Kurt Vonnegut was arguably the greatist satirist of our time; able to couch his point in a form that was palatable to a wide variety of people without compromising the punch.

He was born on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana, studied biochemistry briefly at Cornell University, leaving as so many did to serve in World War II. The suicide of his mother during the war and his experiences as a prisoner-of -war during the infamous bombing of Dresden, made him no stranger to the darker side of life. He tried corporate life, working for GE in Schenectady, NY after the war and  became a published novelist with the release of his first book, Player Piano, in 1952. He was married twice,  and had seven children through birth and adoption. His second wife, photographer Jill Krementz,  took the famous jacket photo of Kurt sleeping on the couch with the cat on his chest.  Kurt Vonnegut Jr. passed away on April 11, 2007 from a brain injury that was  a consequence of a recent fall. He was 84 years old, but sharp and interesting to the last. His frank honesty will be missed.

It is easy to understand how his devotees feel that they know him personally from his writings. He regularly integrated themes and characters from previous novels into the current ones, and made cameo appearances himself to speed up the acquaintance. When Kilgore Trout, (Vonnegut's science fiction writer) appears in a book, it is as close to the author's voice as it gets.  I don't feel at all odd projecting that he would have been amused to find that his obituary on CNN shared the limelight with the man whose voice brought Babe the pig to the silver screen, and if I close my eyes, I can envision him drawing  a picture similar to the cow he drew in Breakfast of Champions. Those also devoted to his writing will recognize the phrase "and so it goes.." from the title of this guide as a particular segue he used in Slaughterhouse Five to leave-off talking about death. If you haven't read his books- do, if you have..."and so it goes."

Novels in chronological order, with first edition publisher:

Player Piano (1952) Delacorte Press hardcover
    Issued under title Utopia 14 (1954) Bantam Books paperback
The Sirens of Titan (1959) Dell paperback
Mother Night (1962) Fawcett Gold Medal paperback
Cat's Cradle (1963) Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston hardcover
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or Pearls Before Swine (1965)        
    Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston hardcover
Slaughterhouse Five (1969) Delacorte Press hardcover
Between Time and Timbuktu or Prometheus-5 (1972) Delacorte        
    Press hardcover
Breakfast of Champions(1973) Delacorte Press hardcover
Slapstick(1976) Delacorte Press hardcover
     Issued under Slapstick or Lonesome No More (1976) Panther    
            (Grenada)  paperback
Jailbird (1979) Delacorte Press hardcover
Dead-Eye Dick (1982) Delacorte Press hardcover
Galapagos (1985) Delacorte Press hardcover
Bluebeard (1987) Delacorte Press hardcover
Hocus Pocus (1990) Delacorte Press hardcover
     Also Issued under Hocus Pocus or What's The Hurry Son?    
    (1990)   Book-of-the-Month Club hardcover
Timequake (1997) Putnam hardcover

Play:
Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1973)

Books of Shortstories:
Cat In A Canary House (1961) Fawcett Crest paperback
Welcome To The Monkey House (1968) Delacorte Press    
    hardcover
Bagombo Snuff House (1999)

Nonfiction:

Wampeters, Foma, and Granfaloons (1974) Delacorte Press    
            hardcover
Palm Sunday (1981) Delacorte Press hardcover
Nothing Is Lost, Save Honor (1985) Nouveau Press hardcover
Fates Worse Than Death (1991) Easton Press hardcover G.P.    
            Putnam's Sons hardcover

Too many essays and short stories to list in this short guide.