Synopses & Reviews
A Man without a Country is Kurt Vonnegut's hilariously funny and razor-sharp look at life (If I die God forbid I would like to go to heaven to ask somebody in charge up there, Hey, what was the good news and what was the bad news?), art (To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.), politics (I asked former Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton what he thought of our great victory over Iraq and he said, Mohammed Ali versus Mr. Rogers.'), and the condition of the soul of America today (What has happened to us?). Gleaned from short essays and speeches composed over the last five years and plentifully illustrated with artwork by the author throughout, A Man without a Country gives us Vonnegut both speaking out with indignation and writing tenderly to his fellow Americans, sometimes joking, at other times hopeless, always searching.
Review
"Vonnegut...is either the world's most optimistic pessimist or its most pessimistic optimist, and his new collection of essays...is filled with his usual contradictory mix of joy and sorrow, hope and despair, humor and gravity." Chicago Tribune
Review
"Vonnegut seems to find renewed fire in our dire situation: the attack on civil liberties, the reduction of social safety nets for those who need it most and the unpleasant spectacle of our nation thuggishly squabbling over fossil fuels even as the world roasts in global warming." San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"Again and again in this new book, Mr. Vonnegut instructs his readers not to neglect their own minds, to nurture them, indulge them even. The best thing one could say about this book is that it would be a great place to kick off that necessary decadence." Dallas Morning News
Review
"Vonnegut actually proves to be whip smart and razor sharp throughout this thin volume....[And] writes with an assured wit and a layer of doom that is more a resigned warning than a full-on sermon." Oregonian
Review
"[This] may be as close as Vonnegut ever comes to a memoir." Los Angeles Times
Review
"Like [that of] his literary ancestor Mark Twain, [Kurt Vonnegut's] crankiness is good-humored and sharp-witted....[Reading A Man Without a Country is] like sitting down on the couch for a long chat with an old friend." The New York Times Book Review
Review
"For all those who have lived with Vonnegut in their imaginations...this is what he is like in person." USA Today
Review
"Filled with [Vonnegut's] usual contradictory mix of joy and sorrow, hope and despair, humor and gravity." Chicago Tribune
Review
"Fans will linger on every word...as once again [Vonnegut] captures the complexity of the human condition with stunning calligraphic simplicity." The Australian
Review
"Thank God, Kurt Vonnegut has broken his promise that he will never write another book. In this wondrous assemblage of mini-memoirs, we discover his family's legacy and his obstinate, unfashionable humanism." Studs Terkel
Synopsis
In a collection of concise autobiographical essays, the renowned novelist offers his views on his own life, from growing up during the Great Depression to his fame as a writer, as well as his reflections on art, politics, and everyday life in America. Reprint. 200,000 first printing.
About the Author
Kurt Vonnegut is among the few grandmasters of 20th century American letters, one without whom the very term American literature would mean much less than it does. His works include Slaughterhouse Five, Galapagos, and Welcome to the Monkey House. He is the author, most recently, of God Bless You Dr. Kevorkian. Daniel Simon is founder and publisher of Seven Stories Press and served as editor on two previous books by Kurt Vonnegut, God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian and, with Lee Stringer, Like Shaking Hands God. Simon is also co-author of a biography of Abbie Hoffman, Run, Run, Run: The Lives of Abbie Hoffman.