My Detachment

“With a terrible beauty, [My Detachment] tells an old story—the illusions of war—in a new and compelling way.”—USA Today

“[An] acerbic, honest, moving memoir . . . [The] prose is drawn so tight it seems to shimmer under the reader’s gaze.”—The New York Times Book Review

“At once hilarious and sad, sweet and distressing, a compelling, candid, and poignantly comic portrait.”—Jonathan Harr, author of The Lost Painting and A Civil Action

“You’d be hard pressed to find a better book, fiction or otherwise, about the challenges of retaining one’s humanity amid the chaos and carnage of war.”—The Washington Post Book World

“Gripping . . . remarkable . . . a poignant memoir . . . perfectly rendered by one of our most original writers.”—The Boston Globe

“Tweaking multiple genres, Tracy Kidder has written a war story without violence. . . . [Full of] candor and humor.”—The Village Voice

“Muted, ironic, thoughtful, My Detachment is a meditation in a time of war—and a candid depiction of how the misdirections of youth can shape and haunt a life.”—San Jose Mercury News

“Kidder’s great talent ever since his Pulitzer-winning The Soul of a New Machine has been his ability to take ordinary details and give them the shape, metaphors, and rhythms of a novel. . . . [The] book works because he’s so candid about his insecurities, and how they played into his need to deceive others (and himself) about his role in Vietnam.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“In Kidder’s world, the absurdities and dark comedy of war mix with danger and the solace of comradeship. The result is a breezy and concise tale, the work of a master craftsman. Don’t miss it.”—Houston Chronicle