
Vonnegut's War
The Making of Slaughterhouse-Five
Susan Farrell(Author)
Bloomsbury Academic (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 20. August 2026
Book
Hardback
280 pages
978-1-350-58000-8 (ISBN)
Description
Banned, burned, and censored, Kurt Vonnegut's 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five is widely regarded as one of the greatest (and most controversial) novels of the twentieth century. Fusing vivid biography with popular history and close textual analysis, Vonnegut's War tells the fascinating story of the making of a modern classic and the writer that created it.
New archival discoveries and recently released oral histories give us the fullest account yet published of Vonnegut's real-life prisoner-of-war experiences at Stalag IV-B and Dresden, which heavily influenced Slaughterhouse-Five. A recently discovered trove of letters introduces us to his first wife, Jane Cox Vonnegut, and her influence on his writing. Along the way, we also encounter UFOs and aliens, grapple with the shadow cast by the Vietnam war, and unearth the stranger-than-fiction tale of David Irving's The Destruction of Dresden, the historical reference behind Vonnegut's writing about the Dresden firebombing.
This book sheds light on one of America's most beloved writers and explores how cultural forces helped to shape a modern masterpiece of storytelling.
New archival discoveries and recently released oral histories give us the fullest account yet published of Vonnegut's real-life prisoner-of-war experiences at Stalag IV-B and Dresden, which heavily influenced Slaughterhouse-Five. A recently discovered trove of letters introduces us to his first wife, Jane Cox Vonnegut, and her influence on his writing. Along the way, we also encounter UFOs and aliens, grapple with the shadow cast by the Vietnam war, and unearth the stranger-than-fiction tale of David Irving's The Destruction of Dresden, the historical reference behind Vonnegut's writing about the Dresden firebombing.
This book sheds light on one of America's most beloved writers and explores how cultural forces helped to shape a modern masterpiece of storytelling.
Reviews / Votes
When Kurt Vonnegut was my teacher, and the first reader of my first novel, he was writing Slaughterhouse-Five. Susan Farrell perceptively illuminates Kurt's arduous rewriting of his POW experience as fiction; she also brings to light the enduring effect of this courageous novel on Vonnegut's literary reputation and the rest of his life. First my mentor, later my dear friend, Kurt's life and fiction were forever affected by the Allied bombing of Dresden, which Susan Farrell has admirably and comprehensively depicted. -- John Irving Susan Farrell writes with warmth and style. Her penetrating study of Kurt Vonnegut's life and work uncovers facets that freshly illuminate a much-read novel we thought we knew. With one keen insight after another, Farrell shows why Slaughterhouse-Five was a novel for its time, how it made its tumultuous, icon-smashing and self-questioning time, and why it remains a novel for our time. * Ken Kalfus * Farrell writes the defining historiography of SL5, answering the question,"How the hell did Vonnegut do that?" by sequencing its well archived drafts before contextualizing his narrative choices. And that's just the half of it. Farrell addresses SL5's principle defining discussions including its metafictional elements, the questioned morality of Dresden's bombing, its adoption as a valued tome among Vietnam protestors, Vonnegut's science fiction albatross, and the novel's importance in court history as a frequent target for censorship. * Marc Leeds, Author of The Vonnegut Encyclopedia, * This book is superb. It's a unique, fresh, deep dive into how Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut's seminal work, came about. It's also a damn good read: Concise, substantial, entertaining, surprising. * Suzanne McConnell, author of 'Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style' by Kurt Vonnegut and Suzanne McConnell * Farrell (Imagining Home), a literature professor at the College of Charleston, offers an arresting account of the creation and impact of Kurt Vonnegut's 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five...This is a tour de force of literary detective work. * Publishers Weekly *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Illustrations
13 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-58000-8 (9781350580008)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
approx. 08/2026
Bloomsbury Academic
€21.99
Available for download

E-Book
approx. 08/2026
Bloomsbury Academic
€21.99
Available for download
Person
Susan Farrell is a Professor of American Literature at the College of Charleston, USA. Susan has published two previous books on Vonnegut, founded the International Kurt Vonnegut Society in 2008 and has served as an officer in the organization ever since.
Content
Acknowledgements
Prologue
1. Indiana, 1922
2. Leaving Indy
3. War
4. Dresden
5. Going Home
6. Trying on Roles-Chicago and Schenectady
7. Becoming a Writer-Cape Cod and Iowa
8. The Strange Case of David Irving
9. Morality of the Bombing
10. Shaping the Story
11. Alien Abduction
12. The Vietnam Era
13. Success at Last
14. Censorship
15. The Novel's Influence
Epilogue: Flowers on Joe Crone's Grave
Prologue
1. Indiana, 1922
2. Leaving Indy
3. War
4. Dresden
5. Going Home
6. Trying on Roles-Chicago and Schenectady
7. Becoming a Writer-Cape Cod and Iowa
8. The Strange Case of David Irving
9. Morality of the Bombing
10. Shaping the Story
11. Alien Abduction
12. The Vietnam Era
13. Success at Last
14. Censorship
15. The Novel's Influence
Epilogue: Flowers on Joe Crone's Grave