Vonnegut was a humanist; he served as Honorary President of the American Humanist Association, having replaced Isaac Asimov in what Vonnegut called "that totally functionless capacity". He was deeply influenced by early socialist labor leaders, especially Indiana natives Powers Hapgood and Eugene V. Debs, and he frequently quotes them in his work. He named characters after both Debs (Eugene Debs Hartke in Hocus Pocus) and Russian Communist leader Leon Trotsky (Leon Trotsky Trout in Galapagos). He was a lifetime member of the American Civil Liberties Union, and was featured in a print advertisement for them.
an incredibly interesting man. I need to go out and re-read some of his work, it's been too long. Loved his cameo in the movie "Back to School" with Rodney Dangerfield.
I had finished Slaughterhouse 5 a couple of months ago, and was interested if people had any recommendations on which of his books to next read.
I recommend moving onto Cat's Cradle or Breakfast of Champions. I loved most of his books. They were great satire coupled with a bunch of ridiculousness. . . loved it. There goes a great modern novelist.
Kurt Vonnegut dead.
