He was "a satirist with a heart, a moralist with a whoopee cushion," according to the New York Times. Kurt Vonnegut wrote with rueful humor on many subjects, but often on war and peace, and here his son Mark collects a dozen previously unpublished pieces written throughout his life. Among the gems is a spare yet visceral wartime letter home assuring his family that he has not been killed: "On about February 14th the Americans came over, followed by the R.A.F. Their combined labors killed 250,000 people in 24 hours and destroyed all of Dresden—possibly the world's most beautiful city. But not me." Here too are Vonnegut's last speech, and several of his drawings.