The only book of his I'm familiar with is "The Soul of a New Machine" which tells the story of a team of engineers at Data General working on a new mini-computer in the late 1970's. It's a good book. It won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction literature and a National Book Award. Ref - New York State Writers Institute - Tracy Kidder
The book "My Detachment" has gotten mixed reviews, as in this clip from Bookmarks
magazine -
"At its best, My Detachment resembles classic wartime satires like Catch-22 and M*A*S*H in its demonstration that the worst battles many soldiers face are against boredom and mindless military bureaucracy...It's an honest account of his military life. Yet it’s also one that some critics considered pointless, as though time had failed to give Kidder the perspective to appreciate his sacrifice in fighting a war he could easily have avoided, as well as his good fortune in avoiding the combat that cost 58,000 American lives."
It was very interesting to listen to Tracy Kidder talk about his book "My Detachment" at a bookstore in Washington D.C. It made me want to read that book and some of the others he has written as well. He seemed very honest and thoughful when answering questions from the audience. I imagine writing the book was a cathartic experience of sorts. It is one person's point of view. I'm sure it ticks off some Vietnam veteran's who have vastly different experiences to report.
He mentioned writing, getting things out, as a way to live with himself at 3 am. He talked about one recurring dream he had, in which was being called back to serve in the war. He made an interesting comment about being friends with a police officer, who on occasion would be told by lawbreakers that they had gone "bad" because of something that happened in Nam. The problem with that reason, was that some of these people were in diapers at the time Saigon fell. At least Tracy Kidder has a first person account to tell - not everyone's story - his story. Given his writing skill I think it would be worth reading.
My Detachment : A Memoir
Mountains Beyond Mountains: Healing the World: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer
Old Friends
Among Schoolchildren
The Soul Of A New Machine
House
