PLAYER PIANO by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

 Finished Fr 5/8/26

This is one of my ancient paperbacks that I bought at BOOKS ON BELMONT' on one of my trips to Chicago in the 90's. I have no idea where this shop is, although I'm pretty sure that it's on Belmont. 

The book was released in 1952 and was truly far ahead of its' time.However, Vonnegut's style is totally different from his later (and more famous works) books. This one is a dense style and the newer stuff is much more spare.

The book is overwhelmingly about the horrors of "mechanization" but also about the internal struggles in the married relationship between 'the hero' and his wife.

 From ebsco.com:

""Player Piano" is Kurt Vonnegut's debut novel, classified as dystopian fiction. Set in the fictional city of Ilium after World War III, the narrative depicts a society dominated by an elite class of manager-engineers, while the displaced populace, whose jobs have been automated, struggles for identity and purpose. Central to the story is Paul Proteus, the son of a former Works Manager, who grapples with the pressures of societal advancement and his personal dissatisfaction. The player piano serves as a key symbol of automation, representing the dehumanizing effects of technology that replace human labor. Throughout the novel, Vonnegut explores themes of identity, purpose, and the existential crises faced by those rendered obsolete by progress. As Proteus navigates his internal conflict and the expectations of his wife, he ultimately chooses to embrace human fallibility over the cold efficiency of technology. The narrative culminates in a failed revolution led by Proteus, highlighting his quest for meaning in a world that often equates identity with work. "Player Piano" poignantly critiques the human cost of automation, emphasizing the deep connection between employment and self-worth."

RAGE AND THE REPUBLIC: The Unfinished Story Of The American Revolution by Jonathan Turley

 This was a book that I borrowed on audio from Amazon Prime Music. I get one audio pick per month and I know that I had this for many weeks. 

It's a terrific view of American history as seen through the eyes of Thomas Paine and James Madison. One man believed in 'total freedom' (Paine) and Madison was terrified of 'Mobocracy'- the democracy becomes a mob. 

It was so good that my next audio is also by Turley, 'THE INDISPENSABLE RIGHT: Free Speech In An Age Of Rage". 

From the book's page at Amazon:

 This is a book about revolutions. Most countries are the progeny of revolution. At the birth of this nation, the Founding Fathers faced the quintessential question of self-governance: how do you keep democracy from devolving into violent anarchy or brutal despotism? Drawing on little-known facts from the founding, Jonathan Turley reveals how the United States escaped the cycles of violence and instability that plagued other democratic movements, from ancient Athens to 19th-century France.

As the nation approaches a new era marked by artificial intelligence, robotics, and profound economic shifts, America must again withstand the pressure of radical forces that seek to curtail our natural liberties under the guise of popular reform. In this crisis of faith, many politicians and pundits are questioning the very principles of American democracy, and some law professors are even calling for scrapping the Constitution.

Synthesizing sources from history to philosophy to the arts, Turley offers a hopeful account of how the lessons of the past can guide us through today’s “crisis of faith” in democracy and see us into the future. He notes: “From redcoats to robots, our challenges have changed. Yet, we have remained. Our greatest danger is not forgetting the history detailed in this book, but forgetting who we were in that history.”"

CITY OF ILLUSIONS by Ursula K. LeGuin

 This was one of my ancient paperbacks that I bought at 'BOOKS ON BELMONT' a Chicago bookstore that I don't remember. I finished the novel on Tu 2/9/93. This time I finished on Fr 5/1/26.

It's kind of a cautionary tale about 'global governments'. 'The Aliens' {The Shing} have created small isolated settlements of humans all over the planet. They do this to 'keep us separate and without power', {like redrawing the voting lines within states}.

The hero is left naked and discovered without a clue as to his identity. His eyes are like the eyes of a cat. 

From techietonics.com:

"The story is set on Earth in the future, after a big disaster that has destroyed much of civilization, because of which, knowledge and information are hard to find, and people live separated in small groups. The story builds up slowly, and as it progresses, the plot thickens. It begins with a man named Falk who is found in the woods without remembering who he is. He also has strange eyes that don’t look fully human. Initially, the forest people teach him how to speak and how to survive in their environment. One of these people, Parth, becomes very close to Falk, forming a strong relationship. Their connection is deep, but it’s not a typical romantic relationship. As the story goes on, Falk begins to experience small flashes of memories from his past, especially about a distant mountain. It hints that there is an important, possibly hidden, part of Falk’s history that is waiting to be uncovered.

His journey from the forest to the mysterious city of Es Toch is one of the most interesting parts. He runs into all kinds of groups, such as an old telepathic Listener who lives alone in a cabin, a weirdly charming despot who calls himself the Prince of Kansas, and a nomadic tribe who blind him during a ritual. None of these people feel like filler. They each show a different way humanity has adapted or broken down. The Listener in particular stuck with me. He can’t read thoughts, only emotions, which ends up telling Falk more than words ever could, like he says,  

“I know the compass of your mind, outlandish as it is, whether I will or no. North and south are dim; far back in the east is a lost brightness; to the west there lies darkness, a heavy darkness. I know that darkness.”"