Tracy Kidder
Tracy Kidder
John Tracy Kidderis an American writer of nonfiction books. He received the Pulitzer Prize for his The Soul of a New Machine, 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 doctor and anthropologist, titled Mountains Beyond Mountains...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNon-Fiction Author
Date of Birth12 November 1945
CountryUnited States of America
book invite readers stage tried
I wanted some way to invite readers in, to set the stage for the book - and I tried many different things.
advantages began book came dreadful haiti help imagine recently time
At the time I began writing the book about Northampton, I had recently been in Haiti to do a story for the New Yorker. I don't think I would previously have been able to imagine a place as dreadful as Haiti, and when I came back I couldn't help but think about the advantages we have in this place.
book organization lap
I never planned on doing a book about Paul Farmer or his organization. I met him in Haiti when I was on a magazine assignment. It's almost like his story sort of fell in my lap.
book good-day writing
At first, I spend about four hours a day writing. Toward the end of a book, I spend up to 16 hours a day on it, because all I want to do is make it good and get it done.
book writing effort
I tell beginning readers to read a lot and write a lot. If you want to write a book, find a subject that's really worth the time and effort you'll put in.
book writing want
I always want to write something better than the last book.
book writing sick-world
I usually write about ordinary people and ordinary things, but Paul Farmer is the least ordinary person I've ever met... He's the leader of a small group of people who hope to cure a sick world, and I hope my book can help in some small way.
famous landscapes summit view
The view from the summit of Mt. Holyoke has been one of the most famous landscapes in America. And yet, all these things are going on underneath.
good
The world doesn't make much sense to me generally. I don't feel like I'm good at that.
amnesia collective distant fact forget forgotten join people seems suffering surrounds
Don't join America's collective amnesia for the suffering that seems so distant but in fact surrounds us, ... Don't forget about the forgotten people in this world.
character create fiction invent suspense techniques writers
I can't invent stuff, but the techniques fiction writers use to create character and suspense can also be used when writing non-fiction.
adolescent feeling incredibly late safer truck
From my experience, sure, if you were a truck driver, you could be incredibly unlucky, ... But I had the feeling that I was safer than I would have been back here as a late adolescent with a car.
cutting night wound
I would read and write all night long and, as a result, wound up cutting a lot of my other classes.
returning seems town wonder
Returning to Northampton, I thought: here's a town that seems to be working pretty well, and I wonder why.