#2 in History
The Soul of a New Machine
8.48.4 / 10
Score out of 10116 ratingsConfidence 44%: this much of the score is the readers’ own
- Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
- National Book Award for Nonfiction
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About the book
The Soul of a New Machine is a nonfiction book written by Tracy Kidder and published in 1981. It chronicles the experiences of a computer engineering team racing to design a next-generation computer at a blistering pace under tremendous pressure. The machine was launched in 1980 as the Data General Eclipse MV/8000.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.4 across 116 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 44% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the History average of 8.0. That is how 8.4 comes out. A further +0.20 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 18 | 16% |
| Hardcover | 8.4 | 98 | 85% |
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