Cat's Cradle

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Cat's Cradle, one of Vonnegut's most entertaining novels, is filled with scientists and G-men and even ordinary folks caught up in the game. These assorted characters chase each other around in search of the world's most important and dangerous substance, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature. At one time, this novel could probably be found on the bookshelf of every college kid in America; it's still a fabulous read and a great place to start if you're young enough to have missed the first Vonnegut craze.

Book Description

One of Vonnegut's major works, this is an apocalyptic tale of the planet's ultimate fate, featuring a cast of unlikely heroes.

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Cat's Cradle travels from the home turf of Vonnegut's imagination, Ilium, N.Y. to a Caribbean banana republic where an illicit religion called Bokononism is practiced, as a sense of doom (in the form of ice-nine) overtakes mankind.

Customer Reviews:

What am I missing here?.......2007-10-09

This was my first time reading Vonnegut, and I bought this novel largely based on his reputation as an author and the reviews I read here. The premise of the novel also sounded interesting. The narrator, Jonah, is writing a book about the events that took place on the day the atomic bomb was dropped, and focuses on the "father" of the atomic bomb, Felix Hoenikker, and his children. He eventually finds himself on the fictional island of San Lorenzo amid the backdrop of political and religious instability.

I could tell right away that Vonnegut was an excellent author. That is clear from his writing, which is very elegant and well organized. The book is a short read at 300 pages, and with chapters at 1-2 pages long, most people will be through it in a few hours. The chapters all flow into each other and there is no "jumping around" between other characters, as Jonah narrates the story through the first person.

Those are the positives and the reason I gave Cat's Cradle three stars. I believe this is a good book and likely an intellectual commentary on society and the arms race, etc etc, however all of this must have gone completely over my head because I didn't see any of it. Maybe this book is "too" intellectual for me, since I am not used to having to think so much while reading. What's more, the satire also went over my head and I do not recall any humorous moments in the entire book, and kept looking for the plot.

I do not mean for this review to turn people off of Cat's Cradle, just to let them know what they are getting into. If your usual fare is Tom Clancy, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, etc, and you are not used to writers like Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, Chuck Palahniuk (this book reminded me a LOT of Survivor: A Novel), you may find you are missing out on most of the actual book. I was not disappointed when I finished Cat's Cradle, but I certainly wasn't as satiated as I usually am when I finish a good novel. Caveat emptor.

Interesting and ludicrous........2007-09-18

Worth the read, particularly if you want to "try" Vonnegut. I did this for a book club and it worked quite well since there are infinite interpretations to pretty much every word of Vonnegut. It's hard to say what it's about other than it's a great outlook on apocalypse.

Funny, intriguing, very clever .......2007-09-18

This was my first Vonnegut book, and I had really high expectations for this book. I was not disappointed, not in the least. The irony, the strangeness (especially in the dialogue), the characters, the suspense, the ending, and most importantly, the humor, were superb. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. Vonnegut's irreverent take on religion, government, sex, war, and every other topic he takes on in the novel is refreshing, and the history and principles of Bokonon (the fictitious religion featured in the book) he derives through the course of the story added a lot of comic relief as well as interesting perspective on common religious thinking. Tis a shame I never enjoyed the man's work while he was still with us. I certainly intend to read more of his work in the future.

No Title.......2007-08-26

Cats Cradle was a book I had to read over my summer break for my high school honors english class, and orgionaly, I was really reluctant to read it. But, after the first 100 pages, it started to grab my attention.

Cat' Cradle is a story of a man that wishes to write a book about the father of the Atom bomb(it's a fictonal person) and ends up finding out about some of his 'other' inventions(not some mutant freak). Like I said origonaly, the first half or so of the book loses me. I only got interested in it when the protagonist got on the plane midway through the book.

In some ways, people could find this novel contrivesal, because the main religon(Bokonon) mimics the eairly Christians death by the cross, and that man is going to far with science that is harful to us, but only if your trying to see that like I was. It's a fine book all in all, but it's somewhat boring at first, and his humor isent really that great, in fact, I only saw it once or twice. But then agian, I'm just a high school sophmore trying to disect it to find 'the inner meaning' so, in another 10 years I'll probably enjoy reading it.

As bad as it gets.......2007-08-07

This book is a total disappointment. One of the worst books I have ever read. His "humor" is on idiotic level and the book in general is schizophrenic. Only thing Vonnegut achieved is to annoy me; this is the first book in my life that I threw into the garbage.

Camilla Gryski's Cat's Cradle: A Book of String Games

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Wonderful String Figures

Camilla Gryski's Cat's Cradle: A Book of String Games
Camilla Gryski
Manufacturer: Kids Can Press, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1553370902

Book Description

Camilla Gryski's Cat's Cradle is the complete guide to playing Cat's Cradle with a friend or by yourself. All the basic moves are explained and the easy-to-follow instructions make it simple to play. With 21 steps in all, you will have hours of fun. So grab a loop of string and get going!

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful String Figures.......2007-06-10

I have loved Camilla Gryski's string figure books. They are what got my clumsy fingers working and I've been hooked on string figures ever since. I've been buying, and re-buying her books for 15 - 20 years.

String Figures and How to Make Them: A Study of Cat's Cradle in Many Lands

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From the Stringman
excellent and detailed
The mother of all string figure books!
LA BIBLE DU JEU DE FICELLE
I was fascinated by this book when I was about 13 years old.

String Figures and How to Make Them: A Study of Cat's Cradle in Many Lands
Caroline F. Jayne
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 048620152X

Book Description

Fullest, clearest instruction on string figures from wide variety of cultures around the world: Eskimo, Navajo, Lapp, Europe, many others. Create such imaginative figures as a cat's cradle, a moving spear, a bolt of lightning, pointed stars and much more. 950 illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

From the Stringman.......2007-02-07

Considered by many String Figure people to be the "Bible" in this field. It has easy to follow instructions using what has become standard nomenclature. This book is referenced in recent writings probably more than any other. Anyone with interest in String Figures should have this book in their collection.

excellent and detailed.......2003-11-20

Once you master the language of manipulating the string--with a little patience-- you'll find the explanations easy to follow. The selection of string figures was wonderful. A strong collection --a legacy that has travelled throughout the world. Pass it along to your children.

The mother of all string figure books!.......2000-12-08

Ms. Jayne was an interesting woman in her day. She traveled about the world, gathering anthropological research as she documented string figures worldwide. This volume is the result of her work, all the more remarkable because she did this around the turn of the century.

Many figures are included here with instructions in the creation of them, as well as anecdotal information based on her interviews with the people who taught them to her. All of the classics of string figures are included here, as well as more obscure ones she gathered along the way. This is a must for serious students of string figures, not only for the wealth of information and instruction, but also for its historical value.

LA BIBLE DU JEU DE FICELLE.......1999-08-16

Il est très complet et illustré. Toute personne qui s'intéresse aux jeux de ficelle progressera beaucoup avec lui. Ce n'est pas un livre pour débutant.

I was fascinated by this book when I was about 13 years old........1998-11-30

This book is a compendium of string figures with detailed instructions on how to make them and many illustrations. It is based largely on anthropological studies of the East Indies and that part of the world, although there are sections from Native American tribes and a few figures from Europe. My parents had a copy of this book when I was growing up and I was fascinated by it from ages 11 to about 15. I recommend it highly for anybody whose interests run in this direction.

Kurt Vonnegut: Three Complete Novels: Cat's Cradle; God Bless You Mr. Rosewater; Breakfast of Champions

Average customer rating:

WHICH three novels, goldurn it?!

Kurt Vonnegut: Three Complete Novels: Cat's Cradle; God Bless You Mr. Rosewater; Breakfast of Champions
Kurt Vonnegut
Manufacturer: Wings Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 051712436X
Release Date: 1995-05-28

Customer Reviews:

WHICH three novels, goldurn it?!.......2006-03-11

Since Amazon doesn't give any useful info on contents here, let's fill in the blanks. The 3 novels collected are:
Cat's Cradle, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, and Breakfast of Champions. They're all great reads, and at these prices, you really can't go wrong.

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Cat;s Cradle
Kurt Vonnegut
Manufacturer: Delacorte Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JJJ292

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Cat's Cradle
Kurt Vonnegut
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: B000C7HUFY

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Cat's Cradle

Manufacturer: Bookcraft
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1570086702

Product Description

First paperback edition, printed in 1999.

Cat's Cradle: Warhead (The New Doctor Who Adventures)

Average customer rating:

Grim reality
This blast has echoes further down the novel series
"2 MEAN 2 DIE"
An excellent book
Cyberjunk

Cat's Cradle: Warhead (The New Doctor Who Adventures)
Andrew Cartmel
Manufacturer: London Bridge (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0426203674

Customer Reviews:

Grim reality.......2002-02-02

The future is a grim place in CAT'S CRADLE: WARHEAD. Breathing is difficult without the use of special masks. Police silently patrol the night streets in their hovercars. Shady corporations comb the local parks and sidewalks looking for unclaimed bodies (some still living) to perform dastardly experiments upon. Only one man and his contractually obligated silver cat can save the human race from itself.

We hadn't really seen a desolate future portrayed in quite this realistic fashion before in Doctor Who. Apart from the constant bleak sense of a world gone sour, we also see elements of cyberpunk cropping up here and there. While this aspect isn't as overplayed as one might fear, it does cast a fairly long shadow over the tone and feel of the book. The writing is particularly powerful in places and some of the scenes are surprisingly chilling. There are loads of little asides and passages that make the book spellbinding. It's an extremely well written tale.

The first part of the book deals with the pieces of the puzzle. At first it's not altogether clear how these different sections interrelate to each other. It's quite fun to work out what's going on. A name crops up from an earlier section, a scene links from something that was referenced to earlier. When you finally do figure out what's happening, it's quite rewarding. Personally, I loved putting all of those pieces together. Many times during reading I was finding myself flipping backwards and forwards impressed by the ease in which Andrew Cartmel made everything fit together just so. The Doctor's presence hovers over the many passages that he is absent for. Even during the fairly long stretches where he isn't to be seen, his fingerprints are visible. The plot is careful and calculated, with a lot of attention to detail.

Fortunately, the second part of the book also maintains a high quality of the first. Naturally, the Doctor's plan doesn't seem to unravel quite as expected, so rather than the plot falling into a predictable format, there is still an element of surprise to be had. The future that we had glimpsed in the earlier portions is fleshed out more here. Parts of the story here are trippy and mess with your head in the best possible way.

One of the few things I didn't like about the story was the seemingly shallow portrayal of the main villain. We don't really learn too much about him, about his plans, or about his motivations. But most importantly, we don't really find out why it is that the Doctor is so hell-bent on making sure that his schemes are defeated; we just have to take it on faith. Sure, putting people's souls inside machines to avoid the responsibility of having to clean up the environment does seem to be a bit shortsighted, but it doesn't quite carry the assumed weight that one would expect. It feels a bit of a let down after seeing the Doctor's intricate plan.

Overall, this is one of the better Doctor Who books. The prose is captivating, the story is unpredictable, yet seamlessly logical, and the Doctor has never been more powerful. WARHEAD demands multiple rereads.

This blast has echoes further down the novel series.......2001-04-13

In the near future, the Doctor and Ace become involved in the covert operations of the Butler Institute, who are seeking psychic subjects for their plans to replace human bodies with artificial ones. And then they meet the psychics...

The second in the loose Cat's Cradle trilogy, and the first in the War trilogy (the three books in which occur a long way apart), this story portrays a much darker future than those traditionally shown in the Doctor Who TV series.

Back in 'Planet of the Spiders', the Doctor was investigating psychic abilities. This research makes a long delayed return, and in the hands of the manipulative Seventh Doctor, you can be sure that something nasty is on its way.

Not likely to be well received by people who want a simple continuation of the TV series, it is however a valid view of what Doctor Who could be like.

"2 MEAN 2 DIE".......2000-09-28

"Warhead" is apparently highly controversial among Whovians--I even read a comment somewhere that it ruined the New Adventures because subsequent writers emulated it. Don't let that fool you--this is a great book. It is rather dark and depressing at times, but that isn't necessarily a reason to criticize it.

Like some of the televised stories produced while Cartmel was script editor, "Warhead" has a complex structure that forces the reader slowly to deduce what is going on, and thus to envy the Doctor's superior knowledge about it all. As in other New Adventures, the Doctor already has a masterplan of how to deal with the situation at the beginning of the story, and manipulates the characters in very elaborate ways to accomplish his goals. The book contains a conversation--between Ace and Justine--which is, I feel, one of the finest in "Who" history and is a lovely expression of some of the general ideas of the "Cartmel Masterplan," although it doesn't make any startling revelations about the Doctor's past.

There are only a few problems with the story. When one finally realizes what the storyline is, and what the Doctor and Ace are fighting against, the threat seems relatively insignificant compared to its big buildup--one might have hoped for something truly horrifying. There is also one sequence, set in an abandoned McDonald's, which does seem a bit too gratuitously depressing and gloomy. However, from the rich detail of the dystopian future it depicts to the heartbreaking reality of the minor characters it conjures up in only a few pages, and from the fascinationg and sad guest appearance by a character from McCoy's era on television to the astonishing moment--one of "Doctor Who"'s creepiest scenes ever--where a supposedly dead character turns out to have survived in a quite unexpected way, this is a book that deserves a far better reputation than it has. "Doctor Who" at its most intriguing.

An excellent book.......1998-06-17

"Warhead" is apparently highly controversial among Whovians--I even read a comment somewhere that it ruined the New Adventures because subsequent writers emulated it. Don't let that fool you--this is a great book. It is rather dark and depressing at times, but that isn't necessarily a matter for critisicm. Like some of the stories produced while Cartmel was script editor, "Warhead" has a complex structure that forces the reader to slowly deduce what is going on, and thus to envy the Doctor's superior knowledge about it all. As in other New Adventures (or so I've heard--this is the only one I've read), the Doctor already has a masterplan of how to deal with the situation at the beginning of the story, and manipulates the characters in very elaborate ways to accomplish his goals. The book contains a conversation--between Ace and Justine--which is, I feel, one of the finest in "Who" history, and is a lovely expression of some of the general ideas of the "Cartmel Masterplan," although it doesn't make any startling revelations about the Doctor's past. There are only a few problems with the story. When one finally realizes what the storyline is, and what the Doctor and Ace are fighting against, the threat seems relatively insignificant compared to its big buildup--one might have hoped for something truly horrifying. There is also one sequence, set in an abandoned McDonald's, which does seem a bit too gratuitously depressing and gloomy. But, from the rich detail of the dystopian future it depicts to the heartbreaking reality of the minor characters it conjures up in only a few pages, and from the fascinating and sad guest appearance by a character from McCoy's era on television to the astonishing moment--one of "Doctor Who'"s creepiest scenes ever--where a supposedly dead character turns out to have survived in a quite unexpected way, this is a book that deserves a far better reputation than it has. "Doctor Who" at its most intriguing.

Cyberjunk.......1997-02-05

I like Doctor Who. I like cyberpunk novels, but like ice cream and spaghetti they shouldn't muddle together on the same plate. This book has all the elements of a decent William Gibson book except for the devilish glee that Gibson takes in his dystopian universe. Instead there is a lot of gibberish that is supposed to make me feel depressed, and I am depressed reading it. But only because I have a hundred more excrutiating pages left

THE SIRENS OF TITAN; CAT'S CRADLE; GOD BLESS YOU MR ROSEWATER; WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE; SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE

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THE SIRENS OF TITAN; CAT'S CRADLE; GOD BLESS YOU MR ROSEWATER; WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE; SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE
Kurt Jr Vonnegut
Manufacturer: Dell Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LVXSNY

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Cat's Cradle: A Book of String Figures
Anne Akers Johnson
Manufacturer: Klutz Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
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ASIN: B000K93STQ

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Karen Kingsbury

Another winner from Karen Kingsbury

Great Read

Good read

Good Service

Like Dandelion Dust
Karen Kingsbury
Manufacturer: Center Street
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ever After (Even Now, Book 2)

ASIN: 1931722854

Book Description

Jack and Molly Campbell enjoyed an idyllic life in their small hometown outside Atlanta with their adopted 4-year-old, Joey. Then they receive the phone call that shatters their world: a social worker delivers the news that Joeys biological father has been released from prison and is ready to start life overbut with his son. When a judge rules that Joey must be returned to his father, the Campbells, in a silent haze of grief and utter disbelief, watch their son pick a dandelion and blow the feathery seeds into the wind. Struggling with the dilemma of following the law, their hearts, and what they know to be morally right, the Campbells find that desperation leads to dangerous thoughts. What if they can devise a plan? Take Joey and simply disappear....LIKE DANDELION DUST.

Customer Reviews:

Karen Kingsbury.......2007-07-09

Always great and my wife loves them...that's why I keep buying them for Christmas, anniversaries, her birthday, etc., etc.

Another winner from Karen Kingsbury.......2007-06-24

I enjoy reading fiction with a Christian theme, but don't like to be hit over the head with the message. What I enjoy about Ms. Kingsbury is that she is able to weave the message through the story in a way that is effective, but not so strident that she loses the average reader. This book is no exception.

I found nothing contrived about the storyline - people do lose custody of children as old as Joey, and it's heartbreaking for all concerned. I particularly liked the character of Allyson, the social worker, who while being forced by the "system" to follow the letter of the law also exhibited a sense of what was right and wrong. So many times the social workers are portrayed as non-caring bureaucrats.

I found every element of this story to be plausible, up to and including the ending. I enjoyed how Ms. Kingsbury built up to the conclusion, although it was certainly not a huge surprise. There is nothing that I would change about this book (big of me, I know!), and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good summer read with a nice, gentle Christian message.

Great Read.......2007-06-14

Like Dandelion Dust is a touching book that delves into the lives of the Campbell family. The Campbells adopted son's father is getting out of prison and wants custody. It's a heart-wrenching story that touches on a very sensitive subject of what is best for the child, Joey. It's definitely worth reading.

Good read.......2007-05-23

Karen Kingsbury is one of my favorite authors. I have to admit that this story is a bit over the top. There have been so many stories similar to this one it felt like I was reading something I had already read before.

Kingsbury's books are well written, have lots of emotion, are clean and appropiate for all age groups.

Good Service.......2007-05-14

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! It was awesome, I cried my way all the way through it! It came fast and in great condition! THanks!

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Like Dandelion Dust
Karen Kingsbury
Manufacturer: Center Street
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8F2N8

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