Rating: 
Summary: Peek Into Vonnegut's Head
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: I laughed, I cried... not really.
Review: This is a great book for anyone who likes Kurt Vonnegut. If you enjoyed Slaughterhouse Five, you will enjoy hearing him recount stories about his experience in WWII, and also others. The thing that I love about Kurt Vonnegut is his ability to make you laugh on the surface, but hours after you have read his work, you think about the more serious issues raised. There are some parts of this book that are somewhat slow, but if you stay the course you will enjoy this one.
Rating: 
Summary: "De Mess We's In" (Amos and Andy)
Review: To borrow a verb from Hawthorne, I was "purposed" here. Having eaten the garbage of the day's media reports, I picked up this book for the "cleansing" redux. Some bittersweet sorbet it was- here are some of the things that made me laugh.
Charleton Heston played Jesus with shaved armpits.
To describe our nation, he quotes Amos an' Andy, "De mess we's in"
Re: Thomas Jefferson's owning slaves- "It was as though he had an infected growth on the tip of his nose the size of a walnut and everyone thought that was OK."
When KV's father was dying he apologized for calling him 'Bozo.' Then about five minutes later he called him Bozo again.Here are things that made my heart stop:
The average age of an American to die in Vietnam was 20. (My own son had just joined- against my wishes- the military, at 20.)
If Western Civilization were a person, we would be directing him to War Preparers Anonymous. ... That's the kind of stuff you'll read in essays that are distressing and comforting and hilarious- if you know Vonnegut, you know what I'm saying. Personally, I like a bit more fiction, but as I said, I was purposed here, and I think you may be too.
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