

#2936
Mentioned in 4 episodes
The Soul of a New Machine
Book • 1981
The Soul of a New Machine is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book that tells the story of a team of engineers at Data General who were tasked with designing a new 32-bit minicomputer, the Eclipse MV/8000, to compete with Digital Equipment Corporation's VAX computer.
The book, written by Tracy Kidder, provides a detailed and compelling account of the engineers' year-long effort, highlighting the intense work ethic, technological innovations, and personal sacrifices involved in the project.
It explores the culture of the high-tech industry, the grassroots approach to innovation, and the tension between engineering quality and time to market.
The book is praised for its narrative art and its insight into the human side of technological development.
The book, written by Tracy Kidder, provides a detailed and compelling account of the engineers' year-long effort, highlighting the intense work ethic, technological innovations, and personal sacrifices involved in the project.
It explores the culture of the high-tech industry, the grassroots approach to innovation, and the tension between engineering quality and time to market.
The book is praised for its narrative art and its insight into the human side of technological development.
Mentioned by











Mentioned in 4 episodes
Mentioned by 

as a book he read in May 2023, describing it as a well-constructed profile capturing the tech company culture of the 1980s.


Cal Newport

776 snips
Ep. 254: The Laws of Less
Mentioned by ![undefined]()

and ![undefined]()

as a book that influenced them professionally.

Bryan Cantrill

Adam Leventhal

38 snips
Crates We Love
Mentioned by ![undefined]()

as a book capturing the effort of building computers in the 80s.

Steve Klabnik

Oxide with Steve Klabnik
Mentioned by ![undefined]()

as a book that inspired her, focusing on the challenges and excitement of building something new from the ground up.

Jessie Frazelle

Zoo with Jessie Frazelle
Mentioned by 

as a model for writing nonfiction with the flavor of fiction, focusing on how a small change in technology reflects wider cultural shifts.


Dan Shipper

Prozac and ChatGPT: How Technology is Changing the Way We See Ourselves - Ep. 15 with Peter D. Kramer
Mentioned by 

as a book about the birth of Windows NT.


Leo Laporte

IM 812: A Choir of Sentient Cabbages - Gary Rivlin, AGI Test, Section 230
Mentioned by ![undefined]()

when discussing books about computer history.

Jesper Juul

Jesper Juul, "Too Much Fun: The Five Lives of the Commodore 64 Computer" (MIT Press, 2024)
Mentioned by Saranya Dbarak as a 1981 bestseller and Pulitzer Prize-winning book that follows the engineers featured in the episode.

The soul of an old machine (Interview)