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
Tracy Kidder quotes about
believe stories reader
When writers stop believing in their own stories, readers tend to sense it.
vietnam combat novel
I wrote a novel about the combat experiences I didn't have in Vietnam.
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.
writing thinking shows
I think if the writing comes too easily, it shows - it's usually hard to read.
hard-work writing mind
I know that to write you have to have stories you want to tell. You have to keep your mind alive, and you have to work hard.
believe thinking important
I do believe that enduring geological features are important, though I don't think I can be clear about exactly why.
book writing want
I always want to write something better than the last book.
glasses want clear
I want my prose to be as clear as a pane of glass.
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.
coward weapons cynicism
among a coward's weapons, cynicism is the nastiest of all
men giving needs
How could a just God permit great misery? The Haitian peasants answered with a proverb: "Bondye konn bay, men li pa konn separe," in literal translation, "God gives but doesn't share." This meant... God gives us humans everything we need to flourish, but he's not the one who's supposed to divvy up the loot. That charge was laid upon us.
life inspire purpose
You do the right thing even if it makes you feel bad. The purpose of life is not to be happy but to be worthy of happiness.
teacher school skills
Most teachers have little control over school policy or curriculum or choice of texts or special placement of students, but most have a great deal of autonomy inside the classroom. To a degree shared by only a few other occupations, such as police work, public education rests precariously on the skill and virtue of the people at the bottom of the institutional pyramid.
spring adventure worry
Don't worry about being worried. You're heading out on an adventure and you can always change your mind along the way and try something else.