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Player Piano Mass Market Paperback – March 15, 1980

4.4 out of 5 stars 2,656

Vonnegut's spins the chilling tale of  engineer Paul Proteus, who must find a way to live  in a world dominated by a supercomputer and run  completely by machines.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

First novel by Kurt Vonnegut, published in 1952 and reissued in 1954 as Utopia 14. This anti-utopian novel employs the standard science-fiction formula of a futuristic world run by machines and of one man's futile rebellion against that world. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

From the Publisher

Vonnegut's spins the chilling tale of engineer Paul Proteus, who must find a way to live in a world dominated by a supercomputer and run completely by machines.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dell (March 15, 1980)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 295 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0440170370
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0440170372
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.5 x 1 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 2,656

About the author

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Kurt Vonnegut
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Kurt Vonnegut was a writer, lecturer and painter. He was born in Indianapolis in 1922 and studied biochemistry at Cornell University. During WWII, as a prisoner of war in Germany, he witnessed the destruction of Dresden by Allied bombers, an experience which inspired Slaughterhouse Five. First published in 1950, he went on to write fourteen novels, four plays, and three short story collections, in addition to countless works of short fiction and nonfiction. He died in 2007.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
2,656 global ratings
Wrong size, great book
5 Stars
Wrong size, great book
Bought this as a gift for a Kurt Vonnegut fan who was missing this one from his collection. Arrived in great condition, just a few scratches on one of the corners which is to be expected from paperback books. Please read the measurements and publisher if you’re trying to get your collection to be the same size. As you can see, I missed them (that was my bad) so the book is bigger compared to my Slaughterhouse-Five copy from a different publisher. Just a tiny mistake but that’s completely fine. Still very happy with my purchase and I highly recommend.
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2012
Player Piano is set in a futuristic America where a supercomputer slots human beings into jobs on the basis of one criterion: IQ. It is written both as a satire of modern knowledge economies and as an exhortation to future engineers and leaders that they be certain to always preserve the inherent rights and `humanness' of humanity even against the boon of technological progression.

A man of many talents, author Kurt Vonnegut acquired his love for science fiction and his understanding of the nature of scientific advancement from his undergraduate education studying undergraduate chemistry and mechanical engineering as well as from his time working at General Electric. His social commentary on religion is founded on his experiences in the Unitarian church and his military insight is derived from his experiences fighting in WWII. Furthermore, it is no secret that Vonnegut was a secular humanist, meaning that he holds to, as the American Humanist Association defines it, "a naturalistic philosophy that rejects supernaturalism and relies primarily upon reason and science, democracy and human compassion." The existential nature of Vonnegut's philosophical belief system is echoed in his commentary on human happiness and capability.
The theme of Player Piano can be summarized as an exhortation from Vonnegut to the reader: "Engineers, think about what technological `progress' means for humanity. Managers, think about what it is that makes humans `human' and decide whether or not it is something worth preserving. Make certain that each new technological advancement doesn't strip humanity of its humanness, because once technological progress happens, it can't un-happen." This emphasis on `humanity' and `humanness' throughout Player Piano is no doubt born out of his personal belief system. One character reflects on the automated `Player Piano' across from him in the bar where he stands and says, "makes you feel kind of creepy, don't it Doctor, watching them keys go up and down? You can almost see a ghost sitting there playing his heart out" (Vonnegut 32). Vonnegut uses this imagery throughout the book to discuss the feeling of unhappiness inherent in human idleness and feelings of unimportance when being replaced. But rather than focus entirely on the dangers of scientific advancement, Vonnegut makes sure to portray the good that technology brings in a positive light. The tension between the good of technology and the bad (reflected in the ending of the book) is masterfully done.
Vonnegut captures the essence of a knowledge-based economy in an automated future. His wit and sarcasm are simultaneously light hearted and haunting. This book is a must read not only for Vonnegut fans, but for anyone who enjoys a good, funny-yet thoughtful read. After all, the `value of humanity' is a universal idea, is it not?
7 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2013
We are in the future, not too far off though, after the second industrial revolution. Machines have now replaced repetitive and monotonous work. It is a time of seemingly forever peace and it is believed that no war will ever occur again. Paul, the main character, lives in Ilium. The city is geology separated by a river, on one side lives the Managers and Engineers, on the other side the common people. The disjuncture is not only physical but also social, common people and the elite ( Manager and Engineer ) almost never mingle.

The plot is separated in two distinct perspectives. On one we follow Dr. Paul Proteus, the manager of the Ilium Works. Paul is an interesting character, he can't seem to ever make a decision by himself, yet he is charming. He is living in the shadow of his father who had had an impressive and very satisfying career. He just goes with the flow of life, he's got dreams but can't seem to find the courage to realize any of them. He is definitely uncomfortable with his current position and the responsibilities this life requires of him. The second part is about Dr Halyard, a diplomat, whose current assignment is to be the guide of Shah, a sect leader of six million members. We can appreciate what america has become through the eyes of an outsider, whose values are totally different.

Since the second industrial revolution, Machines have stolen the job from the bulk of the citizen, leaving them with no purpose in life. Besides taking their job, most of the political decision making are now done by machines and the social status of a person is determined by their IQ test result. The common people have a steady income while doing nothing very fulfilling, most of them have no job anymore. The current political situation feels as though it has evolved to communism.

Despite the seriousness of the subject discussed, it is delivered with Vonnegut's witty and dark humour which is so special of him. The story deals about social classes, political systems and the purpose of life and the need of being needed. Although I have read other books treating those themes with a better storyline, the quality of the prose alone is a good reason to read the book. It feels like a breeze, you will laugh but at a deeper level you will also realize that it holds a darker and more serious subject. Enjoy !
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Maurício Fontana Filho
5.0 out of 5 stars Ótima edição
Reviewed in Brazil on August 25, 2022
Editora de alto nível, a história no entanto não é tão interessante quanto Slaughterhouse-5
Christopher Dainton
5.0 out of 5 stars My third favorite Vonnegut novel
Reviewed in Canada on May 8, 2022
Follows Doctor Paul Proteus as he struggles with the meaning of life in a world where machines have taken over nearly all human work.

Took me about a hundred pages to really get into it, but loved it once i did. Compared to his later novels, the earlier parts feel comparatively overwritten. But this is a great ride, with memorable characters and lots to say about human nature. Feels very timely as we race towards technological apocalypse. Highly recommend sweating out the first hundred pages.
One person found this helpful
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Regolasio
5.0 out of 5 stars Great novel by a great Author
Reviewed in Spain on June 5, 2021
A MUST read for this day and age.
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in India on August 30, 2017
Excellent
Andrew Dalby
5.0 out of 5 stars Dystopian novel about the rise of automation
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 24, 2014
Back in the 1960s we thought that machines would do everything. We would now be living the life of luxury while robots do all the hard work. Player Piano was written even earlier than that and shows the approaching second transition from Labour to automation. That is when machines and algorithms take over from human thinking and not just from human action. The main protagonist is Dr Paul Proteus, the son of the man who had lead the first transition during the war by bringing automation and quality control to industrial production. Now Paul is finding that the role of humans in this automated world is getting less and less and so he feels the need to rebel.

It was a novel of its time and the methods of automation and computing have been replaced by silicon and not valves but the message is as important today as it was then. If we turn everything into an algorithm then we lose our humanity. Today the threat is from protocols, check lists and standard operating procedures. Once you have these machine like devices then you take away human thought. In theory this is there to improve quality control, but in reality when it becomes ossified like in the book then quality declines. So for anyone who wants to think about the future, this book should be on your reading list.
3 people found this helpful
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