Rating: 
Summary: A good quick read
Review: A good quick read about an American Society where machines take care of all the work for us humans. After all the mahines are more efficient than man could ever be. Thoughout the book the question is constantly posed "if machines do all the work, what is a human being for?" The question is mainly left unanswered by kurt, I guess he leaves that up to us to figure out. All in all it was a good book that kept my interest and i would recommend to anyone, especially someone who is a fan of Kurt Vonnegut's work.
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Summary: An Accurate Prediction of the Future
Review: I think most of the reviewers missed the boat on this one. This is probably one of the most accurate predictions of the future I have read. All it needs is an update in computer nomenclature, and this could have been written yesterday. Think about it: How many craftsmen have been replaced by the kind of machines he describes? How many "engineers" are walking around today, who have never physically built anything? How useless is a high school diploma in today's job market? Planned obslescence, artificial economies-The only thing he got wrong was the world war (at least for now). And yes, I realize the irony of writing this review on a computer.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: Its a very nice book and is realy good
Rating: 
Summary: Save your ten bucks
Review: I started reading this book with an open mind, but by the end, I could not wait to put it down. It drags its feet through the beginning, however the middle is a bit more interesting. Whatever the middle does is crushed by the sour ending. It seemed this book could have made its point in a 5 page essay without being very repitive. Previous to reading Player Piano, I had read 1984 by George Orwell. Player Piano seemed to be struggling to be 1984, but didn't come to the same level. 1984 was a fast-paced book with a spectacular ending that made it's point by being subtle. Player Piano pretty much hits you over the head with its point from page one. If you are interested in this kind of thing, buy 1984 and forget this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant
Review: I am only 25 and already burnt out and disgusted with the corporate world. This book really hit home with me. Vonnegut mocks and satarizes corporate life, which, after reading this book, obviously hasn't become any less discouraging or frusterating as it was 47 years ago. Player Piano is a must read for anyone who is appauled by the reality that, with few exceptions, one must completely sell out and conform in order to advance in a large corporation. Anyone who is currently mired in corporate America will recognize at least one or two of the characters and/or situations in this book as ones they themselves have had to (or continue to) deal with regularly, and therefore will feel a strong bond with Paul Proteus by book's end.
Rating:
Summary: Biting commentary worth reading
Review: This book is getting a little long in the tooth, but it is still worth reading. I can understand how it may be read (superficially) as a typical fifties/Star Trek 'omigosh-the-machines-have-taken-us-over" novel. I do think, however, that Vonnegut has a lot to say in this book about the scaryass, stupidass ways we order ourselves in the pursuit of social status. He has created in this book a society of rigidities and absurdities: how different are the formalized executive games in _Player_ from the informal good-old-boys golf game...no women invited...that occur every weekend in the real world. How many proteges are groomed or rebuffed based on their conduct during those golf games? This is an example of the commentary on conformity that I believe Vonnegut created in _Player_. There's a lot in this book for the modern reader, especially if you like Vonnegut (which I obviously do...)
Rating:
Summary: Dated but definately worth reading!
Review: This book is Vonnegut's view of how technology would transform society. Because it was written in the 50's, Vonnegut looks at technology as a force for repression by the elite (i.e., keeping the wrong people in their place). Of course, technology in general (and computers in particular) have had just the opposite effect. Despite this, this book is worth reading if only as a study of how politics are played in a bureaucracy (this, at least, hasn't changed much with time). Especially interesting is the main character, Paul. He a man who, despite having everything on a silver platter, is a malcontent at heart. His pathetic fall from grace is fascinating, funny and nauseating at the same time. His fatal flaw is in thinking his effortless rise through the system entitles him to be mankind's Savior from the tyranny of technology.
Rating: 
Summary: Duller than Dishwater
Review: Very reminiscent of dreary Fifties-era Science Fiction at its worst. I believe Vonnegut himself ranks this book fairly low in his oeuvre. He's right to do so.
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Summary: Player Piano mirrors the concerns of Americans in 1950s.
Review: The book is as much a novel as it is an insightful glimpse into what Vonnegut saw as the devaluation and dehumanization of the American worker in the early 1950s. Those who criticize this Player Piano as dated must remember that the transition taking place in this country in the early 50s was as significant as the Industrial Revolution was to the English in the 1780s. American society was undergoing a monumental metamorphasis-- the birth of a consumer culture that, for example, makes things like Amazon.com, and the fact that you are reading my opinion, possible. 10 years before this book was written, sugar and gasoline were rationed and bread came unsliced because the machines built to slice it were scrapped to build tanks. Suddenly, after the war, Americans were deluged with electric hot dog cookers and automatic garage door openers and the like. The world of Player Piano is the logical conclusion of that process, had that process gone unchecked. Where machines once merely augmented man's abilites, they have come to replace them. It's about more than a loss of pride, Player Piano is about a loss of purpose, and about mankind's tendency to make himself obsolete. Look at Player Piano not as Vonnegut's best novel (it's not) but as the very real concerns of both he and a large group of people who witnessed this dramatic change in how we, as a people, lived.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable, but hardly classic Vonnegut
Review: Player Piano was not as imaginative, not as funny, not as well written, and not as good as most Vonnegut novels. His second effort, Sirens of Titan, is much superior and much more enjoyable. Player Piano is, however, a decent story with an interesting vision, fairly well-developped characters, and some funny bits as well. Perhaps the book's greatest value is that it shows Vonnegut developping his style and improving his craft. The major detraction: the book is slightly dated.
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