Joseph Thomas "Tom" West III (22 November 1939 – 19 May 2011) was the protagonist of the Pulitzer Prize winning non-fiction book The Soul of a New Machine. 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. He is survived by two daughters, Katherine West and librarian Jessamyn West. His nephew, Christopher Schwarz, is a former editor of Popular Woodworking magazine, author of The Anarchist Toolchest, and co-founder of Lost Art Press.