A Truck Full of Money

By: Tracy Kidder

Narrated by: Paul Michael

“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 Mountains Beyond Mountains gives us the inspiring story of Paul English, the founder of Kayak 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 indefatigable, original, and as unpredictable as America itself.

©2016 Tracy Kidder (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A Truck Full of Money, which traces [Paul] English’s rocket rise during the Internet’s founding era while dealing for years with undiagnosed bipolar disease that sometimes made him soar and sometimes brought him low, acts as a fitting bookend to his Pulitzer Prize–winning The Soul of a New Machine. In part, it is to contemporary computer software what Soul was to 1970s computer hardware. . . . 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 intimate 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 insightful tale that makes the Internet era entertaining, and defines English as an endearing, generous and eccentric geek.”—USA Today

Great Story of Success and Giving back

Very interesting life story. Very well written and full of inspiration. Well done Paul and Tracy. I’ll recommend this book to my friends in business.

Every entrepreneur

Such a wonderful book and a wonderful rendering of the life of a most remarkable man and visionary. Should be required reading for all aspiring entrepreneurs, business owners and consultants

Narrator Mispronounces "Concord"

Any additional comments?

The story is interesting and well told. The setting is greater Boston and one would have thought the Narrator would have taken the time to learn how to pronounce the names of the cities and towns in the area. There were perhaps a hundred references to the town of Concord, Massachusetts which was consistently mispronounced. Highly distracting and should have been trivial to take into account prior to recording.

Expected something different

I was expecting a cold story of someone fighting to succeed financially but got something totally different. I still enjoyed it though.

The story didn't really progress in a sense but it was an easy listen.

The narrator was good too.

Helped me find my Lola

I would leave it out of a book about me too, but as a Dad, I was craving more insight into the father / children relationships.

Love this author

Tracy Kidder knows how to tell a story of extraordinary people and the regular lives they lead. He weaves a narrative of hopes and dreams reconciled with reality. Like Mountains beyond Mountains and The strengthen in what remains, this story brings to light the life of an average Bostonian who made millions despite and because of Bipolar disorder.

A refreshing and honest biography of a truly interesting man

A unique look at a founder who is open and honest about his struggles with mental illness and hypo manic episodes. A fun and compelling read.

Rehash

I read soul of a new machine 30 years ago and was inspired. This was the opposite of that. It was a rehash of three stories that are already out there: the innovator, the mental health patient and the philanthropist. It didn't offer anything new and the main character did not resonate with me at all.

Where's the story?

very disappointing. Book takes you nowhere. Soul of a New Machine was excellent. What happened to Tracy Kidder story-telling ability over the past 20 years?