TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Famous Technical Writers? From:"Steven J. Owens" <puff -at- netcom -dot- com> To:peter -at- highsoft -dot- com Date:Mon, 13 Dec 1999 16:55:10 -0800 (PST)
Peter Gold writes:
> I haven't seen Tracy Kidder's name on this thread. He wrote "Soul of a New
> Machine," in the early '80s, in which he described the development, from
> start-to-finish, of a new computer design. It covered technical stuff in
> clear plain language, as well as documenting the whole year in the life of
> the team's members.
I believe this was about the development of the Data General
_Eagle_. This book also gave a fairly accurate impression of the
mindset of the people doing this kind of work. I recommend _Soul of a
New Machine_ to anybody seeking to understand the computer
programmer/engineer mentality.
My favorite line from the book has to be "have gone to a commune
in Vermont, where I will deal in no increment of time smaller than a
season."
