Loneliness And Strange, Half-mad Beauty Of This Field Are Honestly And Correctly Drawn." The Washington Post Book World Said, "kidder Has Created Compelling Entertainment. He Offers A Fast, Painless, Enjoyable Means To An Initial Understanding Of Computers, Allowing Us To Understand The Complexity Of Machines We Could Only Marvel At Before, And To Appreciate The Skills Of The People Who Create Them."
The Modern Library Has Played A Significant Role In American Cultural Life For The Better Part Of A Century. The Series Was Founded In 1917 By The Publishers Boni And Liveright And Eight Years Later Acquired By Bennett Cerf And Donald Klopfer. It Provided The Foundation For Their Next Publishing Venture, Random House. The Modern Library Has Been A Staple Of The American Book Trade, Providing Readers With Affordable Hardbound Editions Of Important Works Of Literature And Thought. For The Modern Library's Seventy-fifth Anniversary, Random House Redesigned The Series, Restoring As Its Emblem The Running Torch-bearer Created By Lucian Bernhard In 1925 And Refurbishing Jackets, Bindings, And Type, As Well As Inaugurating A New Program Of Selecting Titles. The Modern Library Continues To Provide The World's Best Books, At The Best Prices.

Tracy Kidder Has Written A New Introduction To This Modern Library Edition.

new York Times Book Review

kidder Has Endowed The Tale With Such Pace, Texture, And Poetic Implication That He Has Elevated It To A High Level Of Narrative Art... Splendid.

The computer revolution brought with it new methods of getting work donejust look at today's news for reports of hard-driven, highly-motivated young software and online commerce developers 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 stories of 35-year-old "veteran" engineers hiring recent college graduates and encouraging them to work harder and faster on complex and difficult projects, exploiting the youngsters' ignorance of normal scheduling processes while 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 being 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 Computers have changed since 1981, when Tracy Kidder indelibly recorded the drama, comedy, and excitement of one company's efforts to bring a new microcomputer to market. What has changed little, however, is computer culture: the feverish pace of the high-tech industry, the mystique of programmers, the go-for-broke approach to business that has caused so many computer companies to win big (or go belly up), and the cult of pursuing mind-bending technological innovations. By tracing computer culture to its roots, by exploring the "soul" of the "machine" that has revolutionized the world, Kidder succeeds as no other writer has done in capturing the essential spirit of the computer age.

Data General was in danger of losing its edge in the high technology war. Thirty wiz kids — design engineers — were given the job of building a computer more advanced than anything that then existed — and under an absolutely impossible deadline. A Pulitzer Prize-winner from Tracy Kidder.

Computers have changed since 1981, when Tracy Kidder memorably recorded the drama, comedy, and excitement of one companyʹs efforts to bring a new microcomputer to market. What has not changed is the feverish pace of the high-tech industry, the go-for-broke approach to business that has caused so many computer companies to win big (or go belly up), and the cult of pursuing mind-bending technological innovations. The Soul of a New Machine is an essential chapter in the history of the machine that revolutionized the world in the twentieth century. It tells stories of 35-year-old "veteran" engineers hiring recent college graduates and encouraging them to work harder and faster on complex and difficult projects, exploiting the youngsters' ignorance of normal scheduling processes while engendering a new kind of work ethic "Computers have changed since 1981, when Tracy Kidder indelibly recorded the drama, comedy, and excitement of one company's efforts to bring a new microcomputer to market. What has changed little, however, is computer culture: the feverish pace of the high-tech industry, the mystique of programmers, the go-for-broke approach to business that has caused so many computer companies to win big (or go belly up), and the cult of pursuing mind-bending technological innovations. By tracing computer culture to its roots, by exploring the "soul" of the "machine" that has revolutionized the world, Kidder succeeds as no other writer has done in capturing the essential spirit of the computer age"--Jacket Pulitzer Prize Winner Tracy Kidder Memorably Records The Drama, Comedy, And Excitement Of One Company's Efforts To Bring A New Microcomputer To Market. Computers Have Changed Since 1981, When The Soul Of A New Machine First Examined The Culture Of The Computer Revolution. What Has Not Changed Is The Feverish Pace Of The High-tech Industry, The Go-for-broke Approach To Business That Has Caused So Many Computer Companies To Win Big (or Go Belly Up), And The Cult Of Pursuing Mind-bending Technological Innovations. The Soul Of A New Machine Is An Essential Chapter In The History Of The Machine That Revolutionized The World In The Twentieth Century. "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award, The Soul of a New Machine was a bestseller on its first publication in 1981. With the touch of an expert thriller writer, Tracy Kidder recounts the feverish efforts of a team of Data General researchers to create a new 32-bit superminicomputer. A compelling account of individual sacrifice and human ingenuity, The Soul of a New Machine endures as the classic chronicle of the computer age and the masterminds behind its technological advances.". "Tracy Kidder has written a new Introduction to this Modern Library edition."--BOOK JACKET. "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. In 1979, Kidder went underground in the research department of Data General to observe the workings of the computer wizards who were designing and building a fast new computer FOR A TIME after the first pieces of Route 495 were laid down across central Massachusetts, in the middle 1960s, the main hazard to drivers was deer.