Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) was an American author known for blending satire, dark humor, and science fiction to critique society and human folly. His best-known novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, draws on his World War II experience and the Dresden firebombing to explore free will, trauma, and the absurdity of war; other notable works include Cat’s Cradle and Breakfast of Champions. Vonnegut’s plainspoken, ironic voice, moral humanism, and inventive structures made him a major literary figure of the 20t