Episode · The Pragmatic Engineer · 2025-12-17
Books mentioned on The history of servers, the cloud, and what’s next – with Oxide
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Bryan Cantrill recommended The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder, Skunk Works by Leo Janos and others, and STEVE JOBS & THE NEXT BIG THING, and criticized Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Soul of a New Machine
The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer Prize-winning work of non-fiction that chronicles the intense engineering effort behind building a new computer at Data General in the late 1970s.
Recommended“first is Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kder. So this one won the Puliter Prize uh in 1980 or 1981, but about the the the building of a new computer at data general”
Where to get it
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Skunk Works
Skunk Works by Leo Janos and Ben R.
Recommended“for me personally um very influential was skunk works by Ben Rich. So about the the the history of skunk works. Um Clarence Kelly Thompson was the with kind of the originator”
Where to get it
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STEVE JOBS & THE NEXT BIG THING
Steve Jobs & the Next Big Thing by Randall Stross is a detailed historical account examining Steve Jobs's lesser-known entrepreneurial venture following his initial departure from Apple.
Recommended“And then the uh the other one is Steve Jobs and the next big thing by Randall Straws. So um Steve Jobs is kind of like lionized by the industry but people forget about a very important chapter of his life namely next”
Where to get it
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Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is a comprehensive biography detailing the life, career, and intense leadership style of the Apple co-founder.
Critiqued“It is here to bury him. And it is very interesting about all the missteps at next and the thing that we cannot know because Jobs obviously died but I believe having read the book which gets basically next gets essentially no treatment in the Isixson biography.”
Where to get it
