Tracy Kidder is an American author and Vietnam War veteran. He is renowned for his nonfiction books, notably for winning the Pulitzer Prize for The Soul of a New Machine (1981), which details the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation. This work is well-regarded within the computing community and showcases Kidder's distinctive style of research.

Kidder is considered a literary journalist due to the strong storylines and personal voice in his writing. He has cited writers like John McPhee, A. J. Liebling, and George Orwell as influences. In a 1984 interview, he mentioned, "McPhee has been my model. He's the most elegant of all the journalists writing today, I think."

Tracy Kidder has produced other acclaimed works, including a biography of Paul Farmer, a physician and anthropologist, titled Mountains Beyond Mountains (2003). He followed up with House, which chronicles the design and construction of the award-winning Souweine House in Amherst, Massachusetts.