“A perfectly executed, exquisitely reported parable of the
Internet age and the wild, mad adventure that is start-up
culture.”—Charles Duhigg
Fortune, mania, genius, philanthropy—the bestselling author of
ains Beyond ains gives us the inspiring story of Paul
English, the founder of Kayak.com and Lola.
Tracy Kidder, the “master of the nonfiction narrative” (The
Baltimore Sun) and author of the bestselling classic The Soul of
a New Machine, now tells the story of Paul English, a kinetic and
unconventional inventor and entrepreneur, who as a boy rebelled
against authority. Growing up in working-class Boston, English
discovers a medium for his talents the first time he sees a
computer. As a young man, despite suffering from what would
eventually be diagnosed as bipolar disorder, he begins his
pilgrim’s journey through the ups and downs in the brave new
world of computers. Relating to the Internet as if it’s an
extension of his own mind, he discovers that he has a talent for
conceiving innovative enterprises and building teams that can
develop them, becoming “a Pied Piper” of geeks. His innovative
management style, success, and innate sense of fair play inspire
intense loyalty. Early on, one colleague observes: “Someday this
boy’s going to get hit by a truck full of money, and I’m going to
be standing beside him.” Yet when English does indeed make a
fortune, when the travel website Kayak is sold for almost two
billion dollars—the first thing he thinks about is how to give
the money away: “What else would you do with it?” The second
thing he thinks is, What’s next?
With the power of a consummate storyteller, Tracy Kidder casts a
fresh, critical, and often humorous eye on the way new ideas and
new money are reshaping our culture and the world. A Truck Full
of Money is a mesmerizing portrait of an irresistibly endearing
man who is indeigable, original, and as unpredictable as
America itself.
Praise for A Truck Full of Money
“Kidder’s prose glides with a figure skater’s ease, but without
the glam. His is a seemingly artless art, like John McPhee’s,
that conceals itself in sentences that are necessary, economical,
and unpretentious.”—The Boston Globe
“Kidder’s portrayal of living with manic depression is as
nuanced and as a reader might ever expect to get. . . .
You can’t help admiring Mr. English and cheering for him.”—The
New York Times
“[A] powerful and inful tale that makes the Internet era
entertaining, and defines English as an endearing, generous and
eccentric geek.”—USA Today
“At times, the narrative of the young technologist, at least in
Kidder’s hands, seems the modern equivalent of the story of the
godless wayfarer who stumbles into a cathedral in a distant city,
only to find that its vaulting arches and organ music bring on
exaltations of mind and spirit.”—The New York Times Book Review
“What kind of entrepreneur talks about making money as if it’s,
well, kind of a bummer? You’ll ask yourself that question about a
dozen or so pages into A Truck Full of Money, Tracy Kidder’s
expertly reported, deftly written new book that tracks the rise
of unconventional software executive and Kayak.com co-founder
Paul English.”—The San Francisco Chronicle
“Kidder writes beautifully, creating an engaging storyline while
avoiding clichés and pretention. . . . Readers are in for a
fascinating ride.”—The National Book Review