The Soul of A New Machine

The Soul of a New Machine is a captivating book that chronicles the creation of Data General's Eclipse MV/8000 computer from the engineers' point of view. Through the narrative, Tracy Kidder adeptly illuminates the engineering psyche: the rush derived from the freedom to create, the sensation of being "lost in the machine", the feeling of power that comes from bringing order to chaos, the personal identity associated with creation. The book elucidates the paradoxical competing motivations that inspire an employee to maintain a daunting schedule that eclipses their personal life. Tracy may understand engineers better than they understand themselves. In fact, as an engineer, I understand myself better after reading this book. Being set in the late 1970s, the book provides the reader with an authentic glimpse into a bygone era when yellow legal pads and pencils were essential engineering tools. What's surprising is the similarities to modern-day. Engineers are still wrestling with the same fundamental questions: can machines think, what are the ethical implications of computing, what's the perfect balance between done and right? Then and now, engineers are attempting to cope with the "long-term tiredness" resulting from the rampant pace of innovation that can render a recent graduate more skilled than an industry veteran. The human component remains the most perplexing. In the end, "people are just reaching out in the dark, touching hands." The book serves as a refreshing reminder that although technology evolves at a breakneck pace, the design process remains much the same. In conclusion, The Soul of a New Machine should be required reading for business and engineering students alike. The enduring lessons are to hire smart people, enable them, and get out of their way. Engineers thrive on agency and the potential to materialize their conceptions. No amount of external motivation can breathe commiserate vitality into a design process. If you are an engineer or a manager, do yourself a favor: read and understand The Soul of a New Machine.

This book is a fascinating recount of Data General's effort to bring a new computer to the market. Through the stories we re-live moments of "drama, comedy, and excitement" as an engineering team works day and night in the goal of developing a computer - project code "Eagle". The author focuses on the natural tension that exists between the engineers and their management. Particularly that of a focus on product vs. the market and the race to develop the next computer. Within this book are numerous lessons on technical leadership, management and organizational dynamics. The lead on the effort (Tom) is a strong believer in grass-root effort and had the ability to build a team, rally them toward a common cause and lead them to success. As mentioned on the cover: "What has changed little, however, is computer culture: the feverish pace of the high-tech industry, the mystique of programmers, the entrepreneurial bravado that has caused so many start-up companies to win big (or crash and burn), 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 of the computer age." A fun classic read with numerous applicable lessons! Below are two excerpts that I found particularly relevant: 1- "Software compatibility is a marvelous thing. That was the essential lesson West took away from his long talks with his friend in Marketing. You didn't want to make a machine that wasn't compatible, not if you could avoid it. Old customers would feel that since they'd need to buy and create all new software anyways, they might as well look at what other companies had to offer; they'd be likely to undertake the dreaded "market survey"." 2- "Adopting a remote, managerial point of view, you could say that the Eagle project was a case where a local system of management worked as it should: competition for resources creating within a team inside a company an entrepreneurial spirit, which was channeled in the right direction by constraints sent down from the tip. But it seems more accurate to say that a group of engineers got excited about building a computer. Whether it arose by corporate bungling or by design, the opportunity had to be grasped. In this sense, the initiative belonged entirely to West and the members of his team. What's more, they did the work, both with uncommon spirit and for reasons that, in a most frankly commercial setting, seemed remarkably pure."

I first read Tracy Kidder's book "The Soul of a New Machine" in the early 1980s, shortly after its publication in 1981. At the time I was intrigued and interested in the process and detail of engineering required to bring a new computer to market; and I was fascinated by the leadership/management skills employed by the key character to "motivate" the team. I thought it was a great read. That was nearly thirty years ago. Recently, I mentioned this book in a conversation with a colleague and subsequently decided to read it again. I hoped it would be as good as I thought it was the first time, but I was skeptical. Technology has changed a lot; and both the MV/8000 and Data General Corporation are now long gone. Would "The Soul of a New Machine" still be as gripping a story as it was originally? The answer, in a word, is YES! In rereading the book in 2011, I was struck by the diversity of the team engaged in this effort, the various work methods and styles that had to come together for success. Kidder introduces the reader to a wonderful cast of characters who worked incredible hours and faced enormous time pressures under great stress for months and months to birth a new computer. It may sound simple, but it wasn't. "The Soul of a New Machine" is a gripping, circuitous, wonderful tale of a dream and the team that brought it to life.

I first read this book when it came out - while I was in college. It's interesting to re-read it 30 years later with the perspective of what became of the Eclipse MV8000, Data General, Digital Equipment, and the other non-human Dramatis Personae. As far as the people - who knows: it's easier to follow the history of an industry than the people who comprise it. But it's the people that Kidder wisely focuses upon. What comes through is the passion that a group of people have for their work - the long hours, the camaraderie, and the joy of creation. I confess - as an engineer it tweaks me when artists dismiss the profession. Engineering is the act of creation just as much as art is - with one added requirement: the creation must be useful. The technology in the book is archaic, but the process is the same today in Silicon Valley as then in Westboro, Mass. In fact, it's the requirement for utility that consigns most engineering creation to the scrap heap in short order - that's how it's supposed to be. It's still a pleasure to do the work, and that is evident in this book. I think that reading this book helps explain something: I've never met an engineer unhappy about his or her career choice - try finding an attorney that skips to work. Is it hard to keep sharp at the cutting edge? Absolutely - the MV8000 was a market failure, Data General went under in the 1992 recession, and mighty Digital (once the largest private employer in Massachusetts and New Hampshire) was bought in a fire sale by Compaq for access to the Alpha CPU architecture - which went unused and was scrapped when Compaq was acquired by Hewlett-Packard. The same HP that laid the cornerstone for Silicon Valley and now makes money selling over-priced printer cartridges. You drive in the fast lane, you get in a wreck or two. But it is FUN to drive in the fast lane!

At this time of the year, I select a few books about diverse subjects and re-read them with the hope that new insights will occur that I missed previously. That is certainly true of this book (the second edition published in 1997 when I first read it) and James Gleick's Isaac Newton (2003). Dozens of other reviewers have already shared their reasons for thinking so highly of Tracy Kidder's account of Data General's efforts to create a new 32-bit superminicomputer. Here are three of mine. First, I am grateful for being able to learn so much about Joseph Thomas "Tom" West III (1939-2011) and his contributions to the development of "the new machine." He led a project team (code-named "Eagle") that competed with another team (code-named "Fountainhead") within the Data General organization. Most of the drama in Kidder's narrative is created by the in-house competition to design a next-generation computer that could not only compete with but in fact win out in direct competition with a new 32-bit minicomputer brought to market by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). At least initially, West's group was generally viewed as a back-up {"second string") project team. However, over time.... Also, Kidder brilliantly develops a tension between two quite opposite mindsets. One is expressed by West: "Not everything worth doing is worth doing well" and "If you can do a quick-and-dirty job and it works, do it." Predictably, the engineers strongly disagreed and objected strenuously to being rushed to produce what they were certain would be an inferior product. They refused to cut corners, accept compromises, etc. West understood their concerns and in a perfect world would have accommodated them. However, he remained determined to not only beat DEC to market but also to retain dominance of that market thereafter. Finally, Kidder provides his readers with still another opportunity to examine the dynamics of teamwork that is sustained under severe pressure from all manner of sources both within and beyond the given enterprise. As I proceeded through the book, I was again reminded of Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman's classic study of several great teams, Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration. Those groups include the Disney animators who created Dumbo, Snow White, and Pinocchio as well as those involved with the Manhattan Project and Lockheed's "Skunk Works." These and other teams were led by determined, at times driven leaders and were comprised of members who were quite different in terms of their talent, experience, and temperament. Those who led them were not "herding cats," a term widely attributed; indeed, they were leading an entire menagerie. No brief commentary such as mine could possibly do full justice to the scope and depth of coverage that Tracy Kidder gives to one of several pivotal chapters in the history of computer technology. I am grateful for what I learned this time around that I had missed previously. I intend to re-read it again and meanwhile highly recommend the book to those who share my keen interest in the humanity on which the "soul" of any breakthrough technology depends. That was certainly true 35 years ago and it is even more true today.

I first read this book not long after it was published. In my recollections of it over the years since then, I believed Kidder much more vividly had described the way the mind works of someone who creates computers from the ground up. I have told many people, to whom I have enthusiastically recommended this book, of their strange, esoteric, unfathomable thought processes. Reading it again, I have no idea where I got that impression. I attended college at a school known in large part for engineering, roomed for two years with an engineering student, and knew many others quite well. I found them to be very much as Kidder describes them, but I have not known any of them to have unfathomable minds, only somewhat odd and often narrowly focused minds. There is not a thing wrong with this book, but on second reading it nevertheless leaves me vaguely unsatisfied, as though since I first read it and now someone excised a lot of it. If I could have given it three and a half stars I would have, because it is clearly better than three stars. Probably it's a four or even a five -- but it just doesn't feel like that to me. I suppose I'll have to re-read House now to see how that compares to my first read of 30 or so years ago.

This was a good book but I had a really hard time getting my arms around the computer and those that designed it. To me, if you want to read about what goes into the design and development of a computer, give "Revolution in The Valley" a read. It's about the development of the Apple Macintosh. It was written in such a way that made me feel like I was right there with them throughout the process. The one person that *really* stood out for me to the point that I'd love to meet him is Burrell Smith. He was hired by Apple into a hardware support role. He ended up on the Mac team and was the one that designed and built the motherboard. As I was reading I could visualize him wire wrapping the first prototypes.

This book covers the creation of the Data General MV/8000 computer. I worked on one of these when I was first starting out as a programmer so the book resonates with me on a personal level. With our without that, it is a fascinating read showing not just the technical hurdles involved but also the political and personal ones that must be dealt with to get something of this magnitude from concept to reality. Geeks will love the descriptions of logic unit designs and debugging sessions, while others can appreciate the team struggling with company politics and having to work under incredibly stressful conditions to bring their dream to life The story is 35 years old now so parts of it may sound quaint to someone up on the latest technology, but it takes nothing away from this being a great story of a group of people pursuing the state of the art and reaching it despite all of the obstacles put in their way. The author includes profiles of some of the team members giving the story a more human feel as well.

Excellent writer, characters, writing, story

Llegó muy rápido, 3 días antes . Tengo, de hace años la versión en español la encontré en un tienda de libros usados (pero estaba nuevo). Habían muchos, como en calidad de desecho. Y por mucho tiempo estuve buscando la versión original. La compré a muy buen precio. La calidad de impresion y pasta es excelentes. En cuanto a contenido es apasionante (si eres electrónico) el leer como trabajaron en el diseño de una computadora de los años 70s.

The book arrived damaged. See attached photo.

Bom livro. Mostra o desenlvimento de um computador na decada de 80, apesar de ser um "romance" narrando de forma heróica uma série de personagens históricos muito anônimos. É uma referencia interessante para entender a construção de um projetos, principalmente um tão problemático e diversas decisões técnicas e de gestão durante esse período. Não é um livro técnico o que torna muitas coisas simplificadas para o público em geral poder entender.

If you are working in IT industry or a startup, this is a good read. It actually explains how complicated projects were managed in DEC back in 70's. Author explains some computer architecture concepts in a simple manner. End of the book I realised thay managers still use the same techniques with their employees even in these days