Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was known for blending satire, black comedy, and science fiction, and that is exactly what he does in this little gem of of a story from 1962. In the chronology of his works, it came between Mother Night and Cat's Cradle. The title is pronounced 2 B R naught 2 B and references the famous phrase, 'To be or not to be in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
The story takes place in a future when diseases and aging have been eliminated and, as a result, the government has taken measures to insure population control.
Download and start listening now!
"Simple story about what happens when a scientist is careless about his discovery, concerning himself only with the process of discovery rather than the ramifications of it. The world ends through no evil intentions of the scientist but through some fateful coincidences over which he has no control. " — Nikhil (4 out of 5 stars)
"Simple story about what happens when a scientist is careless about his discovery, concerning himself only with the process of discovery rather than the ramifications of it. The world ends through no evil intentions of the scientist but through some fateful coincidences over which he has no control. "
" Very short story, quick read, interesting insight into population control in the future "
" Funny, like any good Vonnegut. Even funnier considering the current paranoia on the part of some red-staters fearing forced euthanasia "death panels". "
" A very short story but worth the read. "
" Was this something he wrote in high school? "
" This was free on iBooks. Very interesting short story. :) "
" Waiting for his triplets to be born, the father had to find 3 people willing to die. "
" This was amazing. Definitely worth a read for anyone who thinks the quest for eternal life is a good thing. I love Vonnegut, and this story was as representative of his work as anything else I have read. "
" This was a nice, morbid short story. I like the concept, but hope life never gets this far. "
" Read the Project Gutenberg edition. It was an interesting idea, but mostly just an idea. The characters were all very flat. "
" A good short from Vonnegut. Perhaps it was surprising or shocking when originally written but I read a lot of King shorts which are similarly-themed. "
" I'm not sure what to say about this short story, because I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. It definitely causes a gut reaction, and is extremely thought provoking. It's well worth a read. "
" Not the ending I'd envisioned, but what a life to have to live--population control; this plays like a scene from the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits. I loved it and now I think I've become a Vonnegut fan. Slaughterhouse Five is next on my list... "
" really interesting short story I really approve of it. "
" Short story of an over-populated society and one solution to handle it... "
" This is a very short story. It takes roughly 15 minutes to read the whole thing. And it's a free Kindle download on Amazon right now, so if you like Vonnegut (like I do), it's worth reading. "
" Great short story. Fun to read and think about. "
" A short story but a cool read if you like sci-fi. "
" I need to read more Vonnegut. "
" I like Vonnegut a lot, but this was just an okay short story with a clever title. I'm finding a lot of free books and stories to download onto my phone via the iBooks app, and this was one of them. "
" This is an insightful little story on how government control and eroding values can lead to outlandish results. "
" weird take on population control in a world that never ages and you only die when you choose to. very short story "
" I found the idea to be interesting but i was broad sized by the ending. "
" takes about 10 minutes to read "
" Well, that's one way to approach population control. Man, I love Vonnegut. Brilliant. "
" I'm really enjoying this one so far. "
" My favorite book I've ever read. "
" A slower read, but enjoying it. "
" One of my top 3 Vonnegut books. Funny, cynical, and profound all at the same time. "
" Really good book. If you like Vonnegut, this is my favorite book by him. "
" A dark tale about a scientist whose invention destroys all life on earth. Read this at your own risk. Although it's an interesting story, it's not for everybody. "
" See the Cat? See the cradle?? Little people, stone angels, the end of the world, what else do you need?? "
" This was a re-read that I think I loved as much the second time around as I did the first. I am still undoubtedly a Vonnegut devotee. "
" Probably 3.5 stars. It was funny. But, I felt like it started strong and tailed off at the end. Bonus points for the made-up religion, Bokononism, and its asscoiated lingo, and midget Russian spy balerina. No kidding! "
" No damn cat, no damn cradle. "
" Skvelá kniha. Buh zrejme stvoril cloveka proto, aby obdivoval jeho tvorbu sveta. Lidské dejiny (a buh také) ovšem dokazují, že clovek žádný smysl nemá (a proto není co obdivovat). "
" Ice-9 is bad for society. "
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) was a master of contemporary American literature. His black humor, satiric voice, and incomparable imagination first captured America’s attention in The Sirens of Titan in 1959 and established him as “a true artist” with Cat’s Cradle in 1963.
Audiobooks Were Restored to Your Cart
[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.