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Editorial Review:

Amazon.com Review:
The first and only collection of unpublished works by Kurt Vonnegut since his death--a fitting tribute to the author, and an essential contribution to the discussion of war, peace, and humanity's tendency toward violence.

Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of twelve new and unpublished writings on war and peace. Imbued with Vonnegut's trademark rueful humor, the pieces range from a visceral nonfiction recollection of the destruction of Dresden during World War II--an essay that is as timely today as it was then--to a painfully funny short story about three Army privates and their fantasies of the perfect first meal upon returning home from war, to a darker, more poignant story about the impossibility of shielding our children from the temptations of violence. Also included are Vonnegut's last speech as well as an assortment of his artwork, and an introduction by the author's son, Mark Vonnegut. Armageddon in Retrospect says as much about the times in which we live as it does about the genius of the writer.

Read an Unreleased Kurt Vonnegut Story, "Guns Before Butter"

"Guns Before Butter," Kurt Vonnegut's story of hungry GIs held as prisoner of war in World War II in Dresden (a site of Vonnegut's best-known novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, and his own wartime imprisonment), was unpublished until its inclusion in Armageddon in Retrospect. Read the complete story here.

Kurt Vonnegut Sketchbook

Click through on the images below to see samples of the artwork included in Armageddon in Retrospect:

Product Description:
The New York Times bestseller—a “gripping” posthumous collection of previously unpublished work by Kurt Vonnegut on the subject of war.

A fitting tribute to a literary legend and a profoundly humane humorist, Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of twelve previously unpublished writings on war and peace. 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.

Average Rating:

Rating: - Interesting Insight into Vonnegut's Mind
Understandably, Vonnegut is highly anti-war/violence. He provides interesting points through his metaphorical stories. Vonnegut throws in several emotions, varying from humor to depression, most of which the stories are individually tailored to. Overall these were excellent stories and very thought provoking. I give 4 stars because the stories all seemed to offer the same repetitive message at the end of each, though individually most were simply wonderful.

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Rating: - Beating a dead horse
Let me start off by saying that I am a huge Kurt Vonnegut fan.
However, this posthumous volume leaves the reader wanting something more. I believe the reasons are twofold. First, this is not Vonnegut's best writing. Some of the short stories included are so trite in their style and theme that one hopes that they were novice pieces that Vonnegut wrote while he was maturing into the great writer he was. The second reason for this text's limited appeal is because all of the pieces deal with variations ... Read More

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Rating: - A Respectable Final Volume
This collection of previously unpublished works should provide satisfactory closure for Vonnegut fans and admirers. Fiction and nonfiction, dealing with war but more generally with violence and suffering, they are of great interest considering their author. The pieces vary in quality and in tone, from a grim description of the bombing of Dresden to the odd light humor of the title work. The introduction by the author's son is interesting, and the book is sprinkled with Vonnegut's own illustrations. I'd ... Read More

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Rating: - Setting Up The Fall, Vonnegut-style
Made In Hero: The War for Soap

Maybe some subjects are difficult to talk about without a dose of juvenile humor. Talk about honestly, anyway. For Kurt Vonnegut, one of those subjects was war. He seemed to feel that war was meaningless, although writing about it wasn't. His son Mark observed, "The reader's time and attention were sacred to him."

As a tribute to the legacy of Kurt Vonnegut, this volume of previously unpublished writings is bittersweet. It begins with Kurt's army repatriation ... Read More

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Rating: - Let's Be Honest
Okay I'm sure some people will be upset with this but this collection is good enough in the respect that it has a recurring theme and some of the stories toward the middle are actually very good. Otherwise this is a substandard collection from Kurt Vonnegut, the title story being almost unreadable (not usually a good place to pull your title from) and ultimately continues in the tradition of the frankly awful stuff Vonnegut put out toward the end of his life (Timequake anyone?). Overall I appreciate the posthumous collection ... Read More