Armageddon in Retrospect

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The New York Times bestseller from the author of Slaughterhouse-Five—a “gripping” posthumous collection of Kurt Vonnegut’s previously unpublished work on the subject of war and peace. A fitting tribute to a literary legend and a profoundly humane humorist, Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of twelve previously unpublished writings. Imbued with Vonnegut's trademark rueful humor and outraged moral sense, the pieces range from a letter written by Vonnegut to his family in 1945, informing them that he'd been taken prisoner by the Germans, to his last speech, delivered after his death by his son Mark, who provides a warmly personal introduction to the collection. Taken together, these pieces provide fresh insight into Vonnegut's enduring literary genius and reinforce his ongoing moral relevance in today’s world.Includes an Introduction by Mark Vonnegut

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Essays, War, Humor, Classics, Literature

248 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Kurt Vonnegut, Junior was an American novelist, satirist, and most recently, graphic artist. He was recognized as New York State Author for 2001-2003.

He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked as a journalist before joining the U.S. Army and serving in World War II.

After the war, he attended University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology and also worked as a police reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago. He left Chicago to work in Schenectady, New York in public relations for General Electric. He attributed his unadorned writing style to his reporting work.

His experiences as an advance scout in the Battle of the Bulge, and in particular his witnessing of the bombing of Dresden, Germany whilst a prisoner of war, would inform much of his work. This event would also form the core of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five, the book which would make him a millionaire. This acerbic 200-page book is what most people mean when they describe a work as "Vonnegutian" in scope.

Vonnegut was a self-proclaimed humanist and socialist (influenced by the style of Indiana's own Eugene V. Debs) and a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The novelist is known for works blending satire, black comedy and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973)

Reviews

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

War is a funny thing. That's what Vonnegut would have us believe. He is right. He also realizes that there is nothing funny about war. It's a conflicting juxtaposition and yet it is true.

Armageddon in Retrospect sat in the to-be-read pile for a good long while. I haven't read much Vonnegut since school, when probably about 9 out of 10 Vonnegut readers read his work, but I do enjoy reading him. Nonetheless, I dreaded this. The title alone told me it would be dreary and the title, for the most part, didn't lie. That's not to say Vonnegut doesn't bring the funny. He almost always does, however, most of the stories compiled herein are about war, often about his experiences in Dresden. The bombing of Dresden in WWII was tragic. As much as Vonnegut tries to spin some bitter-sweet humor off of this topic, the bitterness always remains in the sour undercurrent.

Starting with an interesting intro from his son, there's a speech, a letter from young Vonnegut to his family and about a dozen short stories. About half of those stories are about a captured prisoner or a people under a conquering army's subjugation. Apparently this was the sum of the author's wartime experience. Making sense of it all, coming to grips with this new reality and that of his own country's disregard for innocent life comprises much of the subject matter. It is essentially Slaughter House Five played out again in variation.

One story, "The Unicorn Trap" steps well outside of the WWII setting, sending us back to peasant life in 1067 England. However, it's the same old, same old, this time with the Normans as conquerors.

Armageddon in Retrospect was the first thing published after his death and that always rings morbid. The overall mood brings my rating down to 3 stars, but Vonnegut's superb writing and humor save the day, as usual, and so I'll go with 4 stars.

[Tom Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was quietly moved by this collection, which I found to be very different from Vonnegut's better known works. For one thing, there's virtually no science fiction. For another, there's virtually no humor. Instead there are short stories in the vein of historical fiction, primarily focused on World War 2, each one crafted with care, each showing the folly of war. Each story is simple but potent. Since my own words seem too small to properly address the strength of Vonnegut's, I instead offer a parable from The Principia Discordia. (Vonnegut has been canonized as a Discordian saint, Second Class, a lower rank than his own creation Saint Bokonon - a Brigadier Saint - fictional characters of course being more capable of perfection than their real-life counterparts)

A SERMON ON ETHICS AND LOVE

One day Mal-2 asked the messenger spirit Saint Gulik to approach the Goddess and request Her presence for some desperate advice. Shortly afterwards the radio came on by itself, and an ethereal female Voice said YES?

"O! Eris! Blessed Mother of Man! Queen of Chaos! Daughter of Discord! Concubine of Confusion! O! Exquisite Lady, I beseech You to lift a heavy burden from my heart!"

WHAT BOTHERS YOU, MAL? YOU DON'T SOUND WELL.

"I am filled with fear and tormented with terrible visions of pain. Everywhere people are hurting one another, the planet is rampant with injustices, whole societies plunder groups of their own people, mothers imprison sons, children perish while brothers war. O, woe."

WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH THAT, IF IT IS WHAT YOU WANT TO DO?

"But nobody wants it! Everybody hates it."

OH. WELL, THEN STOP.

At which moment She turned herself into an aspirin commercial and left The Polyfather stranded alone with his species.

[Steven Godin · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The occupying Russians, when they discovered that we were Americans, embraced us on the complete desolation our planes had wrought. We accepted their congratulations with good grace and proper modesty, but I felt then as I feel now, that I would have given my life to save Dresden for the World's generations to come. That is how everyone should feel about every city on earth.'

The anti-war piece—Wailing Shall Be in All Streets—about the bombing of Dresden, was easily worth five stars alone. Such a powerful essay. Other highlights here for me were Vonnegut's final speech at the Clowes Hall, Indianapolis, the title piece, and the stories Guns Before Butter, Just You and Me, Sammy, and The Commandant's Desk. Not everything here was great, but I still view it as an important book. I would encourage every single reader to read at least one Vonnegut book in their life. He simply just has to be read.

[foteini_dl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Το -έξυπνο- χιούμορ είναι ίσως ο καλύτερος τρόπος για να μιλήσεις για ο,τιδήποτε. Και αυτό ο Vonnegut το είχε καταλάβει καλά (και ήταν καλός σ' αυτό).

Μέσα απ’ αυτή τη συλλογή ιστοριών μιλάει για ένα γνώριμο απ’ το “Slaughterhouse 5” θέμα˙ τον πόλεμο και πιο συγκεκριμένα για τις εμπειρίες του από τον βομβαρδισμό της Δρέσδης κατά τον Β’ Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο. Προσωπικά, μου άρεσαν όλες οι ιστορίες (αν και έχω μια αδυναμία στον Vonnegut, οπότε ίσως και να μην είμαι αντικειμενική) και ξεχώρισα τις εξής:

“Wailing Shall Be in All Streets” όπου ο συγγραφέας μιλάει για την σύλληψή του (και την κακομεταχείριση που υπέστη), το πώς επιβίωσε σε ένα υπόγειο ψυγείο κρεάτων ενός σφαγείου και, το πιο σοκαριστικό θέμα, η αναγκαστική συλλογή πτωμάτων. Θέματα τραυματικά, σχεδόν απερίγραπτα, που απορώ που βρήκε το κουράγιο να τα βάλει σε προτάσεις.

“Letter from PFC Kurt Vonnegut Jr. to his family”, που έχει τη μορφή ντοκουμέντου, “Guns Before Butter”, “Armageddon in Retrospect”

την ομιλία του στην Ινδιανάπολη το 2007, που είναι ίσως η πιο έξυπνη και αστεία ομιλία στα χρονικά, στην οποία μιλάει-μεταξύ άλλων-για τη θρησκεία, την επιστήμη, τον Marx και κλείνει έτσι:
“And I thank you for your attention, and I’m out of here”.

Ο Vonnegut μέσα απ’ το ιδιαίτερο χιούμορ του μιλάει πιο σοβαρά και ανθρώπινα από πολλούς ιστορικούς εκεί έξω. Μαζί με τον κωμικό George Carlin έπρεπε να διδάσκεται στα σχολεία.

[TheBookWarren · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 Stars - There is a stillness to the way KV writes. A stillness that lingers, fades.. only to then return right when you least suspect it. It’s this stillness that grabs me most of all. The sheer versatility of it, when broken down, especially in a collection such as these, is quite staggering and can be razor sharp or feather soft, for it is a weapon the author uses with deft touch, but always fatal in its aim of reader seduction.

Not only is the aforementioned stillness used to perfection, but it even permeates the speech that has been included here (to great effect), in fact its more pungent than that, it’s scent lurks around every anecdote!

I have read most of these twice some thrice, but I’m still taken aback by how striking each paragraph is, sentence by sentence the ease in which tone, expression, Subtly & nuance is portrayed can be quite infuriating. The horror of war is no foible entity, it’s grippingly dark & no one bereft of frontline experience can possibly ever even begin to align oneself with that if a soldier-in-combat, but when you read stories like these, that include such real-life horrors as the British citizen targeted air-raids of Dresden.. You do feel as tough you have come mightily close.

This is the beauty & gift we are given by authors from the top-echelon of literature, such as Vonnegut.

[cory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quoting the author:

"And now please note that I have raised my right hand. And that means that I'm not kidding, that whatever I say next I believe to be true. So here it goes: The most spiritually splendid American phenomenon of my lifetime wasn't our contribution to the defeat of the Nazis, in which I played such a large part, or Ronald Reagan's overthrow of Godless Communism, in Russia at least.

The most spiritually splendid American phenomenon of my lifetime is how African-American citizens have maintained their dignity and self-respect, despite their having been treated by white Americans, both in and out of government, and simply because of their skin color, as though they were contemptible and loathsome, and even diseased."

Quoting the author again:
"If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is."

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a great introduction by Vonnegut's son & the book is read by Rip Torn, a favorite actor of mine.

It's pretty interesting. The point of 'Sirens', as put forth by David in #18, seems to have been echoed by Vonnegut's son in a completely unrelated chat between the two shortly before Kurt's death. It's worth reading, if only for the intro.

The first story was a speech he gave in 2007 & that seems to have set the tone. The stories so far are OK, but Vonnegut's Dresden horror stories made up most & got a bit old. He's very anti-war & continually points out it's stupid & horrible. There were a few 5 star stories that really put a face on the horrors of war perfectly, but most wandered about in a rather long-winded manner which didn't do the point any favors. The title story came last & had a couple of good or amusing points, but was a disappointment overall.

Overall, typical Vonnegut & worth reading especially if you've liked his other works.

[Numidica · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is rare that a writer's style is as distinctive as KV's, and his earliest writings are as clearly his as any of the best bits of his most famous works. In one part, he recounts his war experiences in a letter to his parents after being freed from a POW camp, describing his many warm and familiar encounters with the grim reaper. In each paragraph, he tells a tale and says that this or that person died, or, in the case of Dresden, many thousands died, "but not me". The catch phrase is reminiscent of his later, all purpose utterance, "And so it goes".

He hated war and loved wit and kindness, and I miss his unique irreverence.

[Matīss Mintāls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Labākā pretkara grāmata, ko esmu lasījis. Te ir gan esejas, gan fantastiski un nefantastiski stāsti, kuri gan ne visi likās uz piecinieku, bet kopumā 5 zvaigznes. Vismaz 7 zvaigznes no 5 par Drēzdenes atmiņām vien. Tie, kas ir lasījuši Lopkautuvi, jau zina autora pieredzi un uzskatus par šo tēmu.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vonnegut’s harrowing essay on the Dresden bombing, “Wailing Shall Be in All Streets,” is the highlight and centerpiece of this collection, and one of the best works of anti-war art I’ve read—something like the literary equivalent of Francisco Goya’s ‘Disasters of War’ series. This previously unpublished work is undated, but has the immediacy and urgency of an open wound. Dresden was the last major German city to escape bombing because there was nothing combative about it; it was a city of hospitals and refugees. Vonnegut, who hated his Nazi captors, nonetheless loved the city for its rich cultural past and pacific part in the war. “In February 1945, American bombers reduced this treasure to crushed stone and embers; disemboweled her with high-explosives and cremated her with incendiaries.”

Vonnegut goes on to write: “It is with some regret that I here besmirch the nobility of our airmen, but boys, you killed an appalling lot of women and children… We had to exhume their bodies and carry them to mass funeral pyres in the parks—so I know.”

[Chris Dietzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was excellent, just like almost everything Vonnegut wrote was excellent. This collection of stories differentiates itself from everything else I've read by the author in one key way. Vonnegut is known for his sarcasm and dark humor. This collection of writing still has some sarcastic moments but there is no humor to be found at all. In its place are stories that feel darker and more straight forward in their pessimism of life.

[shakespeareandspice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never trust my rating on a Vonnegut. I love this man.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of 12 short stories, published on the anniversary of Kurt Vonneguts death.

In Wailing shall be in all streets (the best offering of this collection) the author describes his personal recollection of the utter destruction of Dresden in WW2 which he first wrote about in Slaughter House 5.

I could go on however, the rest these stories are for me not memorable, indeed I've had to look back at them already to remind myself of the story.

3.5* rounded up because of that story.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questa raccolta di dodici scritti inediti di Kurt Vonnegut, pubblicata postuma dal figlio Mark, è incentrata sugli orrori della guerra, le speranze di pace e di ricostruzione e le future minacce incombenti sul mondo. Dopo una splendida e commovente introduzione di Mark, in cui ci offre un ricordo personale ed intimo del Vonnegut scrittore, del Vonnegut padre e soprattutto del Vonnegut uomo, e una significativa lettera scritta nel maggio del 1945, alla fine della guerra, dal soldato Kurt ai suoi famigliari, tale raccolta si apre con l'ultimo discorso scritto da Vonnegut, che non fece in tempo a tenere personalmente, ma che venne letto dal figlio a Indianapolis nell'aprile del 2007, pochi giorni dopo la morte del padre: un esempio tipico del suo particolare stile oratorio che, con ironia, umorismo nero e un po' di cinismo, tocca argomenti dai più seri e impegnati ai più scanzonati e leggeri, saltando dagli uni agli altri in modo imprevedibile con freddure e battute di spirito, parlandoci di letteratura, storia, filosofia, religione, scienza, politica e antropologia, riflettendo su violenza, guerra, distruzione, morte, umana idiozia, razzismo e cambiamento climatico, esponendo la sua visione del mondo e le sue opinioni su Gesù e Karl Marx, capitalismo e comunismo, Stati Uniti e Cina, tortura e pena di morte, società e progresso tecnologico, famiglia e vecchiaia. Un vero e proprio testamento spirituale.

Riporto dall'Introduzione di Mark Vonnegut: “Scrivere per mio padre era un esercizio spirituale” (pagina 5). “Insegnava come narrare storie e insegnava ai lettori come leggere. I suoi scritti continueranno a farlo per un pezzo. Era ed è un sovversivo, ma non nel senso che crede la gente. Era la persona meno stramba che io abbia mai conosciuto. Niente droga. Niente macchine veloci. Ha sempre cercato di stare dalla parte degli angeli […]. Leggere e scrivere sono atti sovversivi di per sé. Quella che sovvertono è l'idea che le cose devono essere come sono, che tu sei solo, che nessun altro si è mai sentito come ti senti tu. Ciò che pensa la gente quando legge Kurt è che le cose sono più a portata di mano, e di molto, di quanto si creda. Il mondo diventa un posto un po' diverso solo perché hanno letto un libro. Pensate!” (pagina 9).

Ecco invece un concentrato dell'ironia caustica di Kurt Vonnegut, dal discorso di Indianapolis: “Come umanista, amo la scienza. Odio la superstizione, che non avrebbe mai potuto darci le bombe atomiche” (pagina 21). “Se Gesù oggi fosse vivo, lo uccideremmo con un'iniezione letale. Ecco quello che io chiamo progresso” (pagina 23).

Gli scritti successivi vanno dalla testimonianza autobiografica del bombardamento alleato di Dresda (“Da tutte le strade si alzeranno lamenti”), dal quale Vonnegut si salvò miracolosamente (e che fu al centro del suo capolavoro, il romanzo “Mattatoio N.5”), e che ha descritto in presa diretta, senza filtri e in tutte le sue atrocità e tragedie (per via delle sue denunce coraggiose, Vonnegut verrà definito “il romanziere della controcultura”), a quelli ambientati nell'Europa di fine conflitto, che mescolano verità e finzione e che ci mostrano sia le miserie dei soldati americani, sia le sofferenze della popolazione civile (“Cannoni prima del burro”, “Buon compleanno, 1951”, “Su con la vita”, “Spoglie”, “Solo tu e io, Sammy”, “La scrivania del comandante”), fino ad arrivare a racconti ambientati in un lontano passato di soprusi (“La trappola dell'unicorno”), in un presente appacificato e prospero ma non esente da strazi e dolori (“Milite ignoto”) o in una folle dimensione cronosismica scaturita a seguito degli assurdi orrori della guerra (“Gran giorno”, che gioca sull'ambiguità di un espediente fantascientifico, il viaggio nel tempo, utilizzato anche in “Mattatoio N.5”), per chiudere con il racconto di fantascienza vera e propria, “Ricordando l'Apocalisse”, che dà il titolo all'intera raccolta: una caccia al Maligno che perseguita l'umanità, una rivisitazione caustica e dissacrante di Armageddon, l'eterna battaglia tra Bene e Male. Perché anche di tutto questo, sembra suggerire Vonnegut, si può ridere. A denti stretti, ma si può ridere.

Suggestive illustrazioni e citazioni. È davvero irresistibile, unico, il modo con cui Vonnegut ci dice sempre la verità senza mezzi termini, fuori dai denti. Schietto e sincero, non teme di mostrarsi pensatore scomodo e fuori dagli schemi, ci dà consigli e perle di saggezza. Forse è per questa sua umanità che ci fa ridere e commuovere. Come nella vita reale, vissuta, anche nei libri non ci nasconde segreti, non ci tiene mai sulle spine, va sempre dritto al sodo (“Al diavolo la suspense!”, diceva). Già solo la lettura del primo racconto, quello maggiormente autobiografico, sul bombardamento di Dresda, vale l'intero libro. Una testimonianza preziosa, inestimabile. Un inno al pacifismo e all'antimilitarismo. Un messaggio per le generazioni presenti e future.

[Kara Babcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

After two somewhat disappointing books, I finally picked up a book I’ve had since at least my birthday. My experience with Kurt Vonnegut remains slimmer than I’d like, with most of it locked away in adolescent memories now slipping beyond the horizon of my mind. So it feels a little odd to be reading Armageddon in Retrospect, theoretically his last work (unless his estate publishes more unpublished tidbits), already. But I did, and I don’t regret it. Clap me in irons if you must!

I’m at a loss for what to say, though. For people who have read Vonnegut and know what to expect, there is nothing much to add. This is a bunch of stories written by Vonnegut. They have that classic Vonnegut feel for language simple in syntax yet fiendish in semantics. Most of them have something to do with war, with World War II, with the bombing of Dresden … at every level Vonnegut examines the assumptions and rationalizations we attempt to internalize about the morality of conducting war. Even the stories that are more removed from this setting, such as “The Unicorn Trap” or “Armageddon in Retrospect” are very much about the horrors that humans perpetrate in the name of the greater good.

The highlight of this collection for most people will be Vonnegut’s final speech, which he finished but could not deliver before his death. Because I am so young and came to Vonnegut so late in his career, this speech, as one of the first if not the only non-fiction work of Vonnegut’s that I’ve read, greatly affected me. It let me see how the humour and his sardonic spin on things is not just something that saturates his fiction. His speech is peppered with jokes—including one about a man who was smuggling wheelbarrows, which I found hilarious—and absurd asides. All the while, this humour is working towards a more serious end.

Sometimes we laugh because, if we don’t, we’d have to cry … I think that’s kind of what Vonnegut is doing. He has seen so much that he is not afraid to point out the bad and the good, particularly when it comes to an entity like the United States of America. Vonnegut can critique something while still loving it; this is an ability I feel is on the decline today, when the average level of political rhetoric involves the slinging of epithets about being anti-American or intellectually elitist or, heaven forfend, a science-loving atheist. That’s the brilliance of Vonnegut: he may at times be irreverent, but his is a classy form of irreverence, the type that wipes its shoes on the map before busting into your home and breaking into “The Galaxy Song”. So Vonnegut’s speech, as well as this book in general, provide a nice summary of why his writing is so powerful. His is a voice that speaks not for a generation or for a people or for a school of thought but merely out of a conviction that all humans deserve a healthy dose of dignity and levity.

By far my favourite story, however, has to be “The Commandant’s Desk“. It is told from the point of view of a Czech cabinetmaker whose village has just passed from Russian hands to American ones. He considers this at first to be a cause for celebration and hope: the Russians were cruel masters, as bad as the Nazis, and he had been planning a little surprise for the Russian commandant, who had “requested” a grandiose desk. But, in the not-so-surprising Vonnegut twist, the American commandant turns out to be just as unsympathetic and unstintingly oppressive. The story finally comes full circle with a second twist, which results in a reveal of what the cabinetmaker had been planning all along. In the end, Vonnegut reminds of the dangers of romanticizing the nobility of soldiers (of any nationality) or the justness of occupying another land.

Vonnegut’s writing continues to have a timeless quality to it. His stories have ideas and themes that apply just as much to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as they do to World War II or Vietnam. Illustrations are interspersed between each story, and two in particular—colourful doodles on sticky notes—caught my eye. The first reads: “Darwin gave cachet of science to war and genocide” and the second, “In the U.S.A. it’s winners vs. losers, and the fix is on”. The latter is very easy to interpret in light of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The former seems to be an indictment of the “survival of the fittest” justifications for things like Aryan supremacy or eugenics, though it goes beyond that: thanks to evolutionary theory, there’s now a “scientific” rationale for making war, because only the strong should survive! Anyway, I just enjoyed these illustrations too.

Not much else to say about this book. For those who are less experienced with Vonnegut or new to him entirely, Armageddon in Retrospect might be harder to grok; I’m sure I will get more out of it when I revisit it after having continued my survey of his oeuvre. Confirmed Vonnegut fans will like it. There’s nothing here that is sensational or eye-opening; no secret unpublished gem lurks between these pages. But it is yet another set of compelling thoughts on the relationship between absurdity and necessity that always seems to arises in discussions of war.

[Igor Neox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, as always. Most essays are about Vonnegut’s time in the war; some fiction, some real letters. An especially heartfelt moment is a speech he was supposed to make, but died about two weeks before the event, so it was read by his son Mark. Every essay is impeccable and you can feel all the usual Vonnegut tropes throughout the whole collection ✨

[Steven Burt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished "Armageddon in Retrospect" a few weeks ago. It was really good. I often wonder about works published posthumously, particularly when the works had been kicking around for a while before the author died.

Did the author want them to be published? Is there a reason they weren't published while they were alive?

I graduated from Law School just over one year ago, and it seems that in every different area of law there is a seminal case, the first that you read for the first day of class because it is the first in the book. In my Trusts and Estates class, there was a case about Franz Kafka's will. The will called for the burning of Kafka's papers upon his death, but the administrator of his estate (Brod, I believe) refused to burn them, and instead had them published. If memory serves, not only could Brod not bear to burn the papers, he was convinced that the world needed to see them. Though it's hard to argue with Brod's reasoning or blame him for his actions, it still makes one wonder. . .

Which brings be back to "Armageddon in Retrospect." Whenever I am reading or watching or otherwise experience art that has been published after the artist's death, I can't help but look for, and perhaps create, a "suicide note" quality to the work. This is particularly true, like I mentioned, if the work had been around for a while but, for whatever reason, was not published.

"Armageddon in Retrospect" is interesting not only because of the stories that it includes, but also the original visual artwork produced by Vonnegut. The stories and the artwork either explicitly or implicitly orbit around what seems to have been the defining moment of Vonnegut's life, and the subject of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse Five--his experiences as a prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany during World War II, where he was held before, during, and after the Allied Forces firebombed and destroyed the city.

This central theme makes what might have seemed a random collection of stories purposeful and related. On the last page of the book, there is a quote that sums up the book and, arguably, the Vonnegut library quite well:

“Where do I get my ideas from? You might as well have asked that of Beethoven. He was goofing around in Germany like everybody else, and all of a sudden this stuff came gushing out of him.

It was music.

I was goofing around like everybody else in Indiana, and all of a sudden stuff came gushing out.

It was disgust with civilization.”

As with any significant work of art, this book is both timeless and timely, dealing with universal themes that seem uniquely applicable to our day. I highly recommend this book.

[Massimo Pigliucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm now officially on a Kurt Vonnegut kick. It started recently, when I visited the Vonnegut Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, and got re-hooked. I had read several of his novels years ago. In fact, a good friend of mine told me, just before I moved to the United States decades ago, that if I wanted to understand the American psyche I should read Vonnegut, beginning, of course, with Slaughterhouse Five. Boy, was he right. "Armageddon in Retrospect" is a lovely collection of essays and short stories curated by his son, Mark, and published shortly after Vonnegut's death in 2007. It begins with a letter the author wrote to his family in 1945, after he was liberated from the ruins of Dresden, Germany, where he was a prisoner of war. It ends with a short story about the Devil and the title concept of Armageddon. The number of gems in this collection is astounding. One of my favorite stories is "The Unicorn Trap," set in 1067 England under William the Conqueror, but every entry is well worth your time. Do yourself a favor, and rediscover, or discover for the first time, one of the most intriguing and provocative American writers of the 20th century.

[Jorge Rosas · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me a while to finish this book, at a point I even abandoned it, as a collection of tales is hard to evaluate what’s coming next, the first half was slow and a little bit boring but the second half improved lot, with the last shot story been the one that gives the book its title. Most of them are about the absurdity of war and how horrible and pointless it is, although recognizing that some dictators really deserve to be taken down. Some others are satirical, and deal with the losing side and the occupation, and a few others are just about the absurdity of the human collective. I’ve never heard of this author before and he was hard to read, but his good dealing with this topic.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kurt Vonnegut was a wonderful writer. Simple yet moving and profound. This is a compilation of odds and sods - mainly short stories about the war. Vonnegut was a POW and was present at the bombing of Dresden, which affected him greatly.

Not one of his best but worth a read all the same.

[Corey Pung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow, over the years, people have started using the phrase “bleeding-heart liberal” as if it were a bad thing. In Armageddon in Retrospect, a posthumous collection of essays and stories, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. comes off as a bleeding-heart liberal in the best sense of the term.

There’s a distinction to be made between the bleeding-heart liberal and the hardline leftist. Both are useful and valuable in their own way. For an example of the more hardened individual, let’s look to my idol Christopher Hitchens, who frequently writes of having to hold in his vomit whenever he meets perpetrators of crimes against humanity. Christopher never pulled his punches with serious offenders and was always quick to join in on idealogical battles when he could discern which side was right. Kurt Vonnegut on the other hand is more interested in the victims than the perpetrators, something that comes up in book after book throughout his long career.

In his most famous books, Vonnegut usually hides his bleeding heart under layers of irony and sardonic humor, but you can always tell its there, pulsing and gushing. Armageddon in Retrospect though is a collection of his unpublished writings concerning war and peace, and if I had to guess, the reason as to why these pieces went unpublished is because most lacked his trademark sense of humor. That’s not to say these entries aren’t good–no, many are good, but they’re different than what you’ve come to expect from Kurt Vonnegut’s ouevre.

For example, the most important piece in the collection is Kurt’s essay Wailing Shall Be In All Streets, where he once again revisits the frightful night when he witnessed the bombing of the German town Dresden by the Allied forces. If you’re not familiar with this incident, Kurt Vonnegut was a POW in WW2, and happened to be on the scene when the entire town of Dresden, which he called the most beautiful city in the world, was bombed for strategic reasons (a major railroad ran through it). This incident already provided the centerpiece for his greatest novel Slaughterhouse-Five. For those who simply won’t read that novel due to the sci-fi elements or the often crass humor, this essay is essential. Even those who have read and fallen in love with Slaughterhouse Five would benefit from reading the essay as it contains a more pure and refined take on the tragedy than appears in the novel.

If what you’re looking for is science-fiction, then you should skip ahead to Great Day, a story set on the battlefield of a future war where the army has found a way to distract the enemy with visions of soldiers from WW1 running rampant.

The title story is where we’re reunited with the classic smirking Kurt Vonnegut we know and love. In it, he gives us a vision of a world where Intelligent Design has run amok, and scientists are now tasked with trying to rid themselves of the Devil.

Some of the other stories that make up this short book are not quite as good. I have to wonder if Kurt Vonnegut would have even wanted these stories published were he alive today, but I’m sure this line of thought will only lead to specious reasoning. The weaker stories aren’t bad per se, but your time would be better spent re-reading his better stories like 2BRO2B.

If there’s one thing Kurt Vonnegut taught us, it’s that if we’re confronted with grave atrocities, it’s fine to let your heart bleed a little. Moreso, it’s human.

--Review by Corey Pung, author of The Madness of Art: Short Stories and A Rapturous Occasion

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine collection of posthumous writings, themed around Kurt's wartime experiences in Dresden. There are some truly essential stories here, among them 'Just You & Me, Sammy' and the wonderfully crafty 'The Commandant's Desk.'

[Mina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my introduction to Vonnegut. I think I fell in love with his writing.

[fatima h · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this so long ago and forgot to update but this is classic Mr. Vonnegut esque. Id recommend to anyone who wants to know what he’s all about! The part with the three soldiers and the recipes was so funny

[reem · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing collection of essays on war and peace by the ever intelligent ever witty Vonnegut. I liked them well enough to give the entire book 3 stars but did I think it was his best work? Probably not. I never usually give him a lot of stars because his writing always seems lacking to me despite his unabashed brilliance. Though there's something curious about the way he tells a story that lures me back in, always, and I've yet to go a year without reading a Kurt Vonnegut book.

[Angharad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Varied quality of stories, with some being really moving, others dreary and all well written.

[John Stepper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. So many unpublished gems! 💎 The combination of fiction and non-fiction pieces, including the introduction by his eldest son, are well worth the read.

[Iulia Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Retrospectivă asupra Armaghedonului” este o colecție de 12 povestiri, un prim volum postum, de ficțiune amestecată cu realitate, cu o introducere de Mark Vonnegut, fiul lui Kurt Vonnegut Jr. În această introducere, Mark Vonnegut mi-a dăruit o perspectivă caldă și familiară asupra tatălui său, un scriitor care a reușit performanța să mă facă să râd și să plâng în același timp, în repetate rânduri.

Mi-e drag Kurt Vonnegut Jr., așa că nu pot fi decât subiectivă. Mi-e drag pentru mintea lui plină de absurdități și fenomene dubioase – cum e „infundibulul cronosinclastic”, și de concluzii frumoase, precum aceea că scopul unei vieți omenești, indiferent cine ar controla-o, ar fi să iubească tot ce-i de iubit în jurul său (ca în „Sirenele de pe Titan”) sau pentru felul său delicat și amuzant de a-ți spune cele mai dureroase adevăruri despre oameni, despre viață, despre moarte (ca în „Abatorul cinci”).

Încă din primele pagini, vei citi scrisoarea tânărului soldat Kurt Vonnegut Jr., care își anunța familia, prin mai 1945, că nu e „dispărut în misiune”, după cum se credea. Luat prizonier de război, alături de divizia 106 din care făcea parte (și care a primit o „mențiune prezidențială și o decorație britanică de la Montgomerry” – despre care aflăm imediat ce părere are soldatul), Kurt Vonnegut Jr. a supraviețuit unui transport chinuitor cu trenul de la Limberg, fără mâncare, fără apă, fără toalete, câte 60 de oameni într-un vagon. A supraviețuit bombardamentului britanic asupra trenului, deși alți circa 150 de oameni au murit. A supraviețuit și șocurilor de la dușuri – după zece zile în care au răbdat foame, frig și sete, deși alții nu fost la fel de norocoși.

După aproape o lună de chin, pe 10 ianuarie 1945, soldatul K. Vonnegut Jr., alături de alte 150 de „ființe mărunte”, a ajuns într-un lagăr de muncă din Dresda. Experiența de acolo, din „poate cel mai frumos oraș din lume”, l-a marcat pe viață. Povestirile acestea sunt, fiecare în felul ei, câte un strigăt de revoltă și de neputință, câte o ridicare din umeri, câte o resemnare în fața inevitabilului, câte-un zâmbet ștrengar când nimic altceva nu-ți rămâne de făcut.

Sunt cele mai bune texte ale lui? Nu. „Abatorul cinci” e tot ceea ce „Retrospectivă asupra Armaghedonului” este, însă ridicat la rang de artă și înmulțit cu 50. Dacă nu-ți ajunge abatorul, retrospectiva aceasta e un memento (mori) binevenit. Există un motiv pentru care nu le-a publicat de-a lungul vieții, bănuiesc. Dacă nu ți-e familiar stilul lui direct și caustic, într-o ciudată armonie cu tonul cald și amuza(n)t, nu știu care e impactul, nu-mi dau seama.

Mi-e drag volumul pentru că îi simți vocea din plin. Începând de la acea primă scrisoare după Dresda, până la acel ultim discurs pe care l-a scris, înainte de a muri, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. și-a păstrat franchețea, capacitatea de a privi realitatea în față, simțul umorului, autenticitatea și o forță vitală de care, probabil, era și el conștient.

„Dar eu am scăpat”.

[Vishal · Rating 4 out of 5]

'War, huh yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, oh hoh, oh
War huh yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, say it again y'all
War, huh good God
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, listen to me'

Thank God we had guys like Kurt Vonnegut who were……INFINITELY more articulate and profound about war.

Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of 12 writings published on the anniversary of Vonnegut’s death, and they are mainly centered around and stem from his experiences as a POW in WWII. They also include his last speech in public, where he warns about the perils of mankind’s tendency to think narrowly and make sweeping generalizations.

Through his eyes, we see different ramifications and angles of war, from victims of direct fire to enemy spies, to other collateral innocents. The consequences of war manifest themselves even in the most innocuous things, particularly in the story Spoils where a soldier’s desire to loot a war memento to back home ends in heartbreak for a little boy. It’s the kind of story that makes you want to go home and hug your child or your pet or whoever. Vonnegut can cut you in half as easily as he can have you chuckling at his dry humour.

There’s no doubt that he witnessed a lot of horrors on the war front (of which a vivid account is given in an actual letter home to his parents), yet despite this - in this most unlikely of scenarios - he still manages to reminds us of the presence of humanity. Take this for example:

'A corporal, who had lost an eye after two years on the Russian front, ascertained before we marched that his wife, his two children, and both of his parents had been killed. He had one cigarette. He shared it with me'.

In the space of three sentences, we have all one needs to know about the inevitable adversity of war, but also the potential of the human spirit to retain its grace in the face of this evil.

Not all the writings are war themed - and not all are strictly serious - but all come with forebodings about human civilization; not least Unknown Soldier, a highly symbolic piece about the premature death of the Millennial age, and the takeover of mass media as the world’s new, highly flawed barometer of what matters to the human race:

‘If television refuses to look at something, it is as though it never happened’.


Ultimately, in Vonnegut we remember – and this is why I guess a lot of us love reading him – the beauty of possessing an all too rare gift in this world: conscience.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remembered Vonnegut being funny and clever. I didn't remember his satires being so humanitarian and dare I say sweet? Very few other people show such clear vision of their societies' absurdities, and even fewer can use humor to make such vision bearable for so many readers. Perhaps it's because these stories draw from his wartime experiences, and who (now) could see the bombing of Dresden, for example, as anything but ludicrous?

This book starts with the last speech he'd written; if nothing else, go find and ready that. It is bizarre, extremely imaginative, heartfelt, and oddly shaped. Like much of the best satire, it feels breezy and off the cuff, but as the introduction by Vonnegut's son reminds us, writing which seems that way is almost always deceptive, hard-earned, much-revised.

Perhaps some of the stories seem repetitive toward the last third. That kind of organizational flaw is basically to be expected with a posthumous collection of unpublished writings.

My burning question is something else: how is it possible that so many people (almost entirely young men) who call themselves Vonnegut fans come off as arrogant, phony, entitled jerks? I suppose it's possible to love these characters for their bravado and cutting lines without getting it. Sadly, it has become one of my online dating rules: beware mentions of Vonnegut and Ayn Rand. Especially Ayn Rand.