About this title: The first and only collection of unpublished works by Kurt Vonnegut since his death is a fitting tribute to the author and an essential contribution to the discussion of war, peace, and humanity's tendency toward violence.
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Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780425226896ISBN:0425226891
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 232 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. Multiple copies available, excellent customer service, now and after, tracking number provided read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780425226896ISBN:0425226891
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 232 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. Multiple copies available, excellent customer service, now and after, tracking number provided read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Putnam Pub Group
Date Published: 2008-04-01
ISBN-13:9780399155086ISBN:0399155082
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780399155086. read more
Description: New. 0399155082 Beautiful new book with dust jacket both in pristine condition. Absolutely no markings to textblock, page ends or inside cover. Shows no wear. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780399155086ISBN:0399155082
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780399155086ISBN:0399155082
Description: New in fine dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 232 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: First Edition; First Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780399155086ISBN:0399155082
Description: New in New dust jacket. 9780399155086. New first edition, first printing partial cloth hardcover and dust jacket in very fine condition. Protective mylar cover.; 0.9 x 8.3 x 5.6 Inches; The first and only collection of unpublished works by Kurt Vonnegut since his death--a fitting tribute to the author, and an essential contribution to the discussion of war, peace, and humanity's tendency toward violence. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: G. P Putnam, New York
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780399155086ISBN:0399155082
Description: Very Fine in Very Fine jacket. NEW. SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR. This pristine, NEW book was signed by Mark Vonnegut. The first and only collection of unpublished works by Kurt Vonnegut since his death, a fitting tribute to the author, and an essential contribution to the discussion of war, peace, and humanity's tendency toward violence. Also included are Vonnegut's last speech as well as an assortment of his artwork, and an introduction by the author's son, Mark Vonnegut. read more
"This book mixed non-fiction in the form of a few speeches by Kurt Vonnegut with quite a few short stories on the topic of war.
I absolutely loved the speeches at the beginning. I think Vonnegut's wit is tremendous and biting and his tongue-in-cheek delivery and critique is tough to match. I would have been thrilled if the entire book were speeches because I think he has a lot of great things to say and he's funny as hell.
That is not to say that the stories are terrible. Most of them are very good. I give Vonnegut a lot of credit for creating war stories that are out of the ordinary context. Some of them are set in the future, in mythical wars, in POW camps in Germany, in Czechoslovakia. I think doing this gave Vonnegut not only a great degree of freedom because of their removed settings (thereby distancing himself from commentary or critique on any specific war or country and freeing himself to make more general points).
I think his concocted settings also gave Vonnegut the control to frame a situation to suit his purpose and ideas very well.
The best takeaway from this collection of writings, for me, was the insight into different views of war. We get viewpoints from soldiers, spies, officers, enlisted men, and civilians (particularly in occupied countries).
I think the stories in this book are well constructed and well thought out and definitely worth a read for anyone who would like to get beyond the good guys vs. bad guys platitudes of war and think more deeply about war in its entirety."
"A bittersweet collection; so thoroughly enjoyable and as always, thought provoking in his condemnation of war and politics. So sad to know that there will be no more writings from this great humanist and author. Those of greater skill and knowledge have filled the literature with more thoughtful comments than the likes of me--so go read those reviews. For me, the forward by his son, Mark Vonnegut, was such an act of love that it should be enjoyed simply for the insights it provides into Vonnegut and his writing.
I was struck by this comment: "Reading and writing are in themselves subversive acts. What they subvert is the notion that things have to be the way they are, that you are alone, that no one has ever felt the way you have. What occurs to people when they read Kurt is that things are much more up for grabs than they thought they were. The world is a slightly different place just because they read a damn book. Imagine that.""
"Gut-wrenchingly beautiful. I'm not sure how I could tear up in anguish while laughing at the sardonic wit that gushes from Vonnegut (borrowing from the last quote in the collection), how I could want to physically hurt a character - in a book - while feeling like I should run off to church and repent or plant daises across all the lands. This collection of stories about war, innocence, hope, duplicity, and morality is a worthwhile visceral and intellectual enema. I highly recommend it.
The introduction by Vonnegut's son Mark, the letter from just-former POW PFC Vonnegut and Vonnegut's last speech at Clowes Hall are remarkable in rawness and shed a light on an author that I thought of in caricature. The formerly unpublished stories do more than promise a great writer to come. They're pretty damn great, and with the non-fictional lead ins, painful moving - this is a young man coming to terms with unthinkable experiences.
"Great Day" will haunt me. "Unknown Soldier" was a slap in the face that took a while to make sense as part of the collection. "The Commandant's Desk" may be the most accessible to the masses and I have disgusting wishes for someone to make it a movie (it's got the formula) just to dupe the masses into tasting the layered complexity of Vonnegut.
I now want to re-read all of Vonnegut, especially Slaughterhouse-Five."
"Very glad I read this as part of a book group. I read Slaughterhouse Five in High School and hated it. Never would have picked up a Vonnegut book again on my own.
This is basically a collection of shorts, mostly dealing with oppression on the fringes of war rather than in the midst of it as the title might suggest. The POW stories became a little redundant for me but there were enough other themes to keep me interested. I like Vonnegut's sense of humor and there were even glimpses of poignancy in some of his writing--especially liked the Commandant's Desk and Happy Birthday 1951.
Overall it didn't strike me as truly superb and a week after reading it, I can't remember what some of the stories were about when thumbing through the table of contents. Still it was an entertaining read and if someone mentioned they were thinking about reading it I would recommend it. This one gets a healthy 3 stars."
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