I recently finished a book by Tracy Kidder titled The Soul of a New Machine, which is a book about a team of engineers working in the early 80s to build a new personal computer.
The book is kind of interesting…kind of. Kidder basically joins this team and follows them through the roughly 2 year development time while slowly introducing the reader to the various members of the design group all the way from the managers down to the barely graduated tech geniuses working day to day in the lab.
The book does a good job breaking down stereotypes. All these guys (and just one girl) are computer people, but they aren’t dorks. They have all sorts of quirks, talents, and aspirations. Still, for some reason I didn’t feel like I got to know the characters that much, even after following them around their lab for so long. Also, a lot of the technical work is just straight up boring. Most of the middle of the book is spent with these people just huddling around these computers testing for errors (debugging).
The more interesting parts of the book are the one’s that describe the relentless work cycle of these men. Many worked for very little pay simply because they wanted the pride of having designed a complete computer. In many ways, the book nicely contrasts the supposedly rampant capitalism of the computer class with what in reality is a dedication to craftsmanship and the challenge of puzzles.
Lastly, there is a story about management. In fact, I think certain sections of this book would make a great business school textbook. The leader of the team, Tom West, is a master of influencing people and drawing out the best in them via various displays of anger matched with subtle displays of solidarity and concern. The book basically credits the eventual success of the computer to his superb management style.
The Question Beggar 