#22 in Essays
Armageddon in Retrospect
- 240
- Pages
- about 4.5 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“Armageddon in Retrospect” gathers Kurt Vonnegut’s unpublished writing on war into a humane, quietly moving posthumous collection. Its core is his letter home about being a prisoner of war in Germany and the firebombing of Dresden, surrounded by stories that joke less than his novels usually do. For some readers the pieces feel unfinished and repetitive; others find them firmly held together by their theme.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of short stories and essays about war and peace written by Kurt Vonnegut. It is the first posthumous collection of his previously unpublished writings. The book includes an introduction by Mark Vonnegut, a letter from Kurt to his family about his experiences as an American prisoner of war in Nazi Germany, and the fire-bombing of Dresden. Like many of Vonnegut's other books, Armageddon in Retrospect is laden with handwritten quotations and rough drawings by the author.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.5 across 53 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 27% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Essays average of 8.0. That is how 7.9 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.2 | 5 | 9% |
| Hardcover | 7.5 | 48 | 91% |
Frequently asked
How long is Armageddon in Retrospect?
It has 240 pages — longer than 54% of the ranked books in Essays.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Essays — with scores between 7.8 and 8.1, closest to this book.
