Binding: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Back Bay Books
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 320
Publication Date: 2000-06
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Sales Rank: 685869
Studio: Back Bay Books
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Editorial Review:
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Excellent View on an Old Topic
Tracy Kidder's "Soul of a New Machine" is over 20 years old now, and for a book about the creation of a new microcomputer and the engineers that worked on it, that's a very long time. Not necessarily about technology - a computers are by and large still Von Nuemann machines, and the principles are the same - but the engineer and the computer geek have become part of the culture in a way they weren't in 1980. The book, as a result, lacks some freshness to a modern reader - the bleary-eyed devotion ... Read More
Rating:  - Start-up culture
Page turning nonfiction about the development of one of the first computers, and the work environment that made it possible.
Extremely well-written. If you don't have an interest in computers, you'll probably be bored by some of the technical descriptions, but you can get a lot out of the book and learn a lot about management styles even if you skim or skip those parts.
It gave me a lot of insight into the way that start up companies are able to overwork their employees. ... Read More
Rating: - Good read
Nicely written. A good, quick read. I'd recommend it for anyone interested in the history of the computer industry.
Rating: - Tremendous piece of writing.
Though the technology the story is about has become dated, the story itself hasn't; the book is about the building of a computer, yes, but then it is about Kidder's own mind coming to grips with the technology involved, and then more about the people who were doing the actual building
Kidder's book is engaging and terrifically written. It is a landmark work of modern non-fiction writing, and fully deserves its Pulitzer.
Rating: - The world of computers, perfectly captured
As one who lived and worked in this field through the era that Kidder described, I can tell you that his book totally and accurately captures it. Whether from the marketing standpoint, the business standpoint, the historical standpoint, or (the focus of the book) the engineering development and people standpoint, he got it onto the page. It is also a fun, interesting, and even suspenseful read. As its NY Times reviewer said (as quoted on the flyleaf of the hardback) it is understandable even if you ... Read More
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