vonnegut, kurt

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.

Presents a critical analysis of Kurt Vonnegut's fiction, providing close readings of "Player Piano," "Cat's Cradle," "Slaughterhouse-Five," "Deadeye Dick," and others, and discussing Vonnegut's individual style, themes, popularity, and legacy.

Presents a psychoanalytic study of the works of American author Kurt Vonnegut, examining his writings as tools by which he has attempted to work out the psychologically damaging events of his own life.

Examines the moral and philosophical underpinnings of Kurt Vonnegut's postmodern fiction and its ongoing appeal to readers.

Presents a study guide to the Kurt Vonnegut Jr. book, "Slaughterhouse Five," and includes a summary and analysis of each chapter, study questions, and sample outlines for papers and reports.

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

A collection of novels and stories written by Kurt Vonnegut between 1950 through 1962.

Written over a sixty-year period, the letters in this collection include the years Vonnegut experienced as a struggling writer, intimate rememberances penned to school classmates, fellow veterans, friends and family, and commiseration and encouragement to contemporaries such as Godwin and Malamud. His personal correspondence was always alive with the unique point of view that made him the heir to Mark Twain and the letters comprise the autobiography that Kurt Vonnegut never wrote.