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| A Man Without a Country | 
 enlarge | Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $6.99
You Save: $6.96 (50%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  190 reviews
Sales Rank: 9703
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.5
ISBN: 081297736X
Dewey Decimal Number: 818.54
EAN: 9780812977363
ASIN: 081297736X
Publication Date: January 16, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Hardcover edition. Brand new - Most copies have a publishers overstock mark (Publisher close-outs usually have a small ink mark or stamp at the base of the book, but are otherwise brand new.)
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Product Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“[This] may be as close as Vonnegut ever comes to a memoir.”
–Los Angeles Times
“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
In a volume that is penetrating, introspective, incisive, and laugh-out-loud funny, one of the great men of letters of this age–or any age–holds forth on life, art, sex, politics, and the state of America’s soul. From his coming of age in America, to his formative war experiences, to his life as an artist, this is Vonnegut doing what he does best: Being himself. Whimsically illustrated by the author, A Man Without a Country is intimate, tender, and brimming with the scope of Kurt Vonnegut’s passions.
“For all those who have lived with Vonnegut in their imaginations . . . this is what he is like in person.”
–USA Today
“Filled with [Vonnegut’s] usual contradictory mix of joy and sorrow, hope and despair, humor and gravity.”
–Chicago Tribune
“Fans will linger on every word . . . as once again [Vonnegut] captures the complexity of the human condition with stunning calligraphic simplicity.”
–The Australian
“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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 185 more reviews...
 Everything Was Beautiful September 28, 2005
371 out of 429 found this review helpful
Reviews like the one below by the 23-year-old who never had read Vonnegut before this current volume remind me of Mr. V.'s statement (I paraphrase, perhaps grotesquely) that the cumulative effect of the Vietnam-war protests and of '60s activism in general was that of a banana-cream pie hurled off a stepladder: here is unquestionably the Greatest of contemporary American novelists, whose work and vision as a whole provide clarity, wisdom, and guidance with humor and love for both the survival of the species and for America--yet he remains largely ignored and neglected by the current American demos, for whom democracy is named, and reviewed by only 24 or so while the latest potboiler gets 345 Amazon reviews the very day it's published.
Certainly Vonnegut himself is well aware of these vagaries of fame and influence.
But let me heartily proclaim the obvious--that we truly should declare Mr. V.'s birthday a new national holiday (strapping it firmly to the one, for some, it already is on 11/11); schoolchildren should compete in Vonnegut Declamation Contests, vying to repeat from memory the longest and most salient passages from his works; we should have Vonnegut Festivals, Seminars, Television sitcoms, toothpaste, bottled water--even a Vonnegut Party in national, state, and local elections, which might well take the place of the corrupt and anemic Democrats.
Alas, it seems we are repeating the past as the Old Reliables (Studs Terkel, John Leonard, and company) trot out their appropriate praises; some teevee interviews are conducted; the bored Harvard and Yale crowds clap politely; the schoolchildren continue with their videogaming and baby-producing; and New Orleans is reduced to a new Love Canal, Iraq civil-wars, the wealthy bolt their gated enclaves, and the rest of us, debt-torn and grief-fatigued, stew in our own juices.
Look: if you haven't done so recently, go back and reread (or first-read) SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, CAT'S CRADLE, HOCUS-POCUS, GALAPAGOS, GOD BLESS YOU MR. ROSEWATER, and MOTHER NIGHT (among others: but start with these).
Think about what the man is saying. Look around you. Maybe turn off your television for a moment of silence.
Here is the real deal, folks.
This is our guy. Ignore him at your peril.
Let's get those "Sermon on the Mount" plaques up in every corporate lobby.
Let's get tap-dancing. There's not much time left for a party.
The perfect epilogue. September 14, 2005
150 out of 177 found this review helpful
Kurt finally concludes the half-century journey on which he has taken us with this hilarious, heartfelt, charming epilogue. Vonnegut gives us literary polaroids of his childhood and day-to-day life, places us at the dinner table with Mark Twain, Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, and Eugene Debs, and manages to answer the question: "What does it mean to be human?" All the while single handedly battling George W. Bush, H-Bombs, and the "Guessers."
Crouching Essayist January 5, 2006
132 out of 133 found this review helpful
In my review of "Timequake," I labelled Vonnegut as "Novelist Emeritus," noting that his writing is still enjoyable, you read it with half a smile on your face. But you are laughing and smiling with polite respect towards the old master.
I picked up "A Man without a Country" at the Coop and opened at random, and read this paragraph:
"In case you haven't noticed, as the result of a shamelessly rigged election in Florida, in which thousands of African Americans were arbitrarily disenfranchised, we now present ourselves to the rest of the world as proud, grinning, jut-jawed, pitiless war-lovers with appallingly powerful weaponry- who stand unopposed."
He continues on in this vein, and draws parallels between the current worldview of America and the way the world viewed Germany as the Nazis rose to power. He has the clarity and honesty to refer to the characters running the Bush administration as psychopaths.
Wow! I take it all back. Perhaps, in "Timequake" he was burdened with the artifact of a failed novel, but wanted to make something out of it, colored it with his unique perspective but ended up with a softer version of his usual fare. It felt a little lazy, like Vonnegut imitating Vonnegut.
But here, freed from the artifice of fiction, we get classic Vonnegut. In fact, more than a return to form, but better than ever. This book finds him clever and witty, but also very angry and indignant, and righteously so. I have the same concerns and emotions but lack the ability to formulate it and express it in words so beautifully. So it's refreshing to read Vonnegut, and it's inspiring to know that he is not the doddering old professor but a wise old lion with still plenty of bite left.
I won't try to tell you it's all great, that there are none of the soft, self-indulgent moments that detract from his later novels, but there is plenty of greatness on display. Buy it, read it, enjoy it. Thank you for listening.
Excellent. September 15, 2005
52 out of 60 found this review helpful
I came across this book via an unlikely source: John Stewart's interview with Vonnegut on the Daily Show. While I'd heard the name Vonnegut before, I never really knew anything about him or his views, nor his comedic look on certain pressing issues.
At the same time, I found myself (as I dazed in a tired stupor at the boob-tube) wondering why and how this overtly charismatic man, a potential American literary icon, had escaped my knowledge. As I thought more and more, I realized that whether I liked his writings or not, or whether or not I disagreed with him, I needed to read through some of his works -- a sort of "Obligation of the American Soul" if you will.
And so, as a 23-year old recent college graduate, I ponied up the money and headed to the local Border's shop to pick up the latest (and supposedly final) of his books, A Man Without A Country. I'm not sorry I did.
Vonnegut employs a very readable, conversational style of writing, which lends a sort of friendly "Hey, here's what I think, you go mull it over while I do something else" attitude. While I don't find myself in complete agreeance with everything he says, I believe his general ideas provoke thought and consideration, and his experience and wisdom should not go unnoticed. Any man or woman who has lived to the ripe age of 82 should have some important points to make about life, and one who is as politically charged and sassy as Vonnegut makes several excellent arguments.
I'm not (at this point) familiar with his earlier works, and so I cannot say whether or not he's repeating himself or pulling the same old stunts. What I can say is that if you have a couple hours on hand, you should buy or borrow this book and take a peek through its pages.
Two Warnings January 10, 2006
33 out of 40 found this review helpful
Two Warnings:
First, Vonnegut, in case you haven't heard, is free-thinking and a radical liberal to the extent that he is really a socialist. In today's milieu of conservative everything, his views can be offensive. If you get pissed when someone says anything negative about George W. Bush, industrialization or military armament, you may want to stay away from this book
Second, Vonnegut is old. He wrote this book at age 82. At times, while reading, I kept thinking about Michael Jordan on the Wizards, Babe Ruth on the Boston Braves, Willie Mays on the New York Mets. Vonnegut keeps saying he's done, but returns for one more, and the product does not seem as good as he was in his prime (see Timequake and God Bless You Mr. Kavorkian). This is a stripped down conversation with Vonnegut. No science fiction, skittish plot lines or absurd scenarios. This is an old man recounting his opinions. By "old," I mean he, at times sounds like the old man hanging around the local mini-mart, who complains that things have gone to pot and life today is no life at all and how can anybody be happy in a place like this. His theory is that "jokes" no longer are a satisfactory defense mechanism, and all of a sudden really funny people become serious. He mentions himself among several others (Michael Frayne, Mark Twain, and Ignaz Semmelweis) who have given up on humanity and life has lost its humor.
A Man without a Country is for Vonnegut junkies and not for the casual reader. If you read "Slaughter House Five" or "Cat's Cradle" and said, "You know, that guy sounds really interesting, I would like to talk with him about life, current events and literature," then this may be a book for you. It should be also noted, that, as a junkie, I have already read much of the material from information published on the internet.
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