Other editions of book Slaughterhouse Five or, The Children's Crusade, A Duty-Dance with Death

From the Publisher HC edition of Slaughterhouse-Five, with the original first-edition cover design. From the Jacket First published in 1969, this masterpiece and American classic is widely considered to be one of the world's greatest war-era books. Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of the human search for meaning in what we fear most. About the Author Kurt Vonnegut was a master of contemporary American literature. His black humor, satiric voice, and incomporable imagination first captured America's attention in The Sirens of Titan in 1959 and established him, in the words of The New York Times, as "a true artist" with the publication of Cat's Cradle in 1963. He was, as Graham Greene delcared, "one of the best living American writers." Mr. Vonnegut passed away in April 2007.

Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death (1969) is a satirical novel by Kurt Vonnegut about World War II experiences and journeys through time of Billy Pilgrim, from his time as an American soldier and chaplain's assistant, to postwar and early years. It is generally recognized as Vonnegut's most influential and popular work. A central event is Pilgrim's surviving the Allies' firebombing of Dresden as a prisoner-of-war. This was an event in Vonnegut's own life, and the novel is considered semi-autobiographical. It has been said that it is a contemporary Pilgrim's Progress, with the hero named, curiously enough, Billy Pilgrim. Over the years he was recognized as a main-stream storyteller, often fascinated by the tragic and comic possibilities of machines. His books are widely used in college courses and he became widely sought out as a speaker. A great modern classic book that will be appreciated by anyone who wants to add a legendary book to their library.