Tracy Kidder
John Tracy Kidder (born November 12, 1945) is an American writer of nonfiction books. He received the Pulitzer Prize for his The Soul of a New Machine (1981), about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation. He has received praise and awards for other works, including his biography of Paul Farmer, a physician and anthropologist, titled Mountains Beyond Mountains (2003).
Tracy Kidder | |
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Tracy Kidder at the College of Wooster, 2009 | |
| Born | November 12, 1945 New York City |
| Alma mater | Harvard University University of Iowa |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Literary movement | Literary journalism |
| Notable works | The Soul of a New Machine Mountains Beyond Mountains |
| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction 1982 The Soul of a New Machine |
| Spouse | Frances |
| Children | Nathaniel T. Kidder, Alice Bukhman |
Kidder is considered a literary journalist because of the strong story line and personal voice in his writing.: 5 He has cited as his writing influences John McPhee, A. J. Liebling, and George Orwell.: 127–128 In a 1984 interview he said, "McPhee has been my model. He's the most elegant of all the journalists writing today, I think.": 7
Kidder wrote in a 1994 essay, "In fiction, believability may have nothing to do with reality or even plausibility. It has everything to do with those things in nonfiction. I think that the nonfiction writer's fundamental job is to make what is true believable."