库尔特•冯内古特（1922-2007）

德裔美国作家，黑色幽默大师，被认为是表现第二次世界大战题材最伟大的作家之一。冯内古特年轻时曾亲历二战期间英美战机对德国城市德累斯顿的轰炸，这段恐怖经历对他来说刻骨铭心。日后他以此为素材写出《五号屠场》，而这部反映战争的残酷与荒诞的作品也成为当代美国文学公认的必读经典。

《回首大决战》是冯内古特过世后出版的遗作集，其中所收录作品依然以战争为主题，把焦距对准卷入战争的小人物，捕捉和放大他们的生存困境，以作者一贯的荒诞、讽刺的幽默笔法，把被政治、军事力量玩弄于股掌的小人物的命运表现得栩栩如生，体现出作家对他们深切的人文关怀。

冯内古特的其他代表作还包括《冠军早餐》、《囚鸟》、《时震》等。为了向这位卓越的现代文学大师致礼，一九九九年十一月十一日，也就是他的七十七岁生日，一颗小行星被命名为“冯内古特25399号”。

The first and only collection of unpublished works by Kurt Vonnegut since his death—a fitting tribute to the author, and an essential contribution to the discussion of war, peace, and humanity’s tendency toward violence.

Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of twelve new and unpublished writings on war and peace. Imbued with Vonnegut’s trademark rueful humor, the pieces range from a visceral nonfiction recollection of the destruction of Dresden during World War II—an essay that is as timely today as it was then—to a painfully funny short story about three Army privates and their fantasies of the perfect first meal upon returning home from war, to a darker, more poignant story about the impossibility of shielding our children from the temptations of violence. Also included are Vonnegut’s last speech as well as an assortment of his artwork, and an introduction by the author’s son, Mark Vonnegut. Armageddon in Retrospect says as much about the times in which we live as it does about the genius of the writer.