tracy kidder's the soul of a new machine

But I want to finish this essay, and I’ve had to constantly push myself. Because I’m retired, I know I can quit and kick back at any time, when I tire of a task. You just keep going, keep working, keep trying, keep pushing, until the problem is solved. I believe what they were talking about is like how the folks worked in this book drove themselves to master a problem. A few days ago I read “ How to Become a ‘Superager’” in the New York Times, that reports that older people who push themselves mentally stay cognitively healthy longer. I’ve always wished I had that kind of passion. They are driven to invent by their desire to master knowledge and skills.

The book is about engineers who push themselves to produce a new computer, working 80+ hour weeks, not for money, fame, or rewards. I’ve spent days struggling to write this essay. Why? Because it’s about people, not a machine. Most books about science and technology date very quickly, but this one hasn’t. If you haven’t read The Soul of a New Machine I highly recommend you do.

As I read The Soul of a New Machine a second time, I kept thinking, “What happened to these great people who worked so hard?” I decided I’d provide a review with research/annotations/links. Thirty-five years later it is still a stunning book, even though the Data General Eclipse MV/8000, the title character, died long ago, and few remember. I first read The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder just after it came out in 1981, before it won the Pulitzer and National Book awards in 1982. By James Wallace Harris, Friday, January 6, 2017

Tracy kidder's the soul of a new machine