Joseph Thomas West III (November 22, 1939 – May 19, 2011) was an American technologist. He is notable for being the protagonist in the Pulitzer Prize winning non-fiction book The Soul of a New Machine.

Career

West began his career in computer design at RCA, after seven years at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, a job he received right out of college. He started working for Data General in 1974. West retired as Chief Technologist in 1998.

Personal life

West was married to Elizabeth (Cohon) West in 1965; they divorced in 1994. West married Cindy Woodward (his former assistant at Data General) in 2001; the couple divorced in 2011. West died at the age of 71 in his Westport, Massachusetts, home of an apparent heart attack. His nephew, Christopher Schwarz, is a former editor of Popular Woodworking magazine, author of The Anarchist's Toolchest, and co-founder of Lost Art Press; West's death prompted Schwarz to "leave the magazine and do my own thing".

References

Further reading

  • 1996 interview with West.
  • A decade after the events described in The Soul of a New Machine, West, still at Data General, appears in this MV/9500 corporate announcement video (from 6:00 to 14:30).