The Twentieth Century Mastermind: Kurt Vonnegut

    Kurt Vonnegut is latest born author to make my Great American Authors List. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1922. He attended Cornell University for a short period but would leave to enlist in the Army during World War II. Captured at war, Vonnegut was sent to a POW camp in Dresden, Germany. The city was destroyed in 1945 by allied forces during the carpet bombings while Vonnegut was still there. Luckily, he was working in an underground meat locker and was one of the only people to survive.

    Some of his is best known works "Slaughterhouse Five" and "The Children's Crusade" were based on his experiences during the war. These books were released in the early 1970s at the height of the controversial Vietnam War. "Slaughterhouse Five" in particular had many anti-war tones and caused a great uproar with many people during this time. However, it became a cult classic at the time and caused many people to read Vonnegut's other works. Today it is seen as an insightful work on war and peace. 

    Vonnegut has been hailed by New York Times columnists as a "postmodern Mark Twain" and "a literary idol" while his works are known as "classics of the American counterculture".  Vonnegut's death in 2007 marks one of the last truly great American authors and begs the question "Who will be next?"