About the Slaughterhouse-Five 50th Anniversary Edition Hardcover Novel

A special fiftieth anniversary edition of Kurt Vonnegut's masterpiece, "a desperate, painfully honest attempt to confront the monstrous crimes of the twentieth century" (Time), featuring a new introduction by Kevin Powers, author of The Yellow Birds


Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world's great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous World War II firebombing of Dresden, the novel is the result of what Vonnegut describes as a twenty-three year struggle to write a book about what he himself witnessed as an American POW. It combines science fiction, autobiography, historical fiction, and satire in an account of the life of Billy Pilgrim. Billy, like Vonnegut, experiences the destruction of Dresden, and, as with Vonnegut, it is the defining moment of his life. Unlike the author, he also experiences time travel or coming "unstuck in time." Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we fear most. Fifty years after its publication at the height of the Vietnam War, Vonnegut's portrayal of political disillusionment, societal interrogation, distrust of government, PTSD, and postwar anxieties feel as relevant, darkly humorous, and profoundly affecting as ever.