My Detachment by Tracy Kidder

A Year in Vietnam

As Gulf War I and II memoirs pile up, old Vietnam memories continue to spill onto bookshelves at your local bookstore or library. Tracy Kidder (The Soul of a New Machine) is the latest entry. Most Vietnam vets saw no combat action during their year in Vietnam. Kidder’s year was quiet from an action standpoint but active in terms of experience. He was a reluctant officer, against the war, and very unsure of himself. He captures the experience of a twenty-three year old Lieutenant quite vividly in a short, but most readable portrait of the writer as a young man. Read the review here.