And So It Goes : Kurt Vonnegut : A Life

Description

In 2006, Charles Shields reached out to Kurt Vonnegut in a letter, asking for his endorsement for a planned biography. The first response was no ("A most respectful demurring by me for the excellent writer Charles J. Shields, who offered to be my biographer"). Unwilling to take no for an answer, propelled by a passion for his subject, and already deep into his research, Shields wrote again and this time, to his delight, the answer came back: "O.K." For the next year - a year that ended up being Vonnegut's last - Shields had access to Vonnegut and his letters "And So It Goes" is the culmination of five years of research and writing - the first-ever biography of the life of Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut resonates with readers of all generations from the baby boomers who grew up with him to high school and college students who are discovering his work for the first time. Vonnegut's concise collection of personal essays, "Man Without a Country", published in 2006, spent fifteen weeks on the "New York Times" bestseller list and has sold more than 300,000 copies to date. The twenty-first century has seen interest in and scholarship about Vonnegut's works grow even stronger, and this is the first book to examine in full the life of one of the most influential iconoclasts of his time.

Reviews

"This first authorized biography probes both Vonnegut's creative struggles and family life, detailing his transition from 'the bowery of the book world' to counterculture icon. Shields delivers a vivid recreation of Vonnegut's ghastly WWII experiences as a POW during the Dresden firebombing that became the basis for "Slaughterhouse-Five "... Tragedies and triumphs are contrasted throughout, along with an adroit literary analysis that highlights obscure or overlooked influences on Vonnegut ... With access to more than 1,500 letters, Shields conducted hundreds of interviews to produce this engrossing, definitive biography."--"PW", Starred Review