Tracy Kidder graduated from Harvard and studied at the University of Iowa. He has won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Award, and many other literary prizes. The author of Strength in What Remains, My Detachment, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Home Town, Old Friends, Among Schoolchildren, House, and The Soul of a New Machine, Kidder lives in Massachusetts and Maine.
"A Truck Full of Money, which traces [Paul] English's rocket rise
during the Internet's founding era while dealing for years with
undiagnosed bipolar disease that sometimes made him soar and
sometimes brought him low, acts as a fitting bookend to his
Pulitzer Prize-winning The Soul of a New Machine. In part, it is to
contemporary computer software what Soul was to 1970s computer
hardware. . . . Kidder's prose glides with a figure skater's ease,
but without the glam. His is a seemingly artless art, like John
McPhee's, that conceals itself in sentences that are necessary,
economical, and unpretentious."--The Boston Globe
"Kidder's portrayal of living with manic depression is as nuanced
and intimate as a reader might ever expect to get. . . . You can't
help admiring Mr. English and cheering for him."--The New York
Times
"[A] powerful and insightful tale that makes the Internet era
entertaining, and defines English as an endearing, generous and
eccentric geek."--USA Today
"Kidder's readable account of an intriguing man's zigzagging life .
. . succeeds in helping those of us on the outskirts of the
engineering world understand how people like Paul English are
pulled towards computing at a young age. At times, the narrative of
the young technologist, at least in Kidder's hands, seems the
modern equivalent of the story of the godless wayfarer who stumbles
into a cathedral in a distant city, only to find that its vaulting
arches and organ music bring on exaltations of mind and
spirit."--The New York Times Book Review
"What kind of entrepreneur talks about making money as if it's,
well, kind of a bummer? You'll ask yourself that question about a
dozen or so pages into A Truck Full of Money, Tracy Kidder's
expertly reported, deftly written new book that tracks the rise of
unconventional software executive and Kayak.com co-founder Paul
English."--The San Francisco Chronicle "Kidder writes beautifully,
creating an engaging storyline while avoiding cliches and
pretention. . . . Readers are in for a fascinating ride."--The
National Book Review "Tracy Kidder has a nose for great stories. .
. . A Truck Full of Money follows the trajectory of Paul English, a
giant in the world of software engineering, who is equal parts
geek, rock star and rainmaker. . . . Tracy Kidder's achievement in
this biography is matched by the ease of his storytelling. Kidder
takes on a hugely complicated man--brilliant, troubled, obsessive,
a charismatic team leader, dutiful son and 'monster coder, ' as
English might say--and he paints a rich, three-dimensional
portrait. He also gives a sense of the wild start-up culture in
which English thrived. That Paul English comes across as a shrewd,
appealing character, not a saint, reflects Kidder's
success."--Portland Press Herald "[I]f you are an entrepreneur,
investor, or curious about the intersection of mental health and
entrepreneurship, or just love a great nonfiction book that reads
like a novel, A Truck Full of Money should be the next book you
read."-Brad Feld, FeldThoughts "A Truck Full of Money is
quintessentially American, perhaps because English is the epitome
of the American dream of climbing from 'rags to riches.' The magic
of the book is found in its ability to inhabit multiple spheres at
once--from English's life to the field of computer science to
commentary about American culture."--The Christian Science Monitor
"A Truck Full of Money is not only an intriguing account of one
computer whiz's rise (and occasional falls), but an in-depth look
at the inner workings of the tech startup world. . . . Kidder's
highly readable account is as mesmerizing as the generous genius he
depicts. . . . A wild, ultimately fulfilling ride from a master
storyteller."--BookPage "Thirty-five years [after The Soul of a New
Machine] Kidder returns to the domain of computer nerds with this
profile of Internet entrepreneur Paul English. . . . Once again,
Kidder hits the mark, painting a riveting portrait of an endearing
society outlier and highlighting the rapidly changing trends in
today's computer-driven marketplace."--Booklist "A Truck Full of
Money, an illuminating profile of Internet entrepreneur and
philanthropist Paul English, is yet another such engaging story. .
. . Kidder is among the contemporary masters of narrative
nonfiction. His is an understated, unobtrusive style, not one that
injects him into the narrative. His portrait of English is clearly
admiring, but honest. . . . When it comes to Paul English's
fascinating story, Tracy Kidder leaves us wondering with great
anticipation: 'What's next?'"--Shelf Awareness "Kidder, whose
honors include a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award tells
English's story while pondering how new technologies, new money,
and ubiquitous start-ups are redirecting our culture"--Library
Journal "In this fascinating biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning
author Kidder (Mountains Beyond Mountains) chronicles the life and
complex personality of Paul English. . . . This is a biography not
just of one man, but of an era and of the startup
culture."--Publishers Weekly "A perfectly executed, exquisitely
reported parable of the Internet age, and the wild, mad adventure
that is start-up culture."--Charles Duhigg "A Truck Full of Money
brings us into unknown spaces of the complex workings of the
mind--of a brilliant software engineer, of this new decade, of the
brutal/fast business of technology, of stunning privilege, and of
one man's efforts to put his fortune to humane use."--Adrian Nicole
LeBlanc "The story of [an] entrepreneur's remarkable life [and] the
new American economy and the technological world that built it.
More engrossing work from a gifted practitioner of narrative
nonfiction."--Kirkus
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