Tracy Kidder

Tracy Kidder (born November 12, 1945 in New York City) is an American author and Vietnam War veteran. Kidder may be best known, especially within the computing community, for his Pulitzer Prize-winning The Soul of a New Machine, an account of the development of Data General's Eclipse/MV minicomputer. The book typifies his distinctive style of research. He began following the project at its inception and, in addition to interviews, spent considerable time observing the engineers at work and outside of it. Using this perspective he was able to produce a more textured portrait of the development process than a purely retrospective study might.

Kidder followed up with House, in which he chronicles the design and construction of the award-winning Souweine House in Amherst, Massachusetts. House reads like a novel, but it is based on many hours of research with the architect, builders, clients, in-laws, and other interested parties.

In 2003, Kidder also published 'Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure The World' after a chance encounter with Paul Farmer. The book was held to wide critical acclaim and became a New York Times bestseller. Edward Norton, an actor, has claimed it was one of the books which has had a profound influence on him. University of Florida and Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. are using "Mountains" as their common reading book. All incoming freshmen students read the same book.

Bibliography

• Tracy Kidder, The Road to Yuba City: A Journey into the Juan Corona Murders, Doubleday, 1974, ISBN 0-385-02865-3
• Tracy Kidder, The Soul of a New Machine, Back Bay Books, 1981, ISBN 0-316-49197-7
• Tracy Kidder, House, Hougton Mifflin Co., 1985, ISBN 0-618-00191-3
• Tracy Kidder, Among Schoolchildren, Avon Books, 1989, ISBN 0-380-71089-7
• Tracy Kidder, Old Friends, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1994, ISBN 5-554-72949-5
• Tracy Kidder, Home Town, Random House, 1999, ISBN 0-671-78521-4
• Tracy Kidder, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World, Random House, 2003 hardcover: ISBN 0-375-50616-0, 2004 paperback: ISBN 0-8129-7301-1
• Tracy Kidder, My Detachment: a Memoir, Random House, 2005, ISBN 0-375-50615-2 (a Vietnam War memoir)

External links

• 1985 audio interview of Tracy Kidder by Don Swaim
• Biographical notes from the Lettre Ulysses Award 2004