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The Soul of a New Machine
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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 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 bu
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Paperback, 293 pages
Published
June 1st 2000
by Back Bay Books
(first published 1981)
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(showing 1-30)
I can't believe this is not required reading for a computer architecture course!
In my high school Biology, H.G. Wells' The Time Machine was assigned to be read over the winter vacation. It was a bit of a stretch, but did make the class a bit more interesting. As I read Kidder describe the toil undertaken in creating this new computer - working under the pressure on the brink of insanity to find those incessant bugs - I thought this the perfect companion for the CS154B Computer Architecture clas ...more
In my high school Biology, H.G. Wells' The Time Machine was assigned to be read over the winter vacation. It was a bit of a stretch, but did make the class a bit more interesting. As I read Kidder describe the toil undertaken in creating this new computer - working under the pressure on the brink of insanity to find those incessant bugs - I thought this the perfect companion for the CS154B Computer Architecture clas ...more
As a shameless Tracy Kidder fan, I found this book quite extraordinary. Written in 1981, it chronicles the building of a 32-bit microcomputer at Data General. This was a time when the competitive environment for computer advancement was heating up to a furious pace. Today, these times read like ancient history, exceptt for the fact that it was the dawning of an age.
Tracy Kidder, a journalist, not a computer engineer, took on the task of capturing the new computer building process when it was par ...more
Tracy Kidder, a journalist, not a computer engineer, took on the task of capturing the new computer building process when it was par ...more
In the early 1980's when this book was first published, the author had to communicate the complexity and labors experienced by a group of engineers as they developed the next big thing for a second rate company. Most of those who read this book today have a level of computer literacy that may be beyond what the author's computer literacy was when he wrote the book. Consequently there are sections where the author takes great care to convey computer concepts and operations to a reader who has nev
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The Soul of A New Machine is an engineers soap opera following a rag-tag team of neophytes driven by their own Captain Ahab to build a revolutionary 32-bit computer for the now-defunct Data General in the late 1970s. Tracey Kiddler, the author, was given a rare opportunity as a journalist to follow the team's progress from within and his story shows an insiders knowledge. He breaks down the complex technical nature of the task through a series of straightforward analogies and by doing so enables
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It is a testament to Tracy Kidder's skills as a writer that I found a book of ancient computer engineering to be a compelling read. The story of Data General's development of a 32-bit minicomputer was somehow rendered like an adventure story through a wild landscape filled with thrills and dangers and eventual reward.
I read this book as background reading for a trilogy of books I'm reviewing and so pleasant to find such enjoyment in my research.
Oh, and the book also won the Pulitzer Prize...
I read this book as background reading for a trilogy of books I'm reviewing and so pleasant to find such enjoyment in my research.
Oh, and the book also won the Pulitzer Prize...
It's the late 1970s, and minicomputer maker Data General is in trouble. Their machines are getting long in the tooth; programs are bumping up against the memory limit of the 16-bit architecture. Who could've thought that 64 kilobytes of RAM wouldn't be enough? In desperation, a team in North Carolina was tasked with building a modern, 32-bit machine capable of addressing up to 4GB. In revenge, the passed-over team in Massachusetts decided they would build another 32-bit machine, on simpler lines
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(4.0) Snapshot in time in the history of computing
Retells the story of the development of the first 32-bit minicomputer offering from Data General (I'm not nerdy/old enough to really know about them). Much of it centers on the defiant attitude that the engineers took to build this computer even when it appeared that Data General was doing its best not to make it happen (relatively low pay, few resources, few engineers, crazy deadline). But they do (only about 50% over schedule), through allnight ...more
Retells the story of the development of the first 32-bit minicomputer offering from Data General (I'm not nerdy/old enough to really know about them). Much of it centers on the defiant attitude that the engineers took to build this computer even when it appeared that Data General was doing its best not to make it happen (relatively low pay, few resources, few engineers, crazy deadline). But they do (only about 50% over schedule), through allnight ...more
Terrific look at a piece of computer history written at the time it was actually happening. I'd just read Tracey Kidder's book about writing and as a fan of computer history thought this would be a good read. It was as a team puts together Data Generals first 32 bit minicomputer. I'd recommend this book to anyone that enjoys computer history. Well written and fast paced.
May 10, 2010
Alexander Case
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of computer history, and people who like profiles of people.
Shelves:
computer-history
About 6 years ago, a sort of scandal rocked the gaming industry related to a blog post by a woman known as "EASpouse". The blog post criticized EA's labor practices at the time, which required employees to work massive amounts of unpaid overtime, as they were salaried employees. By massive, I mean about 12-16 hour days, 6 days a week, regularly. This was a big deal among gamers, because very few of us had ever had the opportunity to peek behind the curtain like this. It was likely that most of u
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This is the 2nd time I've read this book and it took on a new meaning after being part of a huge AWS product launch. The feeling of camaraderie, pride, and purpose was something that I had just recently experienced which made me relate to the engineers and managers in a different way.
I loved it the first time I read it but somehow was able to love it more. At the time I didn't understand the historical context accurately. I've recently been reading about the timeline of computers which was a big ...more
I loved it the first time I read it but somehow was able to love it more. At the time I didn't understand the historical context accurately. I've recently been reading about the timeline of computers which was a big ...more
They were building temples to God. It was the sort of work that gave meaning to life. That's what West and his team of engineers were looking for, I think.
An incredible account of what it feels like to work in the computer industry, an accurate description of computer architecture (that is still relevant today), and an all-around amazing book. Touches many aspects of hardware, management and the emotional intricacies of engineering.
On a personal note, to me, it captures the essence of computer
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Hard to believe that it's coming up for 35 years since the events in this book took place. It was a different time. A time when the frontiers in computer hardware were open and worth fighting for; when margins in hardware were, by present day standards, stratospheric, and when computer professionals/nerds/geeks were cheap and in it for the challenge. This is the true story of a small team of people with a common goal - to give birth to a new computer that will save a company. The different chara
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This book was a great read from start to finish. It takes you through the journey that an engineering in the 70s went through to get a machine to market. Tracy Kidder writes it in a way that such a dry subject reads like an epic adventure, describing the engineers with so much detail that they feel like the heroes of said adventure. I think what I personally appreciated the most is that it's also a very good time capsule of the computer industry of the late 70s, showing what has changed, but eve
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“The Soul of a New Machine” by Tracy Kidder is a must read for anyone interested in hardships in a tech-emerging world. This short book follows the advancements on a new, powerful 32-bit computer nicknamed the “Eagle”, as its creator and company, Data General, tries to outperform its competitors. Tracy Kidder creates a perfectly balanced story showcasing some of the individual team members and the team as a whole as they progress on their secret project, inching closer and closer to the extremel
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A very nice story of how a small team of engineers works to create a new computer for Data General in the late 1970s. The computer is not particularly groundbreaking, a new 32-bit computer that is software-compatible with the old 16-bit model. But the story is remarkable for its insights into how the work got done. It explains the characters, their motivations, some technical details (at just the right detail)—and is filled with memorable and realistic anecdotes. It is well paced, well written a
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Must read if you have anything to do with computer industry. You could see patterns that keeps repeating.
Hold on to your hats, kids! We're taking a trip back to the late 70s, where there were more than 2 or 3 types of computer to choose between, but they cost half a million dollars and were the size of refrigerators. This book relates the development of a new computer at Data General, a highly successful manufacturer of the time, though forgotten today.
This is really one of those plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose things. While it is so much of its era - maybe the bronze age of the computer ...more
This is really one of those plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose things. While it is so much of its era - maybe the bronze age of the computer ...more
Tracy Kidder put together a wonderfully rich and in-depth look at the inner workings of a team of designers working on a new minicomputer. With scarce resources, minimal corporate support, and little but what they could scrounge and their own intellectual prowess and determination, the team succeeded against all odds. And with Kidder's able help, we are right there with them. We see the manipulations, the generation of fierce commitment in the experienced and newbie alike, and the almost fanatic
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This book had a very compelling blend of technical content and a focus on the relationships and idiosyncrasies of the computer engineers behind this amazing achievement. As someone with a computer engineering background, I appreciated the detail given around the architecture of components that make up the Eagle and the process by which they are designed. I think Kidder did a great job of explaining these technological intricacies in such a way that non-technological people have a good chance at
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I read this back when it was current, and I was programming at the time on a Data General MV6000, so it was really fascinating to me how that series was made. I enjoyed the book immensely, and found it a fun read, a page turner. It was nice that Tracy seemed to learn enough about the whole process, the technology and the project, that he really understood what was going on. I think a lot of journalist types wouldn't have managed that. They would have made a lot of vague statements in their books
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This was a fantastic read. Tracy Kidder captures a period in computing history that I'd only ever vaguely heard about. The race to build (or in this case retrofit) the first 32-bit microcomputers!
This a fundamentally human exploration of how to inspire and lead people to tilt at windmills. You see how technical credibility is earned, and how teams come to inhabit a realm of their own as they approach launch.
Lots of crazy debugging stories, some fantastic character sketches make a book that is we ...more
This a fundamentally human exploration of how to inspire and lead people to tilt at windmills. You see how technical credibility is earned, and how teams come to inhabit a realm of their own as they approach launch.
Lots of crazy debugging stories, some fantastic character sketches make a book that is we ...more
As someone else commented, paraphrased: "This should be required reading for any computer architecture course."
A fascinating insight into the work it took to launch an entirely new computer back in the days of hand-soldering and oscilloscopes, as well as a pseudo-biography of the strange and charismatic leader of this particular team, Tom West.
A fascinating insight into the work it took to launch an entirely new computer back in the days of hand-soldering and oscilloscopes, as well as a pseudo-biography of the strange and charismatic leader of this particular team, Tom West.
This book talks about the team that creates a new computer. The book is read a lot by MBA students. I can see where putting a team together to do software and hardware is hard work. There are many times when the unexpected comes up and you are late on projects. I thought it was interesting the dynamics of the different teams and how the managers of the teams dealt with people.
I read this many years ago and many books ago. But it made a big impression on my younger self about the quest for something bigger than yourself. You don't do something for money or glory, you do it for the deep internal feeling of accomplishment.
I read this book when I was 18 (well over a decade ago) but I remember it being an easy and interesting read, and it gave me an appreciation of just how much work goes into creating something as advanced as a computer machine.
My gut tells me no book has been more deserving of its Pulitzer.
Fantastic!
It's hard to explain to a non-engineer what an engineer does, and how it feels to work as an engineer. This book does a wonderful job in that regard, showing how it was like for a group of engineers and their managers in the nascent decades of the computer industry, who took themselves to build a new computer in a rather short time.
The book does not belabor much with the technical (only to provide a context), but bears more into the lives and work relationships of the engineers.
Readers familiars ...more
The book does not belabor much with the technical (only to provide a context), but bears more into the lives and work relationships of the engineers.
Readers familiars ...more
Four stars is maybe too many, three too few for this book. At times it's fascinating, but at others it's very turgid. Kidder goes into (I feel) completely unnecessary detail to explain the complexity involved in designing a computer. I have a degree in electronics and a masters in computing. I've used boolean logic to design logic circuits. I've written code in machine code. I've designed an operating system. And even I found these explanations tedious and boring. I get that he was trying to giv
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History of the build of a new computer - does a good job getting underneath what drives nerds, overwork/burnout, etc...
"Transistors are superior. They are solid. They have no cogs and wheels, no separate pieces to be soldered together; it is as if they are stones performing useful work.
"it seemed to me that computers have been used in ways that are salutary, in ways that are dangerous, banal and cruel, and in ways that seem harmless if a little silly. But what fun making them can be!"
“That’s the ...more
"Transistors are superior. They are solid. They have no cogs and wheels, no separate pieces to be soldered together; it is as if they are stones performing useful work.
"it seemed to me that computers have been used in ways that are salutary, in ways that are dangerous, banal and cruel, and in ways that seem harmless if a little silly. But what fun making them can be!"
“That’s the ...more
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Tracy Kidder is an American author and Vietnam War veteran. Kidder may be best known, especially within the computing community, for his Pulitzer Prize-winning The Soul of a New Machine, an account of the development of Data General's Eclipse/MV minicomputer. The book typifies his distinctive style of research. He began following the project at its inception and, in addition to interviews, spent c
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“It became apparent that communications and computing served each other so intimately that they might actually become the same thing;”
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“In the early days, computers inspired widespread awe and the popular press dubbed them giant brains. In fact, the computer’s power resembled that of a bulldozer; it did not harness subtlety, though subtlety went into its design.”
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