For other uses, see Thomas West (disambiguation).
Joseph Thomas "Tom" West III (22 November 1939 – 19 May 2011)[1] was the protagonist of the Pulitzer Prize winning non-fiction book The Soul of a New Machine.[2] West worked for Data General Corporation as a hardware engineer and vice president, retiring as Chief Technologist in 1998. West died at the age of 71 in his Westport, Massachusetts home of an apparent heart attack.[3] He is survived by two daughters, one of whom is Jessamyn West.[4]
His nephew, Christopher Schwarz, is a former editor of Popular Woodworking magazine, author of The Anarchist Toolchest, and co-founder of Lost Art Press.
References
- ^ "J. Thomas West 71, of Westport". eastbayri.com. http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/143345.html. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
- ^ Kidder, Tracy (1981[1997]). The Soul of a New Machine. Modern Library. ISBN 978-0-316-49170-9.
- ^ Marquard, Bryan (22 May 2011). "Tom West; engineer was the soul of Data General’s new machine". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2011/05/22/tom_west_engineer_was_the_soul_of_data_generals_new_machine/?page=full. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ Paul Vitello (May 27, 2011). "Tom West Dies at 71; Was the Computer Engineer Incarnate". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/business/28west.html?ref=deathsobituaries.
Further reading
- Ratliff, Evan (December 2000). "O, Engineers!". Wired 8 (12): 356–367. ISSN 1059-1028. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.12/soul.html. Retrieved 2009-06-30. Twenty-year retrospective of The Soul of a New Machine, with "where are they now?" segments on the people involved and on Data General.
- Cole, Richard (13 March 1996). "Tom West: The Soul of a Development Manager; Data General veteran expanding NUMA, open systems technology". UniNews (Santa Clara, California: UniForum) 10 (4): 4–5. ISSN 1069-0395. http://www.uniforum.org/publications/uninews/960313/profile.html. Retrieved 2009-06-30. 1996 interview with West.