Rating: 
Summary: You think you got problems?
Review: Who but Vonnegut could hum and bum his way to the end of the world? Cat's Cradle is for anyone who wants irony without obvious sarcasm. Superbly written. A triumph of a busy, busy mind. (Added Plus: Find out what James Taylor means in his mumbled line on "Steam-Roller"
Rating:
Summary: Every high school student should read this book.
Review: This book makes the reader ponder just what technology is doing to the human condition. Vonnegut makes us think about the "clear and present" dangers of nuclear weapons but also about the fictious danger of "Ice-9."
Ice-9 is a substance which can make water freeze at room temperature. It is thus the most fretful creation ever. It seems funny that Vonnegut has both the nuclear bomb and the Ice-9 created by the same scientist. It's
even funnier that this scientist doesn't appear to have realized what he was doing. (If this interests you, you might want to read the real life testements of Richard Feynman in "Surely you must be joking, Mr. Feynman.")
One of the most amazing parts of "Cat's Cradle" is the philosphy which is intermingled with the technology. Vonnegut creates a character named Bokonon who has an illegal religion which everyone practices. The main character of the book slowly converts to this hopeless religion which somehow accurately portrays how life occurs for our present society. Like I said in my one line summary, every high school student should read this book. It might
help future generations to see the interconnection of people and the consequences of excessive technology.
Rating:
Summary: Changed my life
Review: Cat's Cradle is a wake-up call for those who think technology
will solve the world's problems. It shows, in a hilarious style,
how the weaknesses and foibles of real people are what really drive the development of technology.
Ice-9, the doomsday crystal that turns water into ice at
high temperatures, reminded me of the button on the copy
machine that Dennis the Menace couldn't resist pressing
at the end of that film. Although he knew all sorts of trouble could result, there was no way he could avoid
seeing what would happen by pressing it.
The mere existence of Ice-9 insured that it would be
released no matter how dangerous everyone knew it would be.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition
Rating:
Summary: Doomsday was never more fun
Review: This early classic was one of the books that made Vonnegut famous, and probably the first book where he really found successfully his particular style of black comedy. (He aimed for something similar in Sirens of Titan, but that book, with some fine moments, is uneven and significantly less successful.) The first persom narrator is known only as Jonah, although his first sentence is the allusive, "Call me Ishmael." He is writing a book about the atomic bomb that leads him to research on the late Dr Felix Hoenneker, a brilliant scientist who viewed science with pure curiosity. Never caring about the practical implications of his work, Hoenneker made no distinction between working on the atom bomb and investigating how turtles retract their heads. Seeking to learn more about Hoenneker from his surviving children, Jonah follows them to the impoverished island nation of San Lorenzo, loosely based on Haiti. There he is introduced to Bokononism, the dominant religion of the island which, among its many unusual features, openly proclaims that it is a fraud. A good part of this rather short novel is a detailed discussion of Bokononism, which is one of Vonnegut's most memorable creations. While on the island, Jonah also learns more about ice 9, the final project that Hoenneker worked on. Ice 9 is ice with an entirely different crystalline structure from regular ice, which has the trait of freezing at normal temperatures. Thus, if you mixed ice 9 with any body of water, it would promptly freeze. Jonah soon finds reasons to doubt his assumption that ice 9 could not really exist. Jonah's adventures come to a grim if strangely appropriate finale - I don't think Vonnegut has ever written a novel with a happy ending. The moral of the story is, it seems, that life is entirely without meaning or purpose. And yet, the humor and vitality of the novel give it an energy and even joy strangely at contrast with its depressing message.
Rating: 
Summary: Vintage Vonn, or so I hear
Review: An apocalyptic satire of some of the institutions most easily satired-government, religion, military. But Vonnegut is wholly original, as always. His satire holds up today, and there is nothing expected about this book, which involves, among other things: the midget offspring of one of the inventors of the atomic bomb, a form of dangerous ice with the power to freeze people, a tropical island with natives exploited by Americans, and a made-up religion that is just weird enough to be believable. My only criticism, if any, is that although I found the characters interesting, hilarious at times, I wasn't emotionally attached to any of them. I didn't enjoy it as much as Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, but it was a good read nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic for a Reason.
Review: A few months ago I finally had enough of my best friend's raving about the brilliance of Kurt Vonnegut and his literary works. So I turned off my X Box and picked up a copy of Cat's Cradle. Two days later after finishing the book I was the one who couldn't stop the excessive raving. I realize that this book was written in response to the events taking place around Vonnegut in the 60's, but I can't help relating it to the events of today. The satirical/horrific/amusing, and utimately realistic themes used by Vonnegut spans generations and the novel is a definite must-read.
Rating:
Summary: Meoooooww
Review: For those that like humor (think McCrae in his "Bark of the Dogwood") and great writing, (think Toole in "Confederacy of Dunces") then you'll enjoy this book. This was a great read and definitely keeps the mind going. It is a little hard to get into at first but stick with it because you will be sucked in before you know it! I couldn't stop turning the pages and have thought about many of the concepts since putting it down. Every one should be required to read this book but it that was the case then no one would want to I guess.
Rating:
Summary: You'll Dig It!
Review: In Vonnegut's novel, a Manhattan novelist has decided to write a novel about what people were doing on the day that the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, which brings him into encounters with some quintissentially Vonnegutian characters- a bicycle store owner and his Hoosier wife, the children of the man who had the chief say in designing the atomic bomb (one of whom is a midget,) a refugee lounge-singer who has created his own religion (named "Bokonon,") the maniacal dictator who opposes him, and a whole host of colorful minor characters, each of whom fits into the same "karass" (the Bokonon term for a group of people that influence the outcomes of each other's fates.) Many of the twists of the story center around another creation, Ice-Nine, of the famed inventor of the atomic bomb (Felix Hoenekker,) which ultimately causes the destruction of the world (a.k.a. "The day the world went 'whoomp.'") giving itself a nice little niche in the genre of "Theater of the Absurd."
Vonnegut's novel satirizes everything about modern life, from the Cold War-era fear of the world ending with a doomsday weapon, to our scorn of avant-garde art, epitomized by the destruction and desecration of the narrator's Manhattan apartment by an up and coming artist. With the central theme that everything in life is interconnected- everyone is part of their "karass"- Vonnegut analyzes the relations between religion and government, sanity and insanity, life and death, and just about any two subjects that oppose each other. This book's wonderfully rich prose, biting criticism, and incisive black humor make this what is considered Vonnegut's best work. Cat's Cradle rules! Another book I want to recommend is The Losers' Club by Richard Perez -- not Vonnegut but very, very entertaining nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: Cat's Cradle - Best Sellers Review
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and believe it is one of Vonnegut's best. He displays the folly of human nature and all around stupidity of our race perfectly, and in a very humorous way. My favorite part of this book deals with the religion of "Bokonism". The first line presented to us regarding this hypocritical and ironic religion (presented to us through the writings of Bokonon hismels) is, "All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies" (Vonnegut 5). Vonnegut again utilizes minimalism and modernism to create a wonderful blend of relatively upbeat and humorous literature.
Rating:
Summary: Four Stars from a Non-Believer
Review: This isn't my type of genre, but I found this book lying around the house and since I'll read just about anything, I gave it a go.
Vonnegut is a genius at dead-pan humour and sardonic wit, and yet again provides a relevant critique of contemporary society that holds true decades after publication. Absolutely a fantastic read, much better than the over-hyped "Slaughterhouse Five" in my opinion.
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