Kurt Vonnegut is a unique voice in the American canon ? a writer whose works are hard to categorize, often straddling the space between literature and science fiction, and filled with cutting satire and dark humor. Like Mark Twain before him, Vonnegut's reputation and impact on American writing and reading will continue to grow steadily and increase in relevance as new insights are made. Vonnegut was born in 1922 in Indianapolis, and studied at the University of Chicago and the University of Tennessee. In the Second World War, he became a German prisoner of war and was present during the bombing of Dresden. This experience provided inspiration for his most successful and influential novel, Slaughterhouse-Five. Vonnegut ? admired as much for his views and his ?Vonnegutisms? as for his publications ? wrote extensively in many forms, including novels, short stories, essays, plays, articles, speeches, and correspondence, some of which was published posthumously.

Oliver Wyman, a native New Yorker, has appeared on stage as well as in film, and television. He is one of the founders of New York City's Collective Unconscious theater, and his performances include the award-winning reality play "Charlie Victor Romeo" and A.R. McElhinney's cult classic film "A Chronicle of Corpses". He also lent his voice to several episodes of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Oliver's work as a narrator extends to over 150 audiobooks and has won many him awards, including Audie awards for his reading of Lance Armstrong's autobiography, "It's Not About the Bike", and Thomas L. Friedman's "The World is Flat". He also read James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces", Tim Dorsey's "Atomic Lobster", and David Weber's "By Schism Rent Asunder". Oliver has won five Audie Awards from the Audio Publisher's Association, fourteen Earphone Awards from "AudioFile" "Magazine", and two Listen Up Awards from "Publisher's Weekly. "Oliver was named a 2008 Best Voice in Nonfiction & Culture by "AudioFile Magazine".