Product Description
This long-awaited volume brings together the finest of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr."s, shorter works. Sex, machines, pills, men, women, society, good, evil, outer space, inner space, time past, present and future, are among the subjects infused with the fascinating, fantastic and formidable Vonnegut magic. It is a funny, sad, explosive, wildly gyrating gathering, a mind-bobbling grab-bag in which every selection is a winner. Better than any other book, it displays the enormous range of the author's extraordinary creative vision. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Mixed
Collection of short stories, some within the science fictional mold, others more mainstream in content. A rather focused way for me to look at the strengths and weaknesses of Vonnegut as a writer, and assess my own ambivalence with him. I've enjoyed almost all his books yet have rarely made an effort to seek them out, generally picking them up when I'm around. I find him amusing but less insightful than he seems to think he is, creative but often too awkward in what he's trying to do that the larger project falls apart. By fame and general influence he's certainly a major figure in twentieth century writing, but on the strength of my own reading I wouldn't place him in that category, as with Gunter Grass but to a greater extent I find him lacking some quality that would allow real excellence. Part of that has always been my dislike over his self-marketing and scampering away from genre lables 'yes my books have time travel and aliens but they're literature, not that science fiction trash'. As with Margaret Atwood, there's something about that basic attitude that I see as either very calculating or very ignorant and dislike in either case. Strictly speaking that's not a valid issue to bring against their writing, which should be assessed for its basic effectiveness and not the labels attached to it.

The stories in Welcome to the Monkey House are a mix, and a lot of specific stories I'm deeply ambivalent about. They're engaging, maintain a fast pace, and a very good talent in quickly establishing character and situation. At times they also provide some great creativity and imaginative use of some unconventional setups. At the same time I've got more than a little kickback to most of them. They often seem too impressed with their own cleverness, for one thing, playing up thier position as hilarious in a way that sets my teeth on edge. Additionally, in terms of actual stories the sequence of events is rather predictible, I was frequently able to predict the next step several pages in advance. Vonnegut has significant skills, but the way he uses them I don't find altogether fitting, and after a number of stories in a row I grew rather alienated from the (consistent) tone of the narrative voice. I definitely prefer Vonnegut's novels, and this reading has made me interested enough to try to finish reading his main corpus, but I retain some sizable reservations.

Worse than: A is for Alien by Caitlin Kiernan
Better than: The Deceitful Marriage and other exemplary novels by Miguel de Cervantes

A fun and educating read!
As said above, both a fun and educating read. it describes the stupidity, foibles, and just plain dumbness of the human specie.

A collection of short stories from various sources
This book is a collection of 25 short stories. They are simple but you can if you want read great depth in them. These stories would make good starters for a reading group or circle. They are professional but not extraordinary or unique.

"The year was 2081, and everyone was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal in every way."

I bought this book for one story in particular "Harrison Bergeron"; I bought the movie with Sean Astin and thought even if the story was fleshed out to be more like "This Perfect Day". So I thought it would be time to read the story. Unfortunately the short story can not hold a candle to the movie. It never really gets off the ground and comes to a curt conclusion never resolving the conflict.

Harrison Bergeron
... Read more

Product Description
An anthology of writings by Kurt Vonnegut. "Welcome to the Monkeyhouse" brings together some of his shorter essays and stories, and "Palm Sunday" consists of speeches, letters, fiction, articles and autobiography. ... Read more

Product Description
Look at the Birdie is a collection of fourteen previously unpublished short stories from one of the most original writers in all of American fiction. In this series of perfectly rendered vignettes, written just as he was starting to find his comic voice, Kurt Vonnegut paints a warm, wise, and often funny portrait of life in post—World War II America–a world where squabbling couples, high school geniuses, misfit office workers, and small-town lotharios struggle to adapt to changing technology, moral ambiguity, and unprecedented affluence.

The waters of renewal sometimes course through the unlikeliest of settings. In “FUBAR,” we’re taken to a desolate building in a drab industrial complex, where a lonely office worker gains a fresh perspective on life thanks to the intervention of his free-spirited new female assistant.

“FUBAR” and the thirteen other never-before-published pieces that comprise Look at the Birdie serve as an unexpected gift for devoted readers who thought that Kurt Vonnegut’s unique voice had been stilled forever–and provide a terrific introduction to his short fiction for anyone who has yet to experience his genius. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

skip this
Note that this is only a single story, not a collection. Skip it and get "Look at the Birdie" instead, of which this is one of 14 stories. ... Read more

Product Description
The author of Slaughterhouse Five presents a collection of essays and reminiscences, offering a self-portrait that assesses his own life and the current state of the world. Reprint. NYT. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Ok
The book's ok but the cover was very dirty (I had to windex the thing) and partially ruined. Other than the cover, the inside is fine. And everything else is fine.

Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons III
I read Kurt Vonnegut--not for his stories (though fun and interesting and. . .) but to see how he thinks. For me, the three books of collected (mostly) non-fiction: "Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons", "Palm Sunday", and this are his cream. God Bless you, Kurt Vonnegut; thanks for your gadget!

The fate we may face
FATES is Vonnegut near his best. Fully exhibiting a deft ability to shift through subjects, decades, moods and viewpoints, the work is a tour de force. Subtitled "A Collage of the 80s" it, like all of his better works, is a collage of his life and much more. Written during the "don't worry, be happy" Reagan era, the author reveals deep concern over the direction of this nation and the world, and offers personal glimpses of human suffering in Africa and Southeast Asia which reveal a profound humanitarianism. Asked to contribute to a 1988 time capsule destined for our heirs a century hence, he wrote that we should have carved this in "great big letters on a Grand Canyon wall," WE PROBABLY COULD HAVE SAVED OURSELVES, BUT WERE TOO DAMNED LAZY TO TRY VERY HARD. And then the afterthought, AND TOO DAMNED CHEAP.Something to think about as we count the probable cost of taming global warming, if it isn't already too late.

Vonnegut induces multiple male orgasms in males...
and it felt good. let me tell you it was a mind opener this book. i came five times and held the book up in praise while doing it hard and raw. do yourself a favor and pick up this, ridiculously funny and insightful, man's literature.

Peek Into Vonnegut's Head
These essays give us a rare look in to the mind of a genius.He expounds on subjects ranging from mental illness, family relationships, death and war.Sounds depressing, but an optimism shows through.Vonnegut masterfully points out the adsurdity around us and shines the light of sanity on it.The essays are as relevant and mind opening today as they were when he wrote them over a decade ago.Although this is not the Veonnegut work I would recommend to someone unfamiliar with his work, anyone will benefit from reading it. ... Read more

Product Description
Kurt Vonnegut's death in 2007 marked the passing of a major force in American life and letters. Jerome Klinkowitz, one of the earliest and most prolific authorities on Vonnegut, examines the long dialogue between the author and American culture--a conversation that produced fourteen novels and hundreds of short stories and essays. Kurt Vonnegut's America integrates discussion of the fiction, essays, and lectures with personal exchanges and biographical sketches to map the complex symbiotic relationship between Vonnegut's work and the cultural context from which it emerged--and which it in turn helped shape.
Following an introduction characterizing Vonnegut as Klinkowitz came to know him over the course of their friendship, this study charts the impact of Vonnegut on American society and of that society on Vonnegut for more than a half-century to illustrate how each informed the other. Among his artistic peers, Vonnegut was uniquely gifted at anticipating and articulating the changing course of American culture. Kurt Vonnegut's America shows us that Vonnegut achieved greatness by passing his own test--opening the eyes of his audience to help them better understand their roles and possibilities in the common culture they both shared and crafted. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Key to any understanding of Vonnegut's work
KURT VONNEGUT'S AMERICA is a literary survey highly recommended for any college-level collection strong in Kurt Vonnegut. It blends discussion of his fiction, essays and works with personal exchanges and biographical background to follow the relationship between his work and culture, and is key to any understanding of Vonnegut's work.

The study of a friend and a friendship.
There are only a few works of scholarship dedicated to a particular subject that can function exquisitely as such, and equally well as an autobiography of the scholar. Jerome Klinkowitz, the pre-eminent literary critic of Kurt Vonnegut and his generation of american writers, has written a masterful memoir of scholarship and friendship with one of the most important literary figures ever produced by the United States. How the United States crafted the work and personage of Kurt Vonnegut is a story as captivating and all-encompassing as a social history of exciting times can be, but with a depth of character and insight so personal and wry and humane that the reader cannot help but understand the passion, pain, complexity, love and sincerity behind and at the start and heart of Kurt's works. While a brief 160 pages, Klinkowitz deftly addresses Vonnegut's life story, each of his novels, and his profound influence on American letters throughout a 60-year publishing career. This is a marvelous read, and provides so much new thought and avenues for new understandings within Vonnegut's works that it will be a foundation for the study of American literature and literary figures of this era. More than this, even, it is the story of the formation of a prolific scholar, and a close friendship which is enviable to all who feel a kinship with the public Vonnegut. Klinkowitz shares this relationship freely, so that the experience of it becomes available and comprehensible. ... Read more

Product Description
Get your "A" in gear!

They're today's most popular study guides-with everything you need to succeed in school. Written by Harvard students for students, since its inception SparkNotes™ has developed a loyal community of dedicated users and become a major education brand. Consumer demand has been so strong that the guides have expanded to over 150 titles.SparkNotes'™ motto is Smarter, Better, Faster because:

· They feature the most current ideas and themes, written by experts.
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· The clear writing style and edited content enables students to read through the material quickly, saving valuable time.

And with everything covered--context; plot overview; character lists; themes, motifs, and symbols; summary and analysis, key facts; study questions and essay topics; and reviews and resources--you don't have to go anywhere else!



... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Single Strangest Book that I have Ever Read!
I didn't know that books could be this intreging, disturbing, enlightening, satirical, and strange all at the same time.This story definitly has a message that is akwardly strange in a sense that it is a common and blurred message.The thought of coming unstuck in time is truly brilliant and has the diversity of environments and scenes will keep most readers (and disturbed people like me) glued to this book.Since Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time there are scenes in which you will learn of his experiences in the second world war, times you will learn of his wild times with the adult film star Montana Wildhack on Tralfamadore, and even of his postwar married life.The selection of scenes will seem random at first and espcially when he jumps through time from the war to his career, and then to Tralfamadore, but in the end a rythm of the scenes is found.It takes the entire book to understand whats going on so you can't spread out your reading of this book or else you will be hopelessly lost.Slaughterhouse Five, or Shlachthof-Funf as it is said in German, is not an easy read.The plot is very sporadic and strange and will keep you up saying to yourself,"What was that supposed to mean?" and other questions along that line which does detract from the story, but otherwise it was an incredible book.I only recommend this to people who are willing to put something more than time into a book.Still it is worthwhile even though you have to be open minded about what you read, otherwise this book will scare yoour little zealot boots right off your feet.If you're are willing to change your views on the world and take a more philisophical standpointyou would enjoy this book, but if you're the latter you will absolutly hate this book.The latter will wish to burn every last copy of this book.It will scare people that much.So it goes.Hello, farewell, hello, farewell. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This isn't the "kindle" edition of the collection
Before you make the same mistake I did, go back and "expand" your options of formats (click on where it says "Show 1 more format") because that is where you will find the correct Kindle edition of the collection of 14 short stories. This "format" is only for one story.I've contacted Amazon customer service so that they are aware of how misleading the listing is.

I already purchased the "correct" Kindle edition. ... Read more

Product Description
2BR02B is a science fiction short story by Kurt Vonnegut, originally published in the pulp digest magazine Worlds of If Science Fiction, January 1962. The title is pronounced "2 B R naught 2 B", referencing the famous phrase "to be, or not to be" from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. In this story, the title refers to the telephone number one dials to schedule an assisted suicide with the Federal Bureau of Termination. Vonnegut's 1965 novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater describes a story by this name, attributing it to his recurring character Kilgore Trout, although the plot summary given is closer in nature to the eponymous tale from the short-story collection Welcome to the Monkey House. (from Wikipedia) ... Read more

Product Description
The satirical novelist is the author of such popular works as Cat's Cradle, SlaughterhouseFive, and Timequake.

This title, Kurt Vonnegut, part of Chelsea House Publishers’ Modern Critical Views series, examines the major works of Kurt Vonnegut through full-length critical essays by expert literary critics. In addition, this title features a short biography on Kurt Vonnegut, a chronology of the author’s life, and an introductory essay written by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University. ... Read more

Product Description
5 volumes by vonnegut: Cats Cradle, The Sirens of Titan, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, Welcome TO The Monkey House, Slaughter House Five ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Kurt Vonnegut : All Star Collection
Six novels from Kurt Vonnegut. Includes Slaughterhouse Five, The Sirens of Titan, Player Piano, Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, and Mother Night.

A great value when considering purchasing each title individually. ... Read more

Product Description
 
Look at the Birdie is a collection of fourteen short stories from one of the most original writers in American fiction. This series of perfectly rendered vignettes, never before published in Kurt Vonnegut’s lifetime, reveals a warm, wise, and funny portrait of life in post–World War II America—a world where squabbling couples, high school geniuses, misfit office workers, and small-town lotharios struggle to adapt to changing technology, moral ambiguity, and unprecedented affluence. Featuring a Foreword by author and longtime Vonnegut confidant Sidney Offit, Look at the Birdie is an unexpected gift for readers who thought that Vonnegut’s voice had been stilled forever—and serves as a terrific introduction to his short fiction for anyone who has yet to experience his genius. ... Read more

Product Description
'the is writing his memoirs, which conpromise the bulk of this novel...." ... Read more

Product Description
Kurt Vonnegut is one of the few American writers since Mark Twain to have won and sustained a great popular acceptance while boldly introducing new themes and forms on the literary cutting edge. This is the "Vonnegut effect" that Jerome Klinkowitz finds unique among postmodernist authors.

In this definitive study of the author’s fiction, Klinkowitz examinesthe forces in American life that have made Vonnegut’s workspossible—some would say necessary. Born in 1922 and still writingtrenchantly more than eighty years later, Vonnegut shares with readersa world that includes the Great Depression, during which his familylost their economic support; the Second World War, in which he wascaptured at the Battle of the Bulge and experienced the firebombing ofDresden; the corporate surge of postwar America, which he abetted as apublicist for General Electric’s Research Laboratory, where"Progress Is Our Most Important Product"; the entrepreneurshipof the 1950s, which he participated in when he ran a Saab automobiledealership and operated a short-story business selling to the era’sfamily magazines; and the countercultural revolt of the 1960s, duringwhich his fiction first gained prominence. Vonnegut also takes usthrough the growth in recent decades of America’s sway in art,which his fiction celebrates, and geopolitics, which his novelsquestion.

A pioneer in Vonnegut studies publishing in the field since 1969, Jerome Klinkowitz offers The Vonnegut Effect as a thorough treatment of the author’s fiction—a canon covering more than a half century and comprising twenty books. Considering both Vonnegut’s methods and the cultural needs they have served, Klinkowitz explains how those works came to be written and concludes with an assessment of the author’s place in the tradition of American fiction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An impressively presented literary study
The Vonnegut Effect by Jerome Klinkowitz (Professor of English and University distinguished Scholar, University of Nor-thern Iowa) is an impressively presented literary study of American author Kurt Vonnegut's amazing ability to retain popular appeal while boldly working in new themes and cutting edge literary forms. A thoroughly researched study of Vonnegut's fiction over the past half-century, The Vonnegut Effect is a thoughtful, thought-provoking discussion which is enthusiastically recommended reading -- especially those craving intelligent discourse about Kurt Vonnegut's remarkable and enduringly popular works of speculative fiction. ... Read more

Product Description
In early 1970, artist Ralph Steadman went to America in search of work and found more than he bargained for. At the Kentucky Derby he met a former Hell's Angel, one Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson wrote later that "The rest of that day blurs into madness. The rest of that night, too. Steadman was lucky to get out of Louisville without serious injuries, and I was lucky to get out at all." Thus began a thirty-year working relationship and friendship that gave birth to what became known as Gonzo Journalism.

Few people knew Hunter S. Thompson as well as Ralph Steadman did. This no-holds-barred memoir tells of their unique collaboration that documented the turbulent years of the civil-rights movement, the Nixon years, and Watergate. When Thompson committed suicide in 2005, it was the end of a friendship that was defined by both betrayal and understanding. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent book for Dr. Thompson's long time frienship!
Ralph Steadman goes with HST like chalk with cheese. They were so different from one another but they collaborated together like a well oiled machine. Steadman speaks fondly for the good Dr. but he DOES stand up for himself because Hunter could take people for granted or could be demanding or selfish. Excellent book about two very different men that had one thing in common. They both understood the nature of *weird*. ... Read more