TOW #19 - The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder

Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer Prize winner of his book The Soul of a New Machine, a book about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation. Considered a literary journalist, Kidder has also won other awards such as the National Book Award for Nonfiction, Ambassador Book Award, Lettre Ulysses Award, and many others, establishing him as a significant and credible writer of nonfiction. In his book The Soul of a New Machine, Kidder narrates the experiences of the two design groups that are fighting to create a new computer than can compete with the VAX computer developed by Digital Equipment Corporation, which is dominating in the market of 32-bit computers. Kidder documents the conceptualization, design, and the implementation process that takes place at Date General Corporation and tells the story of the company's struggle through the experiences the design teams had to face. Directed towards those interested in engineering and computer science, this book portrays an important piece of the history of the development of the modern computer. However, Kidder's main purpose is not to inform his readers, but to motivate them not to give up when faced with a situation involving a crucial deadline and a near-impossible problem to solve. Throughout the first half of the book, Kidder attempts to achieve his purpose through anecdotes and imagery. The addition of anecdotes creates an atmosphere that makes it seem as if the reader is at Data General Corporation itself, which enhances the audience's reading experience. Complementing anecdotes is Kidder's imagery. The skillful use of adjectives and other methods of describing a situation/person promotes the reader's understanding of what is taking place and the obstacles the design groups have to go through. Combined, these devices attempted to achieve Kidder's purpose and, however, were not successful because the struggles in the book have yet to be impactful. However, I believe that in the second half of the book, Kidder will be able to achieve his purpose.