Customer Reviews

The Soul of a New Machine

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`The Soul of a New Machine' is a landmark journalistic book-length essay by then `Atlantic Monthly' writer, Tracy Kidder exploring the development of a new computer in those pre-microcomputer days of 1978. I am delighted to find this book issued as a `classic', as I have read it many times and have been meaning to do a review of it for some time. I cannot think of a better occasion than with the release of this new edition.

When it was first published, the book was a narrative of what was then `modern' technology, where the central processing units (CPU) or `brains' of commercial minicomputers and mainframe computers were built up on large circuit boards from individual, specialized integrated circuit chips, with each chip integrating dozens or hundreds of discrete components. This compares to today's microcomputers where the entire CPU is placed on a single chip incorporating tens of thousands of discrete functions, all taking up no more room than the average credit card. Now, the book is more a history of how this technology was developed, and yet its picture of how people work in teams developing technological projects will probably never go out of date.

The irony of this book is that the computer being developed by the team described in this book, a 32 bit Eclipse computer developed by the Data General corporation, a competitor to the larger and very successful Digital Computer Corporation (Digital), did not really achieve any major breakthrough in technology. While it was intended to compete with a new generation of Digital VAX machines, it ended up being just barely faster than VAX's in a few special tasks. In fact, in a conversation I once had with some Digital engineers, they said that when they went head to head with Data General in bidding for a computer sale, the only thing they had to do was bring out Kidder's book to demonstrate that the Data General box was yesterday's news. Data General may have had the last laugh, as ailing Digital was bought out by Compaq, which has since merged with H-P, further submerging the once great Digital presence in the commercial computer world. Meanwhile, Data General is still around, albeit not the presence it once had when the `minicomputer' was the great alternative to the IBM monoliths in the glass houses.

That does not detract from the fact that this is still a terrific story. I have read it several times and still quote from it after nearly thirty years of reading from it the first time. My favorite image is of the engineer who quit the project to become a farmer, so that the smallest unit of time he had to deal with was the season. My second favorite quote (which may not be original to this book, although this is the first time I ran into it) is that the management style on the project was the mushroom theory. That is, `Keep them in the dark and feed them s**t'.

As I see from Kidder's new introduction, this essay was a bigger accomplishment that it seemed originally, as Kidder was closer to being a Luddite than he was a techie in love with the latest computer tool which, at that time, would have been standalone word processing machines produced by companies such as IBM and Wang. In spite of that limitation, he manages to make it interesting to both the average reader and someone like myself who is (or at least was) familiar with the inner workings of computers.

I also tend to see Kidder's book as the fountainhead of a whole wave of new style journalistic book length works. I almost like to believe that Kidder made possible the writing careers of my foodie-writing hero, Michael Ruhlman (`The Soul of a Chef' and `The Making of a Chef'). The similarity in title of Ruhlman's book with Kidder's title is, I think, not an accident.

So, this is not only a history of a major moment in computer history, it is a superb picture of the dynamics of people in technical development teams and the challenges of achieving a technical goal.

Must read for everyone.

Soul of a New Machine is an excellent portrayal of a heroic team of young engineers. What defined the book for me was the sort of mad, beautiful work ethic that the team in the story had. This is the best way I can describe it:

When you're young and you get interested in something, you get _passionate_ about it. Maybe it's because you don't know the importance of money and responsibility yet, but you really get into a sport, or hobby, or any other interest, and you do that hobby or play that sport, you write stories or fix cars, making whatever sacrifices you need to just so you can do this thing you love, not because you want to make money at it, or gain respect or admiration, but because it gives you priceless rewards and satisfaction. And it's a purest love you can have. When you grow up, you get disillusioned, from paying bills and other responsibilities. You lose the spark. You start doubting your interest in what you used to love, be it the mechanic who used to love cars but has grown jaded, or the teacher on a low income who has to deal with unruly students and demanding parents.

The Soul of a New Machine is a throwback to that youthful perhaps almost a bit naive passion. It's about the antithesis of the 9-5, where if the pay is horrible, you couldn't care less, you still work overtime. This pure struggle, the essence of a profession, is what makes the book so great. It's the most archetypal element of a career or profession, the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that only something you put your soul and your sweat and blood into, can give you. In that basement in Data General, this beautiful dream became real in the form of the Eagle minicomputer. If you've felt the kind of spark that drove those young men before, this book will remind you. And if you haven't, maybe this book will kindle a new passion in what you do.

I first read this book when I was in high school. I was captivated and enthralled by the story, and I can unabashedly state that it helped refine and accelerate my interest in computer science and engineering.

Tracy Kidder captures a technical world and gives a clear picture at the tremendous challenges of building a state of the art computer system, that must be backwards compatible with legacy architecture, all while doing it in an easy to read manner (and a brilliant original perspective).

It is a heroic, true life story. It was (and still is) one of my all-time favorite books.

This books is a story of building a computer, from start to finish, told in the form of an epic journey. It goes in depth on the people involved, strategy used, the company politics and how they all integrated into and affected the project.

Being in a small software organization for the last 4 years and having experience a tripling in size and about the same in revenue, it was very easy for me to find parallels to my company's growth, the people and the experiences that were at Data General when the computer was built. Here are some of the (summed up briefly) that I found:

1. Speech Period (pep ralley) 2. Leader becoming more and more distant 3. Need to be doing something interesting 4. Mushroom Theory of Management (put them in the dark, feed them s*$# and watch them grow). 5. Everyone burns out 6. All of the sudden, its just a job 7. The gunslinger 8. Management has changed and its no longer the same place ... and many others

I think that anyone reading the book curious of parallels in businesses (regardless of what they do), would find this book a good source of info.

This book is a classic description of a high-tech team trying to do the impossible. The motivational methods used by the boss are great lessons. I used to use it to teach my MBAs about the soft side of product development. However, time moves on, and so did my syllabus. Not only is it technically obsolete (4.77 Mhz minicomputer; no ASICS; etc.). But even the team dynamics are now, with the benefit of hindsight, ultimately destructive. Instead, I use a much more recent book, on software development at Microsoft, called "I Sing the Body Electronic". This book describes a year of wandering in the swamp of producing a prototype of an over-ambitious software package. I think it's more relevant today, although admittedly the product they are working on (a children's encyclopedia) is more dependent on aesthetics and creative design than are most contemporary products. Anyway, my students love it, and it really opens their eyes. If you can, read both books. If you have time for only one, it depends on whether you associate with old-timers like me, who will know Soul, or newcomers like my students, who will be interested in Microsoft and software.

I bought and read this book shortly after it was published. Tracy Kidder is gifted, and this book is still unique. I won't repeat the other accolades -- the book merits them -- but I will share some of the insights the book provides into technology projects.

I have never heard a better description of the motivation for hardware and software projects than "shipping out a box with your name on the side of it". This arose from the then common practice of the development team all autographing the first production shipment. It's hard to define this motivation...it's not money, although that's what journalists usually attribute it to. "Look what I made" is somewhat closer to the motivation, but not really there. If you are a manager of high-tech projects, read this book and get a feel for what unified the team.

Another unifying factor was the second-best aura. Not only was Data General behind DEC, but the books team was considered a second string group, and the North Carolina team got all the resources and attention from management. But they fell behind, and Kidder's team had a chance to save the day. If you are a manager, you are going to be in this situation someday.

If you are considering computer science as a career...this book resonates with a piece of advice which I frequently give. Don't get into CS or EE because you think you will make money. Get into it because you love what you are doing. That's one more factor behind the insane hours and ludicruous commitments this team undertook.

So...after over 35 years in the computer business...I have not found any other book which captures the milieu like The Soul Of A New Machine. Highly recommended.

As an engineer in high-tech, I assumed our culture of evolved as quickly as our livelihood. Not so, I found, reading about the engineering mindset ("It doesn't matter if you're ugly or graceless or even half crazy; if you produce right results in this world, your colleagues must accept you."), the inability to *completely* verify a design ("it would be possible to test fully... but it would take literally forever to do so."), that we all like video games and Star Trek, that the term "gunslinger" (someone who "shoots from the hip") isn't something our generation of engineers coined, and that what drives us today is the same that drove the previous two generations of engineers ("I'll have to work hard, and if we do a good job, we get to do it again."). Instead of writing an account of engineers building a computer chip, Kidder has created an allegory exposing the roots of engineering to genererations beyond. Wish I had read this early in my career to know what I have to look forward to...

"I'm going to a commune in Vermont and will deal with no unit of time
shorter than a season."

Tracy Kidder takes a subject that would be incalculably boring to most readers, and creates a story with all the characteristics of fictional masterpiece. However, the most striking part of Kidder's story is the fact that it's true. In The Soul of a New Machine the reader is plunged into the chaotic world of Data General, a leading minicomputer company just before the turn of the 80's. As in the film Dances With Wolves, Kidder watches from a distance, and is soon assimilated into their circle, becoming able to live and speak among them; the engineers. His firsthand experience allows him to offer a well crafted look into the high pressure world of the computer industry and the men and women who make it tick.

From the first words of the epilogue the reader is drawn into a story that he or she cannot completely grasp. Piece by piece the reader is allowed to realize that this is a story about a computer. As the mists begin to clear the reader finds the setting to be a basement lab at building 14A/B in the Data General compound in Westborough, Massachusetts. Here the tale unfolds as a company finds itself behind in the race with its arch rivals and in need of savior product line. To spice up the plot, internal competition has allowed two separate teams with different means for reaching the same end to enter into a fierce combat of engineering and technical mastery. Suddenly the reader is off on a race to build the better machine, faster.
The birth of the 32 Bit Eclipse compatible unwinds throughout the pages of the book. From logic design to the product rollout as the Eclipse MV/8000, the reader is whisked through the rapid-fire world of computer engineering - through the eyes of those who experienced it. The lives of managers, engineers, programmers, and more of the same are brought to life. Instead of the typically nerdy or aloof stereotypes of engineers, the Eclipse team is presented as a cadre of human beings working on a common goal. Their struggles, fears, triumphs, embarrassments, and the entire gamut of human emotion is displayed as this core group of thirty odd men and women race to build the next great thing.
Surprisingly, the story of something as technical as birthing a computer is made understandable and enjoyable. Instead of drowning in a sea of "engineering-ese," the reader is rafted down the rushing waters of human struggle. In an industry that has routinely been vilified as the thief of all that makes us human, Kidder has restored hope in the "little guys" who are fighting to stay afloat. The passion with which he presents this story is equaled only by the passion of those whom the story is about. As one finishes the final pages of the book, he will find himself unusually compelled to read the epilogue, and then disappointed at the thought of putting the book down. The Soul of a New Machine is truly a masterpiece in its own right.

Ultimately, The Soul of a New Machine will find a captive audience in more than just computer enthusiasts. This book will appeal to a wider audience interested in studying the human side of industry. Accordingly, it does not bog down in the technical details, but instead presents them through the eyes of a journalist, whose specialty is writing and not engineering. Some more conservative readers might find themselves offended at the uncensored vulgarity of some of the protagonists, but will most likely still be drawn in by their humanity. Tracy Kidder has opened up the world of the engineer to the outside world, and the outside world will be fascinated.

The Soul of a New Machine is an interesting book. It is written in a story like fashion that allows for easy reading. It does not contain material that is difficult to understand.
The author does a good job in revealing real life situations that designers, programmers, and management might encounter while building new computers. Many situations involve challenges such as time, others involve ethics. With respect to ethics, it is clear that the characters representing programmers and designers understand that they have certain obligations to their employer: to accept responsiblity for jobs they agree to do; to respect confidentiality entrusted to them; and to present fair and objective viewpoints regarding their projects. It is also clear that the characters representing project managment understand that they have certain obligations to upper managment and to their customers: the products have to be on time and must be reliable. The project management characters seem to lack any sense of ethics when it comes to their employees. They hire recent college graduates with no experience; they mislead them from the date of hire; they overwork them; and they undercompensate them.
In short, Kidder does not go into great detail about technical details involved in building computers. Instead, he focuses on the souls - the individuals - that create the complicated machines.

For IT professionals looking to understand more about how projects were run in the 70s (to compare that with how projects are run today), this book is great. A fine read. The key thing here is that although the technology has changed since the 70s, the management and team structures depicted in _The Soul of a New Machine_ could be in place today. For better or worse. This book should be read by any IT professional who is looking to be part of a technical product team. If only to better understand technical team dynamics.