Two friends return home from the Korean War to find their world—and themselves—irrevocably altered in this novel hailed by Kurt Vonnegut as "gruesomely accurate and enchanting" and "wildly sexy"Willard "Sonny" Burns and Tom "Gunner" Casselman, Korean War vets and former classmates, reunite on the train ride home to Indianapolis. Despite their shared history, the two young men could not be more different: Sonny had been an introverted, bookish student, whereas Gunner...

Best known as one of our most astonishing and enduring contemporary novelists, Kurt Vonnegut was also a celebrated commencement address giver. He himself never graduated college, so his words to any class of graduating seniors always carried the delight, and gentle irony, of someone savoring an achievement he himself had not had occasion to savor on his own behalf.Selected and introduced by fellow novelist and friend Dan Wakefield, the speeches in If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?

A collection of commencement speeches and other wit and wisdom from the New York Times–bestselling literary icon and author of Slaughterhouse-Five.Master storyteller and satirist Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most in-demand commencement speakers of his time. For each occasion, Vonnegut’s words were unfailingly insightful and witty, and they stayed with audience members long after graduation.This expanded third edition also includes more tha...

"Neville's observations on inner and outer worlds deserve a large readership." —Studies in Short Fiction"Blending fictional and reportorial technique, Ms. Neville unwinds a tapestry of the Indiana seasons . . . in scene after remarkable scene she succeeds in disturbing and undermining one's calm. . . . moving . . . " —Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times" . . . shrewedly perceptive studies of the poetics of place . . . Neville pierces the heart of this 'heart of th...

The rhythms of jazz and beat poetry punctuate this sweeping, firsthand account of New York City's 1950s literary scene from the Bowery to Spanish HarlemNational bestselling author Dan Wakefield first came to New York City in 1952 with the intention of receiving a proper literary education on the ivied campus of Columbia University. An equally enlightening experience, he quickly found, was hiding in the smoky bars and cafés of Greenwich Village frequented by the most...

The comic national bestseller of love and loss set amid the sexual revolution of the 1970sWhen Phil Potter decides to divorce his wife, Jessica, after a few difficult years, he imagines he's in for a wild jaunt through the sexually liberated 1970s. But his new start—Phil has also left behind his job in PR for a teaching gig at a junior college—is more solitary drinking and TV dinners than raucous orgies. Even the women he does manage to connect with are equally disa...

Come awake to a more creative life—by realizing clarity of mind, body and spirit.Creativity is basic to the very fiber of our being, and not—as many suspect—solely the privilege of a gifted few. When we silence the voice of creativity that lives within us, we confine our spirit. Award-winning author Dan Wakefield helps us to examine our reasons for not creating—debunking the myths—and shows us the path to a fulfilling, creative life.Drawing on examples from...

A slacker hero embarks on a rollicking cross-country journey of love-ins and acid trips in this rich portrait of the 1960sWhen his foxy professor/girlfriend kicks him out of her apartment, perennial college student Gene Barrett sets off on a road trip in search of a place he can call home. He ventures from Boston to Maine to Iowa City, ultimately making his way to the "last resort" of California's Venice Beach. Experimenting with LSD, hash, and heroin, and encounter...

A moving tale of young love, family values, and growing up during wartime from bestselling author Dan WakefieldAt the height of World War II, Artie Garber turns eleven years old in his hometown of Birney, Illinois. When his older brother, Roy, joins the US Marines, Artie is left to defend the home front—as well as Roy's high school sweetheart, Shirley. Without the guidance of his beloved big brother, Artie resorts to reading advice in Collier's on how to id...

Even an East Coast academic can't resist Hollywood's siren allure in this hilarious novel of the dangers that come with fame and fortuneLiterature professor Perry Moss has slowly amassed it all: a steady job at Haviland College in southern Vermont, a successful writing career, and a beautiful wife, Jane. But everything changes when a television exec contacts Perry about turning one of his short stories into a network series, and he and Jane leave the comforts of th...

Spirituality is full of rules. You need to find your own way straight through them.Will tattoos and convertibles keep you from finding "true" spiritual fulfillment?Some people claim that you cannot truly achieve spiritual fulfillment if you’re not a vegetarian. Some say you’ll never find the path if you don’t learn yoga. And some would insist that any display of vanity—cosmetic surgery! hair mousse!—is a sign that inner peace is way out of your reach.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYNewsweek/The Daily Beast • The Huffington Post • Kansas City Star • Time Out New York • Kirkus ReviewsThis extraordinary collection of personal correspondence has all the hallmarks of Kurt Vonnegut’s fiction. Written over a sixty-year period, these letters, the vast majority of them never before published, are funny, moving, and full of the same uncanny wisdom that has endeared his ...