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In 1961’s Mother Night, Vonnegut wrestled at length with the moral complexities of his war, with a fable about Howard W. Campbell, Jr, an American actor who posed as a rabid Nazi propagandist in Berlin, the belly of Hitler’s beast. In doing his job for army intelligence so well, did Campbell go too far with evil in the...
Two years later, in Cat’s Cradle (1963), the moral inquiry involves the scientists who create doomsday weapons, men like those who worked for the Manhattan Project, or the eccentrics Vonnegut encountered in his public relations job at General Electric after the war. Narrow horizons sometimes blinded them to the havoc w...
With God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965), Vonnegut inches ever closer to his own story. The title character, a World War II veteran who shows all the signs of what we would now call PTSD, is a direct precursor to Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse.
Billy attracts the unwanted attention of bullies along the way. But Vonnegut conveys the humanity and brotherhood the prisoners were able to muster, even in their collective misery. Crammed willy-nilly into sealed cattle cars to be transferred into Germany, many died during the halting ordeal. They were bombed and stra...
Human beings in there were excreting into steel helmets which were passed to the people at the ventilators, who dumped them. Billy was a dumper. The human beings also passed canteens, which guards would fill with water. When food came in, the human beings were quiet and trusting and beautiful. They shared.
Once at a prison camp, the Americans seem wretched and demoralized to the British soldiers who greet them, men who have long ago adjusted to their confinement. Urged to choose a leader, for purposes of discipline and self-respect, the Yanks halfheartedly elect the oldest man in their midst, an unassuming middle–aged hi...
“Poor old Edgar Derby,” as Vonnegut refers to him, had pulled strings to enlist at his advanced age, and now, as a POW, takes his leadership responsibilities seriously. He finds meaning and purpose in a fate that brings out the worst in others. He is kindly and attentive, a father who looks after his charges in the cam...
Vonnegut is, in important respects, Edgar Derby rather than Billy Pilgrim. In a letter from a Red Cross station in France in late May of 1945, published for the first time in the posthumous collection Armageddon in Retrospect (2008), Vonnegut, still severely underweight but otherwise intact, reassured his family that h...
Gregory Sumner teaches American History at the University of Detroit Mercy. He is the author of Dwight Macdonald and the Politics Circle (Cornell Press, 1996), and is completing Kurt Vonnegut and the American Dream, a companion to the writer's fourteen novels.
Birthday Quotes - Famous birthday quotes and messages from different people arround the globe.
Enjoyed the piece. I think you got Vonnegut just right. I will reread the book this year. It's "so it goes," of course. I thought it was tinged with existentialism when I was a kid. "And so it goes" sounds like stoner Zen.
Thank you, Mr. Sumner, for your understanding of a beautiful man who wrote beautiful books.
Darrell Williams does a load at Urban Rest Stop, which offers free laundry services, restrooms and showers to the homeless.
When the staff of the Noise for the Needy benefit concert series met to select the beneficiary of this year's event, there was little doubt about who would be the recipient.
Urban Rest Stop, situated in the historic Julie Apartments on Ninth Avenue, has provided free restroom, shower and laundry services to homeless individuals and families of all ages since March 2000. Last year, the center underwent a major expansion and added a women's restroom, an expanded waiting area, additional laun...
"We're pretty maxed out," said Ronnie Gilboa, URS manager. "There's a great need of our services and there are costs that need to be covered."
These expenses consist of basic necessities, including laundry and body soap, toothbrushes, razor blades and other supplies, whose costs continue to rise. There also is a need for an additional paid staff member, Gilboa said.
The fifth annual Noise for the Needy concert benefit, running June 11 to 15 at clubs throughout Seattle, aims to offset the URS's daily expenses.
"We had a few applications we all really liked," said Richard Green, co-founder and director of NFTN. But the moment URS was brought up, he said, "We all agreed to it."
In a meeting with Gilboa to discuss the charity project, the NFTN staff was moved by the URS mission, Green said.
"The need is very present in the city of Seattle," Gilboa said. "Every neighborhood in Seattle needs a public restroom that is staffed and clean. We do not have behavior problems that the homeless are typically associated with. They just want to simply survive in a dignified and humane manner."
More than 60 percent of URS patrons are working homeless people who do not make enough money to afford a home, and thus need to shower and shave for the sometimes multiple jobs they juggle. In the summer months, URS sees 500 to 800 people a day.
"We've seen people from brand-new babies to people who remind you of your grandparents," Gilboa said.
The Noise for the Needy event has a heroic story of its own. It started in 1991 with Dave Green, Richard's brother, who was a student at Chapman University in California. He was concerned about the homelessness problem near campus and organized a benefit concert to support a struggling soup kitchen.
Richard Green, who helped his brother in California, was inspired.
"I kind of saw the impact the show had there on the charities involved," he said.
Upon moving to Seattle in 2004, Green, a research scientist, attended local music shows and noticed something about the Seattle scene that Los Angeles didn't have. Though his brother struggled to persuade L.A. musicians to work together, he said, "I just realized how close (local musicians) are and what a strong music ...
With the help of college friend Jeff Henry, Green organized the first Seattle Noise for the Needy, which featured four bands and garnered $1,000 for The Compass Center in Pioneer Square. The Nectar Lounge in Fremont was the only venue that would take on the event, three days before the bar officially opened.
Since then Noise for the Needy has grown into a five-day, citywide event. This year more than 60 DJs and bands have been selected to perform from more than 200 applicants. The first show Wednesday is sold out.
"It's really nice to see this kind of support," Green said.
Last year, NFTN raised more than $23,000 for Rise n' Shine, a local organization that supports children and teens affected by HIV/AIDS in their families and offers mentoring, support groups, holiday gifts, school supplies and camps.
The NFTN board consists of five volunteers and 90 percent of the event's proceeds are directed to the year's featured beneficiary.
Back-to-school had a new twist for more than 100 students in Toronto on Tuesday as an Africentric alternative school opened its doors for the first time.
The black-focused school has sparked controversy, with opponents saying it smacks of segregation.
Supporters of the Africentric Alternative School maintain that it's important for children to understand their history and culture. They also point to a 40 per cent school dropout rate among black students.
"This will be an example of how we take the African experience and integrate it much more meaningfully and much more substantially into all areas of learning," said Lloyd McKell of the Toronto District School Board.
The Africentric school at Keele Street and Sheppard Avenue West was one of four new alternative schools to open Tuesday, the most since the Toronto district board was created in 1998.
The schools were created after parents banded together and lobbied school trustees.
Parent Stephen Davies, who helped organize the drive for the Whole New Child School, said the Toronto board's willingness to create the schools is partly a response to students leaving the publicly funded system.
"What they're trying to do in my opinion is to stem the flow of students that were formerly in the public school system into the private school system," Davies said. "There's been an enormous growth in the private school system in the province of Ontario in the last five to seven years."
"We don't have an education system that fits all," said school trustee James Pasternak. "We have to have a wide range of choice for parents because they're coming from all over the world and they want different things."
Donna Harrow, co-founder of the Africentric school, said it represents a choice for students "that will help them and their success within the system."
Trustee Josh Matlow isn't sold on the idea, however.
"Black parents in my community tell me that they want their kids to go to school with their friends — they don't care what they look like," Matlow said.
It sometimes feels like the 2016 presidential election never ended.
The 2016 presidential election was one of the most controversial in American history.
Even though it's been almost two years since Election Day 2016, many are still hashing out what happened, and how the final result catapulted President Donald Trump into office.
See below for a list of the 13 best books about the historical election - from journalists, academics, and two of the candidates themselves.
The 2016 presidential election will likely go down as one of the most dramatic in American history.
The showdown between Hillary Clinton, the first female politician to lead a major political party in a presidential race, and Donald Trump, a reality TV star and businessman, involved an email scandal, shocking leaked audio, and interference from Russia.
If you're not yet tired of the, "How did this happen?" discussion on this particular election, here are some of the best books from both sides of the aisle.
Tur delves into her campaign coverage after closely following Trump for months.
Trump has called NBC News correspondent Katy Tur "Little Katy" and "third-rate," as Business Insider previously reported.
In this book, she details her 500 days following him around 40 states as he campaigned for president.
She gives readers a real inside look on what it's like to be a female journalist on the campaign trail.
A look into the relationship between Trump and Bannon.
Named one of The New York Times Book Review's Notable Books of 2017 and NPR's 2017 Great Reads, this book from journalist Joshua Green takes an inside look at the partnership between Trump and his former chief strategist Steve Bannon.
According to reviews on Amazon, the narrative is so riveting that you won't be able to put it down.
Van Jones exposes the downfalls of each party and addresses future concerns of the US.
How can two parties with such opposite views come together now to make real policy change? CNN commentator Van Jones hopes to answer that question with his book, which exposes the failures of both parties that led to the divided state of the US today.
Jones warns against tribalism and urges both sides to stop accusing each other of wrongdoing in order to fix real problems, such as rural and inner-city poverty, pollution, and addiction.
O’Rourke outlines the process of choosing a presidential candidate.
What's the process of picking a president?
Political satirist and journalist P.J. O'Rourke answers this question by analyzing both the Clinton and Trump campaigns and critically looking at the debates and key primaries.
O'Rourke also surveys other notable candidates and gives readers a brief history lesson on how the process of picking a presidential candidate evolved from the very first nominating convention to the present.
The first book ever produced by CNN Politics.
CNN Politics' first book paints a rich picture of one of the most controversial elections of all time through words and images.
The book is filled with exclusive photos of both campaigns and provides insight and commentary from notable CNN contributors, such as legendary investigative journalist Carl Bernstein and CNN senior correspondent Brian Stelter.
Some insight on why Americans voted for Trump.
Fox News contributor and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich might be able to provide some clarity for liberals trying to understand why so many Americans voted for Trump in the 2016 election.
Gingrich shares what he learned from following Trump for two years during his campaign and the beginning of his presidency - from insight into his decision-making process to his vision for the future of the US.
Outlines what the Democratic Party did wrong before the 2016 presidential election.
Who better to discuss what the Democratic party did wrong than the woman who led Democratic National Committee?
In this book, former interim DNC chairwoman Donna Brazile pens her version of how she inherited a party that was plagued with infighting and the fallout of Russian hacking.
She doesn't hold back when pointing fingers.
A look into the minds of the "pro-Trump" Americans.
Author Wayne Allyn Root, a self-proclaimed "angry white male," explains why many people like him are pro-Trump.
He argues that liberal policies and political correctness are destroying the middle class.
Root tries to empower those like him to protect their rights before liberals vote them out of existence.
This politically incorrect book provides an insight to some Trump supporters' psyches.
A first-look into Hilary Clinton's email scandal investigation.
Some argue that former FBI Director James Comey's last-minute decision to reopen the investigation of Clinton's use of a personal email server ultimately cost her the election.
Why did he do it? Comey's tell-all explains his decision to look into her personal email during such a pivotal time. You can decide for yourself whether it was the right call or not.
This book details his actions before, during, and after the 2016 election. Trump fired him as FBI director in May 2017, and continues to blame Comey for what he characterizes as bias within the bureau.
The conservative southwest region of Louisiana outlines their support for Trump.
If you want to begin to understand anyone's motives, you should start by hearing his or her side of the story.
Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild interviewed many people in the southwest region of Louisiana who voted for Trump and gave them a platform to speak out their frustrations.
Many talked about losing well-paying jobs and their stalled American dreams.
You'll start to see how their struggles shaped their political views and gain a better understanding of life in "a Tea Party stronghold."
Sanders offers his political philosophies.
Sen.Bernie Sandersgave Clinton a run for her money in the Democratic primary.
If you're a Sanders fan, or you never quite understood the Bernie hype, this book lays out his progressive political philosophy and reveals what's in store for the future.
It was published just days after Election Day 2016.
A former FBI employee was not surprised about the results of the 2016 election.
Author and former FBI employee Mitchell Steven Morrison was not surprised that Trump won the election.
In his book, Morrison argues that Trump understood exactly what voters wanted in their next president: someone who listened to their problems.
Morrison discusses a wide range of different topics, from how Trump embodies "old-fashioned American beliefs" to the alleged corruption in most mainstream media outlets - all of which, he predicts, will lead Trump to a second term.
This personal memoir shows a more relatable side of Clinton.
Clinton details her campaign for president in this honest, unvarnished tell-all.
For those who said Clinton wasn't a relatable candidate, this book shows more of her human side.

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