Rating: 
Summary: An eclectic book but could have been more thorough
Review: Kidder does an excellent job portraying the positive and negative sides of life in a small town and he tells anecdotes about wealthy as well as not so well-to-do people. However as a non-white person I really feel bad that he depicted minorities in a negative light without considering the social backgrounds from which many of them come from. For example, the only minority whose character that he really develops in the book is Frankie and he is shown to be the stereotypical drug addict and dealer. I am sure that there were many minorities that were very hard-working and prosperous in Northhampton and Kidder should have made an effort to develop those characthers then portray minotrities and espeically Hispanics in such a negative light. Finally I thought it was really rude that at the end of the book that Tom ignored Rick while Tom was shovelling the snow. Rick and Tom were childhood friends and they should have forgiven each other.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting characters..a behind the surface look
Review: Hometown is a good, perhaps very good, book.. It starts slow, but you kind of get wrapped up in it. Every town has characters that you see on the street but don't know their real story-after reading this you know at least some of the residents of Northampton. I'm not sure I'd like to live there, but I admire the integrity of Tommy, the courage of Alan (after all that he gets a DOG!?!), and the story of Laura-a real person with real fears and problems, who rises above..Good luck to them all. If you've read this book, go read HOUSE..still the best Kidder book by far.
Rating: 
Summary: the best kind of nonfiction
Review: Reading Tracy Kidder is always a pleasure. His prose is "invisible" -- you forget you're reading it, and are simply absorbed in the lives of the people. All of his work is the literary equivalent of drinking the best, clearest water.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing -- Kidder didn't deliver
Review: First I must say I am a fan of Kidder's, and truly enjoyed 2 of his other books that I've read ("Soul of a New Machine" and "House"). And the writing is this book is as splendid as ever.Something, else, though, is wrong. In the previous books I've read Kidder was following a small group of people, and you got a sense of their larger mission and purpose (build a new computer, etc) thru his depictions of the people and their interactions. And few are better at their craft then Kidder. So when I read that Kidder raised his sights from a small group to encompass a small town, I was eagerly anticipating the book. Sadly, he is unable to deliver. While he plumbs the character of a few people in the town, a larger sense of the town and what its like is missing. He tells us, for example, that most people born there leave and are replaced. Yet telling a detailed story of one immigrant is far from capturing the range of experiences newcomers encounter, moving to a place where many people have ties that go back generations. There's so many things I hoped a writer with Kidder's talent would have addressed but find nary a mention. The whole small-town vs big-city dilemma, for example. If you're sick do you stick with a local doc or go to the city? How do merchants compete with the big malls? Are students in the local HS at a disadvantage applying for college coming from a HS with more limited resources? What are sports like? Do people root for local teams (probably HS or amateur level) or identify with city teams? The performing arts? I could go on and on, but to summarize I'd say that its a shame that a writer as skilled as Kidder misses the forest for a few trees.
Rating:
Summary: Tommy O'Connor For President!
Review: Interested in hearing from fellow Tommymaniacs. This man is the Rock of Gibraltar of integrity. P.S. His sense of humor is a given.
Rating:
Summary: Conveys accurate "shadow town" beyond the obvious
Review: I enjoyed "Home Town" because it delved into the "shadow town" that underlies the physical town most people experience. The characters that Kidder chose to follow were interesting and eclectic. The realities of the dark side of Northampton were amply illustrated as were some of its historical and rebuilding facets. Kidder's characteristically clear prose and ability to draw illustrative scenes is evident throughout the book. I've rated this book 4 out of 5 stars because it didn't reach a satisfactory sense of closure -- many loose ends dangle. While this is a characteristic of the life of Northampton - or any town - I would have felt closure if Kidder had provided more follow-up on the main characters. This is a good read and portrays something that may be missing for much of our transient society - a true sense of place and belonging. The multi-generational history of some of the book's characters should be warmly familiar to long-time members of any small town.
Rating:
Summary: An epilogue on one of the characters
Review: I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading this book but it is on my list of books to read this summer. One of the reviewers requested an epilogue on the characters. I had the pleasure of meeting Laura this year - she is now working in my town's high school as an English teacher. My daughter had the honor of having her for a Rhetoric teacher and absolutely loved her and got so much out of her class. Our town is so lucky to have hired such a smart, kind woman. She even was able to finagle a visit by Tracy Kidder and he spoke to the entire school.
Rating:
Summary: Of local interest
Review: I found it fascinating only because I live in Northampton and know most of the people and places written about. Would I want to read a nonfictiion book about Pittsfield if I did not live there? Heck no!
Rating: 
Summary: Glossed Over
Review: A bit of an over-dramtic piece of work about an elitist, hyper-liberal, zero-tolerance community, known to normal working class people in the surrounding towns as a place to, "stay away from". Northampton is FAR from the typical New England town. As a matter of fact it's pretty much different than just about any other town you might come across, save Greenwich Village or SF's Gay Quarter. Kidder definitely de-emphasizes Northampton's "weirdness". It's one of the few towns in America where homosexuals have actually assaulted heterosexuals based on gender preference (it's in the police records). "Hometown" was an interesting read, but it seemed Tracy Kidder was viewing this community through rose colored glasses. I kept wondering if he had taken a certain amount of artistic license to make the characters and story line seem more rich and folky. In conclusion, this is an interesting book...if you've never been to Northampton.
Rating:
Summary: An unsentimental portrayal of what makes a 'home town'
Review: I enjoyed this book even more than I expected--and I am a Kidder fan. Looking back on it, I'm impressed with his ability to weave so many threads together effectively. I ended up even respecting O'Connor--something I might not have been able to do had I met him briefly in person. I grew up in the Northampton area and, as it turns out, attended St. Michael's H.S. with 'the judge.' Kidder's portrayal makes me wish I'd paid more attention to Mike Ryan--he must have been interesting in those days too. Northampton was different in the '60's but I wish I'd been able to see it more clearly--I always felt a bit of an interloper from the neighboring 'mill' town.
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