Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* The elements of this fascinating dual life of the Vonnegut brothers the scientist, Bernard, and the novelist, younger brother Kurt are as interlinked as those in one of the latter's fictions and fit as tightly as cannonballs on the courthouse lawn. The titular House of Magic is General Electric in Schenectady, New York, where Bernard worked on cloud seeding and other technological means of producing precipitation, and Kurt, relatively briefly, toiled in public relations. Though for reasons in part technical and in some measure legal, GE hedged on claims of their scientists' ability to affect the weather (the results could have been and perhaps were catastrophic), the reader is persuaded by adept author Strand (Inventing Niagara, 2008) that Bernard's theories and experiments succeeded. For some time, the underachieving Kurt struggled in his brother's shadow, but his eventual success came as both siblings dealt with tangled issues of technology, individual freedom, and corporate/government regulation in mid-twentieth-century America. Their ideas independently crystallize like the ice-nine of Kurt's fiction as he achieves worldwide acclaim and his brother ultimately breaks loose of the restraints of corporate regimentation. This is superb, provocative, and crystal-clear narrative nonfiction, supplying a unique angle on the major issues that Bernard faced privately and Kurt confronted in his writing.--Levine, Mark Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
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 © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
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. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
