“Like his literary ancestor Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut’s crankiness is good-humored and sharp-witted.”
—A.O. Scott in The New York Times Book Review

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 unique, insightful, and witty, and they stayed with audience members long after graduation.

This expanded second edition includes more than sixty pages of further thoughts from Kurt (whose good advice wasn’t limited to graduation speeches).

As edited by Dan Wakefield, this book reads like a narrative in the unique voice that made Vonnegut a hero to readers of all ages. At times hilarious, razor-sharp, freewheeling, and deeply serious, these reflections are ideal for anyone undergoing what Vonnegut would call their “long-delayed puberty ceremony”—marking the passage from student to full-time adult.

This book makes the perfect gift for people on the precipice of change/growth—from high school students to college graduates—or for anyone who will appreciate Vonnegut’s playful, profound wisdom.