The Writer’s Crusade
Kurt Vonnegut and the Many Lives of Slaughterhouse-Five
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Narrated by:
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Jim Frangione
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By:
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Tom Roston
About this listen
The story of Kurt Vonnegut and Slaughterhouse-Five, an enduring masterpiece on trauma and memory.
Kurt Vonnegut was 20 years old when he enlisted in the United States Army. Less than two years later, he was captured by the Germans in the single deadliest US engagement of the war, the Battle of the Bulge. He was taken to a POW camp, then transferred to a work camp near Dresden, and held in a slaughterhouse called Schlachthof Fünf where he survived the horrific firebombing that killed thousands and destroyed the city.
To the millions of fans of Vonnegut’s great novel Slaughterhouse-Five, these details are familiar. They’re told by the book’s author/narrator, and experienced by his enduring character Billy Pilgrim, a war veteran who “has come unstuck in time”. Writing during the tumultuous days of the Vietnam conflict, with the novel, Vonnegut had, after more than two decades of struggle, taken trauma and created a work of art, one that still resonates today.
In The Writer’s Crusade, author Tom Roston examines the connection between Vonnegut’s life and Slaughterhouse-Five through his work, his personal history, and discarded drafts of the novel, as well as original interviews with the writer’s family, friends, scholars, psychologists, and other novelists including Karl Marlantes, Kevin Powers, and Tim O’Brien. The Writer’s Crusade is a literary and biographical journey that probes fundamental questions about trauma, creativity, and the power of storytelling.
©2021 Tom Roston. Published in 2021 by Abrams Press, an imprint of ABRAMS, New York. All rights reserved (P)2021 by Blackstone PublishingListeners also enjoyed...
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Compiled by a veteran writer of the comic series, this collection of essays explores Batman’s motivations and actions, as well as those of his foes. Batman is a creature of the night, more about vengeance than justice, more plagued by doubts than full of self-assurance, and more darkness than light. He has no superpowers, just skill, drive, and a really well-made suit.
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batman uninformed opinions
- By Aurey C. on 04-13-17
By: Dennis O'Neil - editor, and others
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The Gift of Adversity
- The Unexpected Benefits of Life's Difficulties, Setbacks, and Imperfections
- By: Norman E. Rosenthal M.D.
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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The noted research psychiatrist explores how life's disappointments and difficulties provide us with the lessons we need to become better, bigger, and more resilient human beings. Adversity is an irreducible fact of life. Although we can and should learn from all experiences, both positive and negative best-selling author Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal believes that adversity is by far the best teacher most of us will ever encounter.
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Book ruined by the narrator
- By David C. on 12-07-22
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Super Soldiers
- A Salute to the Comic Book Heroes and Villains Who Fought for Their Country
- By: Jason Inman
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran and former host of All Access, DC Comics' web show, Jason Inman, discusses the influence war has had on some of the most memorable superheroes in comics.
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Not what I expected
- By dgm on 03-25-21
By: Jason Inman
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The Story You Need to Tell
- Writing to Heal from Trauma, Illness, or Loss
- By: Sandra Marinella, Christina Baldwin - foreword
- Narrated by: Allison Reilly
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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A practical and inspiring guide to transformational personal storytelling, The Story You Need to Tell is the product of Sandra Marinella’s pioneering work with veterans and cancer patients, her years of teaching writing, and her research into its profound healing properties. Riveting true stories illustrate Marinella’s methods for understanding, telling, and editing personal stories in ways that foster resilience and renewal. She also shares her own experience of using journaling and expressive writing to navigate challenges including breast cancer and postpartum depression.
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Get a physical copy
- By Aileen Hadaway on 01-23-20
By: Sandra Marinella, and others
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Parfit
- A Philosopher and His Mission to Save Morality
- By: David Edmonds
- Narrated by: Zeb Soanes
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Derek Parfit (1942–2017) is the most famous philosopher most people have never heard of. Widely regarded as one of the greatest moral thinkers of the past hundred years, Parfit was anything but a public intellectual. Yet his ideas have shaped the way philosophers think about things that affect us all: equality, altruism, what we owe to future generations, and even what it means to be a person. In Parfit, David Edmonds presents the first biography of an intriguing, obsessive, and eccentric genius.
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Loved it
- By Anna Karenina on 07-05-23
By: David Edmonds
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Looking for the Good War
- American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness
- By: Elizabeth D. Samet
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In Looking for the Good War, Elizabeth D. Samet reexamines the literature, art, and culture that emerged after World War II, bringing her expertise as a professor of English at West Point to bear on the complexity of the postwar period in national life. She exposes the confusion about American identity that was expressed during and immediately after the war, and the deep national ambivalence toward war, violence, and veterans - all of which were suppressed in subsequent decades by a dangerously sentimental attitude toward the United States' "exceptional" history and destiny.
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Essential reading for military officers and political decision makers.
- By Arlene S. Burke on 02-23-22
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Tony Hillerman
- A Life
- By: James McGrath Morris
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The author of 18 spellbinding detective novels set on the Navajo Nation, Tony Hillerman simultaneously transformed a traditional genre and unlocked the mysteries of the Navajo culture to an audience of millions. His best-selling novels added Navajo Tribal Police detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee to the pantheon of American fictional detectives.
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Well written biography of an American legend.
- By Kevin McFarlane on 02-05-22
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The Theater of War
- What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today
- By: Bryan Doerries
- Narrated by: Adam Driver
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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This compassionate, personal, and illuminating work of nonfiction draws on the author's celebrated work as a director of socially conscious theater to connect listeners with the power of an ancient artistic tradition. For years Bryan Doerries has been producing ancient tragedies for current and returned servicemen and women, addicts, tornado and hurricane victims, and a wide range of other at-risk people in society.
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Wow
- By Marisa on 11-09-15
By: Bryan Doerries
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The Survivors
- A Story of War, Inheritance, and Healing
- By: Adam Frankel
- Narrated by: Adam Frankel, Rob Shapiro
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Adam Frankel’s maternal grandparents survived the Holocaust and built new lives, with new names, in Connecticut. Though they tried to leave the horrors of their past behind, the pain they suffered crossed generational lines - a fact most apparent in the mental health of Adam’s mother. When Adam sat down with her to examine their family history in detail, he learned another shocking secret, this time one that unraveled Adam’s entire understanding of who he is.
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Amazing story
- By Alissa on 12-26-19
By: Adam Frankel
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The Greatest Evil Is War
- By: Chris Hedges
- Narrated by: Eunice Wong
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In fifteen short chapters, Chris Hedges astonishes us with his clear and cogent argument against war, not on philosophical grounds or through moral arguments, but in an irrefutable stream of personal encounters with the victims of war, from veterans and parents to gravely wounded American serviceman who served in the Iraq War, to survivors of the Holocaust, to soldiers in the Falklands War, among others. Hedges reported from Sarajevo, and was in the Balkans to witness the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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Another amazing title by an amazing journalist.
- By Zzzing on 12-28-22
By: Chris Hedges
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At the Existentialist Café
- Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails
- By: Sarah Bakewell
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
- Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Paris, 1933: Three contemporaries meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are the young Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and longtime friend Raymond Aron, a fellow philosopher who raves to them about a new conceptual framework from Berlin called phenomenology. "You see," he says, "if you are a phenomenologist, you can talk about this cocktail and make philosophy out of it!"
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Consistent look at incoherent philosophy
- By Gary on 06-19-16
By: Sarah Bakewell
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Chasing the Light
- Writing, Directing, and Surviving Platoon, Midnight Express, Scarface, Salvador, and the Movie Game
- By: Oliver Stone
- Narrated by: Oliver Stone
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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An intimate memoir by the controversial, Oscar-winning director and screenwriter about his rarefied New York childhood, volunteering for combat, and his struggles and triumphs making such films as Platoon, Midnight Express, and Scarface.
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Impressive
- By Merle O. Tanner on 10-07-20
By: Oliver Stone
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good reading but can't navigate
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More than 20 years ago, Frances Mayes - widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer - introduced readers to a wondrous new world when she bought and restored an abandoned Tuscan villa called Bramasole. Under the Tuscan Sun inspired generations to embark on their own journeys.
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An Understated Adventure that keeps you wondering.
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What listeners say about The Writer’s Crusade
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- A Guy from Northeast USA
- 11-21-21
Very Misleading Title
Title is Clicbait. This book is a Biography Of Vonnegut, A Polemic on PTSD and an Exploration of Slaughterhouse Five. You can find better books on each separately.
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- Thomas
- 11-16-21
Tour de force
An incredibly powerful journey through one if the greatest novels of the 20th Century, its author and our evolving understanding of war and the trauma it leaves behind. Highly recommend.
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- Dean
- 12-15-21
Great for Vonnegut Fans
I don’t think too many people who don’t like Kurt Vonnegut would listen to this one. But for fans of the author it’s a great insight into his life, and the context around his most famous book. At times it reads a little more academic than I expected, and at other times it dives into human interest stories about veteran readers and writers- all beautifully told. At the end of the day, it’s a good book about a book. So if that’s what you’re looking for, look no further.
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- kutzkai
- 02-13-22
Loved It
I have loved Kurt Vonnegut ever since he first wrote Slaughterhouse Five which was published in 1969. A science fiction-infused anti-war novel. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to his time as an American soldier and chaplain's assistant during World War II, to the post-war years, with Billy occasionally traveling through time. A film adaptation of the book was released in 1972. Most everything Kurt has written, I am a fan. Sadly we lost Kurt in 2007 but his books will live on. Jim Frangione does a good job narrating. You can find this in the Audible Plus catalogue.
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1 person found this helpful
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- TB1
- 07-19-22
Inspiring
I loved every aspect of this book. It's purpose is to reflect the light and life of a great author and a great book. But after letting it settle for a while, I realized it is its own great work.
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-17-22
Surprisingly attention grabbing
Held me from first to last word. I had forgotten a lot of the original book by Vonnegut, but as Mr. Frangione worked his words into paragraphs I began to remember and comprehend more than I did when I first read it back way back. Glad I had to opportunity to listen and work.
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- Squill
- 04-29-23
Feels like they lost the plot
I came here to learn about writing slaughter house 5. I got that in tiny chunks but then a lot about ptsd and the advances in diagnosing that. I’m not saying that is a bad thing, I’m glad I learned about it but that’s not what I was looking for in this book. But oh well
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- Buretto
- 01-18-22
Interesting supplement for Vonnegut fans
The book has a lot in its favor, and should be quite interesting background for anyone who is a fan of Kurt Vonnegut. That's an endorsement. That being said, the enduring memories of the book are, first, the author's philosophical argument (essentially with himself) about whether a rumor being true changes Vonnegut's legacy. Probably more time than is needed is taken to determine it doesn't, or shouldn't. And secondly, extended case studies about PTSD, tenuously tied to the story with mentions that the people in question admired Vonnegut's work. Now, it's obvious that PTSD is inextricable from a story purportedly about the writing of Slaughterhouse-Five. And a fair amount of background is needed. But let's just say Chapter 10 could do with a bit of paring down. Altogether an entertaining listen.
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- Cedric R. Ross
- 05-13-23
This book explored the depth in great form
I was impressed by the evidence, the resetting of expectations, the clarity of terms such as PTSD. Most of all, I was satisfied that in the end, the author left the most important conclusions up to the reader. What I had not expected was the accounts of the contributors who expanded my understanding of what trauma is. Finally, I appreciated the advice to read Slaughterhouse Five more than once because it may have new meaning as you age. I can do that!
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