And So it Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life

In 2006, Charles Shields reached out to Kurt Vonnegut in a letter asking for his endorsement for a planned biography. The first response was no ("A most respectful demurring by me for the excellent writer Charles J. Shields, who offered to be my biographer"). Unwilling to take no for an answer, propelled by a passion for his subject, and already deep into his research, Shields wrote again and this time, to his delight, the answer came back: "O.K." For the next year - a year that ended up being Vonnegut's last - Shields had unprecedented access to Vonnegut and his letters. While millions know Vonnegut as a counterculture guru, anti-war activist, and satirist of American culture, few outside his closest friends and family knew the full arc of his extraordinary life. "And So It Goes" changes that, painting the portrait of a man who made friends easily but always felt lonely, sold millions of books but never felt appreciated, and described himself as a humanist but fought with humanity at large. As a former public relations man, Vonnegut crafted his image carefully - the avuncular, curly-haired humourist - though he admitted, "I myself am a work of fiction." The extremely wide and overwhelmingly positive review coverage for "And So It Goes" has been nothing less than extraordinary and confirm it as the definitive biography of Kurt Vonnegut.