novelists, american

In the mid-1950s, Kurt Vonnegut worked in the PR department at General Electric in Schenectady, where his older brother, Bernard, was a leading scientist in its research lab--or "House of Magic." Kurt has ambitions as a novelist, and Bernard is working on a series of cutting-edge weather-control experiments meant to make deserts bloom and farmers flourish. While Kurt writes zippy press releases, Bernard builds silver-iodide generators and attacks clouds with dry ice. His experiments attract the attention of the government. Weather proved a decisive factor in World War II, and if the military can control the clouds, fog, and snow, they can fly more bombing missions. Maybe weather will even be--as a headline in American Magazine calls it--"The New Super Weapon." But when the army takes charge of his cloudseeding project (dubbed Project Cirrus), Bernard begins to have misgivings about the use of his inventions for harm, not to mention the evidence that they are causing alarming changes in the atmosphere. This book chronicles the intersection of these brothers' lives at a time when the possibilities of science seemed infinite. As the Cold War looms, Bernard's struggle for integrity plays out in Kurt's evolving writing style. The Brothers Vonnegut reveals how science's ability to influence the natural world also influenced one of our most inventive novelists.

From award-winning author Amy Ehrlich comes an illustrated biography of Willa Cather, one of America s greatest and most beloved writers. Willa Cather s life was a true American success story. A pioneer and determined spirit, Willa didn t let anything stand in her way. She refused to be discouraged by the fact that in the 1880s women hadn t written before, because she had many ideas to share. By becoming a trailblazer and following her heart, Willa Cather is remembered today as one of the greatest American writers in history. Filled with captivating and historically accurate details, as well as and gorgeous illustrations by Wendell Minor, this illustrated chapter book is ideal nonfiction for middle graders.

Jennifer Boylan discusses how she spent the first forty years of life knowing she was a woman trapped in a man's body and explores how her physical, emotional, and spiritual life was changed after a sex-change operation.

A biography of the influential writer David Foster Wallace, describing his anguished and often triumphant battle to succeed as a novelist, his battle with depression and addiction, and his untimely death by suicide in 2008.

A biography of Kurt Vonnegut, American novelist, discussing his childhood in Indiana, his family, and his career.

Contains over thirty interviews conducted with American author Joseph Heller which appeared in a wide range of publications from 1962 to 1991.