Introduction: Flabbergasted; T.Davis PART I: VONNEGUT'S LITERATURE 'No damn cat, and no damn cradle' : The Fundamental Flaws in Fundamentalism According to Vonnegut; P.L.Thomas Mother Night; P.Tew The Journey Home in Kurt Vonnegut's World War II Novels; E.Abele 'God damn it, you've got to be kind': War and Altruism in the Works of Kurt Vonnegut; R.McCoppin Resilience, Time and the Ability of Humor to Salvage any Situation: Bagombo Snuff Box; J.Lingel Apocalypse in the Optative Mood: Galápagos , or, Starting Over; R.Tally Art, Sentiment, and Vonnegut's Women; S.E.Farrell God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut: Tall Tales for the Final Years; M.Hemmingson PART II: OTHER WRITERS AND VONNEGUT Vonnegut and Hemmingway; L.Broer Reassessing Vonnegut and His Position in the Countercultural Canon; D.Simmons Vonnegut's Satire and Contemporary British Writers: Jonathan Coe, Will Self; N.Allen Vonnegut and Contemporary Apocalyptic Fiction; C.Glover

Kurt Vonnegut's darkly comic work became a symbol for the counterculture of a generation. From his debut novel, Player Piano (1951) through seminal 1960's novels such as Cat's Cradle (1963) and Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) up to the recent success of A Man Without A Country (2005), Vonnegut's writing has remained commercially popular, offering a satirical yet optimistic outlook on modern life. Though many fellow writers admired Vonnegut - Gore Vidal famously suggesting that "Kurt was never dull" - the academic establishment has tended to retain a degree of scepticism concerning the validity of his work. This dynamic collection aims to re-evaluate Vonnegut's position as an integral part of the American post-war cannon of literature.

David Simmons is Senior Lecturer in English and Screen Studies at the University of Northampton, UK.