The Brothers Vonnegut: Science and Fiction in the House of Magic

by Ginger Strand Narrated by Sean Runnette

Overview

Worlds collide in this true story of weather control in the cold war era and the making of Kurt Vonnegut.

In the mid-1950s, Kurt Vonnegut takes a job in the PR department at General Electric in Schenectady, where his older brother, Bernard, is a leading scientist in its research lab-or "House of Magic." Kurt has ambitions as a novelist, and Bernard is working on a series of cutting-edge weather-control experiments meant to make deserts bloom and farmers flourish.

While Kurt writes zippy press releases, Bernard builds silver-iodide generators and attacks clouds with dry ice. His experiments attract the attention of the government; weather proved a decisive factor in World War II, and if the military can control the clouds, fog, and snow, they can fly more bombing missions. Maybe weather will even be as a headline in American Magazine calls it, "The New Super Weapon." But when the army takes charge of his cloudseeding project (dubbed Project Cirrus), Bernard begins to have misgivings about the use of his inventions for harm, not to mention the evidence that they are causing alarming changes in the atmosphere.

In a fascinating cultural history, Ginger Strand chronicles the intersection of these brothers' lives at a time when the possibilities of science seemed infinite. As the Cold War looms, Bernard's struggle for integrity plays out in Kurt's evolving writing style. The Brothers Vonnegut reveals how science's ability to influence the natural world also influenced one of our most inventive novelists.

Editorial Reviews

JANUARY 2016 - AudioFile

Most readers have heard of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., best known for his novel SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE. But few know even the name of his older brother, Bernard, a scientist who is credited with developing the process for using iodide crystals to seed clouds for rain. This work portrays both their lives in parallel chronologies. Sean Runnette delivers a solid, engaging narration. His conversational tone makes listening smooth and easy to follow. For example, when the author jumps abruptly from one brother to the other or even to a third person, Runnette pauses appropriately, allowing the listener to mentally make the shift. He sets off the few direct quotations with pauses, as well, again offering helpful aural cues. R.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

09/28/2015
What are the human consequences of invention? This question underlies Strand’s (Killer on the Road) account of the early life and turbulent times of Kurt Vonnegut and his brother, Bernard, a chemist. After tracing their childhood in an intellectual and pacifist Midwestern family and Kurt’s trauma as a POW who survived the firebombing of Dresden, Strand focuses on the brothers’ shared post-WWII experience working for General Electric. Bernie delights in high-profile weather modification research led by celebrity scientist Irving Langmuir. Kurt grinds at his publicist day job while struggling to establish himself as a writer. Strand recounts Kurt’s dismay as the world polarizes and scientific discoveries—even Bernie’s weather research—are co-opted by an increasingly grim and assertive military-industrial complex. The book goes on to show how Kurt reworked his GE experience, his brother’s research, and the figure of Langmuir in short stories and novels such as Player Piano and Cat’s Cradle that examined “progress and the dark side of it no one wanted to discuss.” Strand tells two good stories, the rise and fall of the science of weather modification and the development of Kurt Vonnegut as a writer, although each story might be better told in a book without so much of the other. Nevertheless, this engaging book raises many still-relevant questions about the uses of technology and nature. Agent: Jin Auh, Wylie Agency. (Nov.)

From the Publisher

"The Brothers Vonnegut is a gem. Strand has unearthed a little-known, complex story about science and politics that touches on big questions about ethics and progress, and she delivers it with an infectious and unabashed exuberance. Her writing crackles on the page . . . But what’s most memorable about The Brothers Vonnegut is how strongly it articulates a message about the importance of making intentional decisions about the work each of us does and not blindly pursuing vocations out of convenience or for money, ego or fame.” —John Wilwol, The San Francisco Chronicle

"[An] enjoyable double biography . . .The Brothers Vonnegut . . . sings with [Kurt Vonnegut]’s gift for frank and snappy expression . . . Strand knows how to mount a quote with just the right details." —Katy Waldman, Slate

"[A] fascinating dual biography . . . The Brothers Vonnegut is the result of meticulous scholarship." —Jeremy Bernstein, The Wall Street Journal

"An exercise in biographical literary criticism, [The Brothers Vonnegut] is convincing and enjoyable, and fans and scholars of Vonnegut will be glad to have the specifics of this formative era filled in." —Evan Kindley, The New Republic

"Though many readers will be familiar with the story of a science-damaged postwar American writer and his relation to the military-industrial complex, few will have known this fascinating story of the Brothers Vonnegut. And few works of nonfiction on literary writers are as clear-eyed about the material connections between science, fiction, and war." —Jonathon Sturgeon, Flavorwire

“Fascinating . . . a superb, provocative, and crystal-clear narrative nonfiction.” —Mark Levine, Booklist (starred review)

“Strand's thoughtful history, drawn from abundant archival sources, recounts the brothers' repeated frustrations and disillusion as they confronted, in their own ways, the unsettling ethical questions of their time. An engaging yet disquieting portrait of postwar America through the eyes of a pair of brothers who accomplished great things in different fields.” —Kirkus Reviews

Library Journal

09/01/2015
Author Strand (Killer on the Road) has written that rare scholarly work that doesn't read like one at all. The overall impression is of a novel, not a history, and—although it's evident that her research was exhaustive—Strand tends to include only those thematically relevant events that drive the plot forward. This is a tale of two very accomplished brothers: one, Kurt (1922–2007), an author who needs no introduction, and the other, Bernard (1914–97), an MIT-trained scientist who made breakthroughs in weather modification. The story, which focuses primarily on the early professional years of the brothers' careers, examines the place of ethics and morality in science through the real-world consequences wrought by idealistic, lab-swelling scientists. Judging by the subject matter, this book ought to have fairly limited appeal, as it will grab those interested in the science of weather, and, less so, in Cold War history. VERDICT The Vonnegut name is the big draw here, but fans seeking the definitive Kurt Vonnegut biography should read Charles J. Shields's And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut; A Life instead. Still, the book is engaging owing to the author's rich characterization of historical persons, source material, and selective assemblage of events. This title is ripe for adaptation into a quirky, independent film.—Chris Wieman, Univ. of the Sciences Libs., Philadelphia

JANUARY 2016 - AudioFile

Most readers have heard of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., best known for his novel SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE. But few know even the name of his older brother, Bernard, a scientist who is credited with developing the process for using iodide crystals to seed clouds for rain. This work portrays both their lives in parallel chronologies. Sean Runnette delivers a solid, engaging narration. His conversational tone makes listening smooth and easy to follow. For example, when the author jumps abruptly from one brother to the other or even to a third person, Runnette pauses appropriately, allowing the listener to mentally make the shift. He sets off the few direct quotations with pauses, as well, again offering helpful aural cues. R.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2015-08-09
In this meticulously researched dual biography of scientist Bernard Vonnegut (1914-1997) and his brother, fiction writer Kurt (1922-2007), Orion contributing editor Strand (Killer on the Road: Violence and the American Interstate, 2012, etc.) focuses on the late 1940s to the early 1950s, when the brothers both worked at General Electric. "Progress is our most important product," the company proclaimed, a motto that both Vonneguts came to question. In 1942, Bernie moved from MIT's meteorology department to the famed GE Research Laboratory, where scientists found the kind of free-ranging opportunities that later would define Silicon Valley: ample time and resources to explore and experiment. There, Bernie joined the team of Project Cirrus, investigating the possibility of "man-controlled weather," specifically, cloud seeding to produce rain. Kurt, who had been a prisoner of war and witness to the bombing of Dresden, was intent on writing short stories. But in 1945, with a wife and young child to support, he joined GE's public relations department, "churning out peppy overviews" of GE's innovations while, at the same time, satirizing the company in short stories that, to his dismay, were repeatedly rejected. Strand closely examines both brothers' careers in the context of postwar euphoria: science and technology were exalted as paths to a "brave new world," and the nation flaunted its military and economic might. Optimistic about America's future when they first joined GE, the brothers became increasingly pessimistic due to the Korean War, the heating up of the arms race, and Cold War politics. When Bernie realized that manipulating weather was seen as a potential weapon, he pressed for government oversight, despite much popular opposition to "planning" and "regulation." Strand's thoughtful history, drawn from abundant archival sources, recounts the brothers' repeated frustrations and disillusion as they confronted, in their own ways, the unsettling ethical questions of their time. An engaging yet disquieting portrait of postwar America through the eyes of a pair of brothers who accomplished great things in different fields.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170185122
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	11/17/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,090,443

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