By Kurt Vonnegut, 1962

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer. In a career spanning over 50 years, Vonnegut published 14 novels, three short story collections, five plays, and five works of non-fiction. He is most famous for his darkly satirical, best-selling novel Slaughterhouse-Five (1969).

Vonnegut published his first novel, Player Piano, in 1952. The novel was reviewed positively, but was not commercially successful. In the nearly 20 years that followed, Vonnegut published several novels that were only marginally successful, such as Cat's Cradle (1963) and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1964). Vonnegut's magnum opus, however, was his immediately successful sixth novel, Slaughterhouse-Five.

The book's antiwar sentiment resonated with its readers amidst the ongoing Vietnam War, and its reviews were generally positive. After its release, Slaughterhouse-Five went to the top of The New York Times Best Seller list, thrusting Vonnegut into fame. He was invited to give speeches, lectures, and commencement addresses around the country and received many awards and honors.

"2BR02B" is pronounced "2 B R naught 2 B" and references the famous phrase "to be, or not to be" from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. In the story, the title refers to the telephone number that one dials to schedule an assisted suicide with the Federal Bureau of Termination.

Special thanks to our good friends BattleBards for their amazing sound effects.

MUSIC

"Candlepower" by Chris Zabriskie

"Readers! Do You Read?" by Chris Zabriskie

"Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod

"Somewhere Else" by Candlegravity

"Cylinder Six" by Chris Zabriskie

"The Star Spangled Banner" by The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps

"Frozen Star" by Kevin MacLeod

"Tomie's Bubbles" by Candlegravity

Of Now And Then retells fantasy and future fictional stories in the public domain produced as audiobooks. The show is voiced, edited and produced by Aram Vartian.