Tracy Kidder, author.
I read The Soul of A New Machine, but in a Reader’s Digest condensed version, back in the day. I should really pick up a copy and read the real book.
When The Detroit Free Press offered Mr. Kidder a reporting job, he told Mr. [Richard] Todd [his editor – DB], “Maybe I can get a Pulitzer if I work really hard.” Mr. Todd responded, “You can get a Pulitzer staying here in Western Massachusetts and writing books.”
(For those who may not know, Soul did win a Pulitzer.)
Mr. Kidder wrote in endless drafts. “Tracy throws up on the page and cleans up afterward,” said Jonathan Harr, author of the best-selling book “A Civil Action.” “He was absolutely indefatigable in the writing.”
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2026 at 3:08 pm and is filed under Books, Obits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.