SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Vonnegut, Kurt - 1969

(New York): Delacorte Press, 1969. First edition. Very good plus in very good plus jacket. First printing of Vonnegut's scathing anti-war ("I guess") classic, with a lengthy personal inscription. Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time, or time has come unstuck in him, in the miserably entertaining classic by Vonnegut, who "As a Prisoner of War, Witnessed the Fire-Bombing of Dresden, Germany, 'The Florence of the Elbe,' A Long Time Ago, And survived to tell the tale." A major critical and popular success (the "big ka-BOOM," in his daughter's words) when first published during the Vietnam War, SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE still speaks to a deep and savage sense that the linear passage of time alone cannot carry us away from atrocities we have seen and done.With a rare and affectionate inscription to the children of the author's childhood friend - herself a fellow World War II veteran and onetime member of the Women's Army Corps (WAC). 8'' x 5.5''. Original gilt-stamped blue cloth with red and gilt-lettered spine. In original unclipped ($5.95) dust jacket, designed by Paul Bacon. Black endpapers. [12], 187 pages. Inscribed by Vonnegut on half-title: "Affectionately for Martha and Paul Senn, offspring of my Indianapolis schoolmate, Mary Stone Senn. Peace and plenty - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. May 20, 1970." Light bumping to spine ends, faint spotting to fore-edge. Small chip to corner of page 47. Minor rubbing and toning to jacket, somewhat moreso on spine.