The Brothers Vonnegut: Science and Fiction of the House of Magic

by Ginger Strand Narrated by Sean Runnette

Overview

Worlds collide in this true story of weather control in the cold war era and the making of Kurt Vonnegut. In the mid-1950s, Kurt Vonnegut takes a job in the PR department at General Electric in Schenectady, where his older brother, Bernard, is a leading scientist in its research lab or House of Magic. Kurt has ambitions as a novelist, and Bernard is working on a series of cutting-edge weather-control experiments meant to make deserts bloom and farmers flourish. While Kurt writes zippy press releases, Bernard builds silver-iodide generators and attacks clouds with dry ice. His experiments attract the attention of the government; weather proved and decisive factor in World War II, and if the military can control the clouds, fog, and snow, they can fly more bombing missions. Maybe weather will even be - as a headline in America Magazine calls it. The New Super Weapon. But when the army takes charge of his cloudseeding project (dubbed Project Cirrus), Bernard begins to have misgivings about the use of his inventions for harm, not to mention the evidence that they are causing alarming changes in the atmosphere. In a fascinating cultural history, Ginger Strand chronicles the intersection of these brothers' lives at a time when the possibilities of science seemed infinite. As the Cold War looms, Bernards struggle for integrity plays out in Kurts evolving writing style. The Brothers Vonnegut reveals how science ability to influence the natural world also influenced one of out most incentive novelists.

Editorial Reviews

JANUARY 2016 - AudioFile

Most readers have heard of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., best known for his novel SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE. But few know even the name of his older brother, Bernard, a scientist who is credited with developing the process for using iodide crystals to seed clouds for rain. This work portrays both their lives in parallel chronologies. Sean Runnette delivers a solid, engaging narration. His conversational tone makes listening smooth and easy to follow. For example, when the author jumps abruptly from one brother to the other or even to a third person, Runnette pauses appropriately, allowing the listener to mentally make the shift. He sets off the few direct quotations with pauses, as well, again offering helpful aural cues. R.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Library Journal - Audio

01/01/2016
Strand (Killer on the Road) beautifully illustrates the lives of the Vonnegut brothers, Bernard and Kurt, and explores their contributions to their respective fields. During the firebombing of Dresden in World War II, while Kurt was hunkered down beneath a slaughterhouse (an experience upon which he later based Slaughterhouse-Five), his brother Bernard, a scientist, was testing out cloud seeding and ways of producing rain. The brothers led vastly different lives, but both worked for General Electric, which back then was lovingly referred to as the "house of magic." While there, Bernard experimented with weather control and Kurt reveled in all the fantastic things he saw and heard, many of which become the impetus for his later novels and short stories. Strand breaks down Bernard's science and Kurt's stories and produces a fascinating look at two different yet very similar brothers. VERDICT Compellingly narrated by Sean Runnette, this eye-opening read is perfect for both fans of science and of Kurt Vonnegut. ["The book is engaging owing to the author's rich characterization of historical persons, source material, and selective assemblage of events": LJ 9/1/15 review of the Farrar hc.]—Erin Cataldi, Johnson Cty. P.L., Franklin, IN

JANUARY 2016 - AudioFile

Most readers have heard of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., best known for his novel SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE. But few know even the name of his older brother, Bernard, a scientist who is credited with developing the process for using iodide crystals to seed clouds for rain. This work portrays both their lives in parallel chronologies. Sean Runnette delivers a solid, engaging narration. His conversational tone makes listening smooth and easy to follow. For example, when the author jumps abruptly from one brother to the other or even to a third person, Runnette pauses appropriately, allowing the listener to mentally make the shift. He sets off the few direct quotations with pauses, as well, again offering helpful aural cues. R.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170185122
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	11/17/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,110,615

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