And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life

An incisive, gossipy page-turner of a biography. -Janet Maslin, The New York Times

An engaging, surprising and empathetic page-turner -- Deirdre Donahue, USA Today

The first truly exacting look into the life of a man who has fascinated so many. -- Esquire Magazine

Engaging and well paced, the book fills in the reality behind Vonnegut's work --Christen Aragoni, The American Prospect

This first authorized biography probes both Vonnegut's creative struggles and family life, detailing his transition from 'the bowery of the book world' to counterculture icon. Shields delivers a vivid recreation of Vonnegut's ghastly WWII experiences as a POW during the Dresden firebombing that became the basis for Slaughterhouse-Five. . . . Tragedies and triumphs are contrasted throughout, along with an adroit literary analysis that highlights obscure or overlooked influences on Vonnegut. . . . With access to more than 1,500 letters, Shields conducted hundreds of interviews to produce this engrossing, definitive biography. -- PW, Starred Review

This book fills a much-needed gap, since very little seems to be known about the late Kurt Vonnegut, despite his immense popularity over almost five decades. Shields did a thorough job, interviewing Vonnegut and his friends and family, and examining many letters. Vonnegut was one of the most influential authors of the late twentieth century, and this biography is essential reading. --Anis Shivani, Huffington Post

Provide[s] a definitive and disturbing account of the late author, whose ambition and talent transformed him from an obscure science fiction writer to a countercultural icon. --Steve Almond, The Boston Globe

[A] thorough and excellent new biography. - Tim Gebhart, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The richest portrait of Vonnegut to date. --Craig Fehrman, Indianapolis Monthly

[A] balanced, well-researched study of a flawed yet powerfully imaginative artist. --Ariel Gonzalez, Miami Herald Tribune

A triumphant biography: scrupulously researched and powerfully written, compassionate, clear-eyed and compelling. Charles J. Shields manages a rare feat: offering a lucid assessment of Kurt Vonnegut's literary life alongside the moving tale of an American original and a misunderstood hero. From his harrowing survival of the Dresden firebombing through forty years of culture clashes and domestic battles, here is the Vonnegut we all thought we knew and the man we never got to see, a writer of searing wit and wisdom, of driving ambition, and perhaps most of all, of aching loneliness. --Jess Walker, author of The Financial Lives of the Poets and Citizen Vince

Vonnegut's life was a fascinating tragicomedy worthy of his best novels, and I can hardly imagine a better teller of that tale than Shields. A superbly researched and above all very entertaining biography. --Blake Bailey, author of Cheever: A Life

And So It Goes will entrance lovers of Kurt Vonnegut's fiction. With the blessing of Vonnegut himself and help from scores of Vonnegut's friends, relations, and acquaintances, Charles J. Shields gives us a distinguished, fearless, page-turner of a biography.--Carol Sklenicka, author of Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life

Vonnegut once said that he kept losing and regaining his equilibrium, and Shields dexterously captures the ups and downs of Vonnegut's life and work in this definitive biography. --Henry L. Carrigan, Bookpage

An incisive, gossipy page-turner of a biography. Janet Maslin, The New York Times

An engaging, surprising and empathetic page-turner Deirdre Donahue, USA Today

The first truly exacting look into the life of a man who has fascinated so many. Esquire Magazine

Engaging and well paced, the book fills in the reality behind Vonnegut's work Christen Aragoni, The American Prospect

This first authorized biography probes both Vonnegut's creative struggles and family life, detailing his transition from the bowery of the book world' to counterculture icon. Shields delivers a vivid recreation of Vonnegut's ghastly WWII experiences as a POW during the Dresden firebombing that became the basis for Slaughterhouse-Five. . . . Tragedies and triumphs are contrasted throughout, along with an adroit literary analysis that highlights obscure or overlooked influences on Vonnegut. . . . With access to more than 1,500 letters, Shields conducted hundreds of interviews to produce this engrossing, definitive biography. PW, Starred Review

This book fills a much-needed gap, since very little seems to be known about the late Kurt Vonnegut, despite his immense popularity over almost five decades. Shields did a thorough job, interviewing Vonnegut and his friends and family, and examining many letters. Vonnegut was one of the most influential authors of the late twentieth century, and this biography is essential reading. Anis Shivani, Huffington Post

Provide[s] a definitive and disturbing account of the late author, whose ambition and talent transformed him from an obscure science fiction writer to a countercultural icon. Steve Almond, The Boston Globe

[A] thorough and excellent new biography. Tim Gebhart, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The richest portrait of Vonnegut to date. Craig Fehrman, Indianapolis Monthly

[A] balanced, well-researched study of a flawed yet powerfully imaginative artist. Ariel Gonzalez, Miami Herald Tribune

A triumphant biography: scrupulously researched and powerfully written, compassionate, clear-eyed and compelling. Charles J. Shields manages a rare feat: offering a lucid assessment of Kurt Vonnegut's literary life alongside the moving tale of an American original and a misunderstood hero. From his harrowing survival of the Dresden firebombing through forty years of culture clashes and domestic battles, here is the Vonnegut we all thought we knew and the man we never got to see, a writer of searing wit and wisdom, of driving ambition, and perhaps most of all, of aching loneliness. Jess Walker, author of The Financial Lives of the Poets and Citizen Vince

Vonnegut's life was a fascinating tragicomedy worthy of his best novels, and I can hardly imagine a better teller of that tale than Shields. A superbly researched and above all very entertaining biography. Blake Bailey, author of Cheever: A Life

And So It Goes will entrance lovers of Kurt Vonnegut's fiction. With the blessing of Vonnegut himself and help from scores of Vonnegut's friends, relations, and acquaintances, Charles J. Shields gives us a distinguished, fearless, page-turner of a biography. Carol Sklenicka, author of Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life

Vonnegut once said that he kept losing and regaining his equilibrium, and Shields dexterously captures the ups and downs of Vonnegut's life and work in this definitive biography. Henry L. Carrigan, Bookpage

An incisive, gossipy page-turner of a biography. Janet Maslin, The New York Times

An engaging, surprising and empathetic page-turner Deirdre Donahue, USA Today

The first truly exacting look into the life of a man who has fascinated so many. Esquire Magazine

Engaging and well paced, the book fills in the reality behind Vonnegut's work Christen Aragoni, The American Prospect

This first authorized biography probes both Vonnegut's creative struggles and family life, detailing his transition from the bowery of the book world' to counterculture icon. Shields delivers a vivid recreation of Vonnegut's ghastly WWII experiences as a POW during the Dresden firebombing that became the basis for Slaughterhouse-Five. . . . Tragedies and triumphs are contrasted throughout, along with an adroit literary analysis that highlights obscure or overlooked influences on Vonnegut. . . . With access to more than 1,500 letters, Shields conducted hundreds of interviews to produce this engrossing, definitive biography. PW, Starred Review

This book fills a much-needed gap, since very little seems to be known about the late Kurt Vonnegut, despite his immense popularity over almost five decades. Shields did a thorough job, interviewing Vonnegut and his friends and family, and examining many letters. Vonnegut was one of the most influential authors of the late twentieth century, and this biography is essential reading. Anis Shivani, Huffington Post

Provide[s] a definitive and disturbing account of the late author, whose ambition and talent transformed him from an obscure science fiction writer to a countercultural icon. Steve Almond, The Boston Globe

[A] thorough and excellent new biography. Tim Gebhart, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The richest portrait of Vonnegut to date. Craig Fehrman, Indianapolis Monthly

[A] balanced, well-researched study of a flawed yet powerfully imaginative artist. Ariel Gonzalez, Miami Herald Tribune

A triumphant biography: scrupulously researched and powerfully written, compassionate, clear-eyed and compelling. Charles J. Shields manages a rare feat: offering a lucid assessment of Kurt Vonnegut's literary life alongside the moving tale of an American original and a misunderstood hero. From his harrowing survival of the Dresden firebombing through forty years of culture clashes and domestic battles, here is the Vonnegut we all thought we knew and the man we never got to see, a writer of searing wit and wisdom, of driving ambition, and perhaps most of all, of aching loneliness. Jess Walker, author of The Financial Lives of the Poets and Citizen Vince

Vonnegut's life was a fascinating tragicomedy worthy of his best novels, and I can hardly imagine a better teller of that tale than Shields. A superbly researched and above all very entertaining biography. Blake Bailey, author of Cheever: A Life

And So It Goes will entrance lovers of Kurt Vonnegut's fiction. With the blessing of Vonnegut himself and help from scores of Vonnegut's friends, relations, and acquaintances, Charles J. Shields gives us a distinguished, fearless, page-turner of a biography. Carol Sklenicka, author of Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life

Vonnegut once said that he kept losing and regaining his equilibrium, and Shields dexterously captures the ups and downs of Vonnegut's life and work in this definitive biography. Henry L. Carrigan, Bookpage

An incisive, gossipy page-turner of a biography. --Janet Maslin, The New York Times

An engaging, surprising and empathetic page-turner --Deirdre Donahue, USA Today

The first truly exacting look into the life of a man who has fascinated so many. --Esquire Magazine

Engaging and well paced, the book fills in the reality behind Vonnegut's work --Christen Aragoni, The American Prospect

This first authorized biography probes both Vonnegut's creative struggles and family life, detailing his transition from 'the bowery of the book world' to counterculture icon. Shields delivers a vivid recreation of Vonnegut's ghastly WWII experiences as a POW during the Dresden firebombing that became the basis for Slaughterhouse-Five. . . . Tragedies and triumphs are contrasted throughout, along with an adroit literary analysis that highlights obscure or overlooked influences on Vonnegut. . . . With access to more than 1,500 letters, Shields conducted hundreds of interviews to produce this engrossing, definitive biography. --PW, Starred Review

This book fills a much-needed gap, since very little seems to be known about the late Kurt Vonnegut, despite his immense popularity over almost five decades. Shields did a thorough job, interviewing Vonnegut and his friends and family, and examining many letters. Vonnegut was one of the most influential authors of the late twentieth century, and this biography is essential reading. --Anis Shivani, Huffington Post

Provide[s] a definitive and disturbing account of the late author, whose ambition and talent transformed him from an obscure science fiction writer to a countercultural icon. --Steve Almond, The Boston Globe

[A] thorough and excellent new biography. --Tim Gebhart, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The richest portrait of Vonnegut to date. --Craig Fehrman, Indianapolis Monthly

[A] balanced, well-researched study of a flawed yet powerfully imaginative artist. --Ariel Gonzalez, Miami Herald Tribune

A triumphant biography: scrupulously researched and powerfully written, compassionate, clear-eyed and compelling. Charles J. Shields manages a rare feat: offering a lucid assessment of Kurt Vonnegut's literary life alongside the moving tale of an American original and a misunderstood hero. From his harrowing survival of the Dresden firebombing through forty years of culture clashes and domestic battles, here is the Vonnegut we all thought we knew and the man we never got to see, a writer of searing wit and wisdom, of driving ambition, and perhaps most of all, of aching loneliness. --Jess Walker, author of The Financial Lives of the Poets and Citizen Vince

Vonnegut's life was a fascinating tragicomedy worthy of his best novels, and I can hardly imagine a better teller of that tale than Shields. A superbly researched and above all very entertaining biography. --Blake Bailey, author of Cheever: A Life

And So It Goes will entrance lovers of Kurt Vonnegut's fiction. With the blessing of Vonnegut himself and help from scores of Vonnegut's friends, relations, and acquaintances, Charles J. Shields gives us a distinguished, fearless, page-turner of a biography. --Carol Sklenicka, author of Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life

Vonnegut once said that he kept losing and regaining his equilibrium, and Shields dexterously captures the ups and downs of Vonnegut's life and work in this definitive biography. --Henry L. Carrigan, Bookpage

CHARLES J. SHIELDS is the author of And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life, Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, and I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers). He grew up in the Midwest and taught in a rural school in central Illinois for several years. He has been a reporter for public radio, a journalist, and the author of nonfiction books for young people. He and his wife live near Charlottesville, Virginia.