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We Are What We Pretend to Be: The First and Last WorksCalled our finest black humorist by The Atlantic Monthly, Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Now his first and last works come together for the first time in print, in a collection aptly titled after his famous phrase, We Are What We Pretend To Be. Written to be sold under the pseudonym of Mark Harvey, Basic Training was never published in Vonnegut s lifetime. It appears to have been written in the late 1940s
Called our finest black-humorist by The Atlantic Monthly, Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Now his first and last works come together for the first time in print, in a collection aptly titled after his famous phrase, We Are What We Pretend To Be.Written to be sold under the pseudonym of Mark Harvey, Basic Training was never published in Vonnegut s lifetime. It appears to have been written in the late 1940s and is therefore Vonnegut s first ever novella. It is a bitter, profoundly disenchanted story that satirizes the military, authoritarianism, gender relationships, parenthood and most of the assumed mid-century myths of the family. Haley Brandon, the adolescent protagonist, comes to the farm of his relative, the old crazy who insists upon being called The General, to learn to be a straight-shooting American. Haley s only means of survival will lead him to unflagging defiance of the General s deranged (but oh so American, oh so military) values. This story and its thirtyish author were no friends of the milieu to which the slick magazines advertisers were pitching their products.
When Vonnegut passed away in 2007, he left his last novel unfinished. Entitled If God Were Alive Today, this last work is a brutal satire on societal ignorance and carefree denial of the world s major problems. Protagonist Gil Berman is a middle-aged college lecturer and self-declared stand-up comedian who enjoys cracking jokes in front of a college audience while societal dependence on fossil fuels has led to the apocalypse. Described by Vonnegut as, the stand-up comedian on Doomsday, Gil is a character formed from Vonnegut s own rich experiences living in a reality Vonnegut himself considered inevitable.
Along with the two works of fiction, Vonnegut s daughter, Nanette shares reminiscences about her father and commentary on these two works both exclusive to this edition. In this fiction collection, published in print for the first time, exist Vonnegut s grand themes: trust no one, trust nothing; and the only constants are absurdity and resignation, which themselves cannot protect us from the void but might divert."
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Published: 10/08/2013
ISBN: 9780306822780
Pages: 161
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.56w x 0.47d
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4.4 ★★★★★
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★★★★★ 5
I hate to be the kind of person preaching on Doom's ...
This is an impressive quick read. I hate to be the kind of person preaching on Doom's Day, but I do find the definition of progress to be a multi-faceted, direct correlation to humanity, or as this book challenges, inversely related. As Le Corbusier once stated in Towards a New Architecture, "[Progress is] the study of minute points pushed to its limits." I think that we forget that limits do exist. On a sustainability level, we seem to forget that growth is bound to a carrying capacity which is only a constant. We exceed limits in population, in wealth, in energy consumption, and we are doing so blindly because we believe we are progressing. This is the first that I heard the term "progress traps" (which I think Wright may have coined himself), and I believe we seem to fall under the impression that distilling or expanding our limitations is an ultimate form of progress, when in fact, its lack in sustainability will only push us back. If you have the time, it's a pretty quick and enlightening read. If you are still on the fence with the concepts discussed in the book, I recommend finding it at a local library before committing to buy. For me, I recommend it.
Also, if you are interested, there is a documentary based on this book called "Surviving Progress" (2011). I prefer the book so much more, but the documentary wasn't that bad.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2015
★★★★★ 5
Negro Slave Bible
I like the large print. And, I appreciate the honest commentary.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2026
★★★★★ 5
None
Format: Paperback
Great book, very informative
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Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Bought
Format: Audiobook
for honest review. I bought this bible Because it was suggested on a YouTube video and since I do collect bibles from all religions and times of history to keep my mind open to what people think , believe and are going through in those time. I was very interested to read . I found that there was alot that people may also not see that it did give them a blue print to the father even though it taught through slavery, it also for someone learning to read it gave the a direction to start to learn what it was to be saved in gods eyes . even though yes it was alot of thing left out even today Catholic bibles are the same with structure to what they what to preach. as the jewsish bible leaves out the new testament and others groups leave out gods messages .this is why I believe that you should never ever stop learning what other religion or faith of people believe since its just another piece of the puzzle to know gods words and lessons in our knowledge to know who we are as a person and or knowledge to know who god is and his lessons and teaching . so my thoughts that know matter your race or religious background should read this book and also put yourself into the times when this was written and what the people went through and gave up because they also had to gave up there beliefs that was taught from their homelands in order to please the people that they served. I will give this a 10 stars for the fact that is gods messages but even though it used in a way to hold a group of people inslaved I believe we as a people not a race are all held back when it comes to knowing gods words and until we are walking with god so we can ask him ourselves we are all still lost souls looking for direction were to go.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2021
★★★★★ 5
Awesome
Format: Paperback
No matter how much of the Bible we have, God can save us
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Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2026
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