Player Piano: A Novel

A classic Vonnegut piece that depicts the not-so-distant future. It isn't very engaging for the first half but is worth finishing. Once you really start to see how the characters think, and how the world of Ilium functions, it's hard to put down.

Having read this in 2013 and considering that it was written in the pre-digital era, I wonder if I am actually living in some alternate reality. With the unemployment we have in America today and the various careers gone redundant through more efficient software or robotics this tale is more relevant then ever.

We musnt sit idly by and let the world go astray. Put your mind and your hands to use. Just a few more lessons from a mind that was far ahead of his time. His visions are as crystal, if not clearer, as they were in 1951.

This is a great edition that matches all of the other Vonnegut books for sale on the store. It's cheap for what you get. I'm not going to write a book review, but a product review. And this is a great product.

I got this book for a class but I ended up really enjoying it. Reading about a possible future written in the 50's about the 60's is always kind of hard to swallow but we live in a world like the book. Most American's don't work in factories anymore and in the book that is because of machines and for us it's because of overseas labor. Although the reasons are different some of the reactions are the same and is a good read and relevant to today's world.

The book was pretty good. I can see how Vonnegut was just forming his style in the book, just becoming comic, "sci-fi" and all. As far as the "great condition"/like new, I have had books in better condition from this category. But it was still very cheap and readable, so that is all I needed!

My kiddo got this book as a required reading book for her advanced middle school English class. It started out OK until page 10 when the swearing (profanity) started. It's a great book showing an alternate society and the science fiction is fantastic considering the publish date, but the content is not really for younger readers who will end up bored and exposed to unnecessary language. Needless to say we requested an alternate.

Highly recommended though for adult reading. I finished it in just a couple of days because I couldn't put it down.

The future is always fun to think about. Flying cars, moving sidewalks and automated cars were all part of the future at one point. Let us face facts, Americans think many problems can be solved by science. The problems of crime, helping the poor, spreading the wealth has all been solved a million times within the books created by sci-fi authors and political thinkers.

To me this book seems to be the counter point to A Planned Society by George Soule. Engineers, managers, numbers, machines and vacuum tubes can only go so far. Planning everything, assigning numbers and values, putting everybody in their tiny slot in the big picture of civilization is not going to work. It will never work. What works in war time does not work in peace time.

The only reason I took a point away was the age of the book. And the death of the kitty.

The book, Player Piano, was second-hand and in good condition considering its use as a library reference and the book met my expectations. Delivery was prompt and on the estimated time. Overall a very satisfactory purchase and a very good service.

The book was rated as very good however the cover was worn, creased, and partly detached. The interior was written in and marked throughout the book and the last three pages were missing. It did arrive on time.

So I wasn't in the market for a dystopia, I just thought I should read the Vonnegut that I hadn't. He had been on mind during the post-election fervor. Eight years ago, I was depressed because KV had died a month or two before Obama was elected, and I thought it would have lifted the clouds that hung over his last years. I'm relieved he didn't live another eight.

Politics and book reviews are not great companions, but for the dystopias this year I will indulge. Kurt Vonnegut was very vocal during the W years, and it's not much of a stretch to imagine that he would not be immensely pleased with the current situation (or likely very surprised). What is surprising is how well this book diagnoses the roots of the political sentiment. Player Piano supposes a world where machines are doing all the work and a vast majority of the people have nothing productive to do. The resulting feeling of emptiness is enough for revolution and suicide.

Perhaps it's difficult to call this a dystopia. The United States is largely in this situation (add globalization to the automation and replace super earning engineers with a growing class of inherited wealth), and a revolution of a sort has occurred. Vonnegut's imagination did not go so far as to suggest that it was plausible that a nation would not take care of the displaced. He would have predicted that the displaced would revolt, though perhaps he underestimated the power of inertia and overestimated the tendency of Americans to enter into engineering. Even though one could fiddle with dials, there is a great deal that feels prescient and resonant. I have just finished The Handmaid's Tale as well , a popular dystopia at the moment, and I find this to be the book with the far greater insight into our time.

This is certainly not the best of Kurt Vonnegut's works. I think one needs to read "Slaughterhouse 5" and "Cat's Cradle" for a sense of Vonnegut at his absolute best. But it is extremely interesting when viewed from the two contexts of both Kurt Vonnegut's career and the literary niche of the dystopian novel.

I made a point of studying Mr. Vonnegut's works in chronological order. This is his first published novel and I have read it twice. It has grown on me. At first I was not really inspired. Stylistically, it is more basic and less unique than his later work. If one is really interested in studying Kurt Vonnegut's evolving style, This is really a very good place to start. It is written in a fairly common, popular style and is a fairly straightforward read.

I think of this novel as a good, not great, dystopian novel. The first modern dystopian novel is often attributed to Jack London's "Iron Heel". There are many others such as "Brave New World", "1984", and so on. All of these novels tends to allow us to peer into a possible future of the common man as technology continues to evolve. In this case, how does society function when robots can perform most common jobs?

In summary, as time has gone on, and my studying with it, the more I have grown to appreciate this novel.
Thank You...

“Player Piano” is a novel written in the early 1950s. It is remarkably prescient but not particularly about the technology. In technology, It envisions an automated world of the 1950s. it fails to envision the massively interconnected Internet-based world of today. There is no inkling in it of the power and wealth of the financial industry. However, and this is the most important thing, it fully envisions the fact of and implications of the inequality that modern technology ahs created. It has brought material wealth, but it has caused a loss of the sense of purpose and meaning for large portions of the population. They have become superfluous and are being displaced both from their jobs by automation and from their homes by gentrification. “Player Piano” foresees both.

The novel itself is rather slow and belaboured at times. The characters seem rather artificial and seem created only to represent certain themes. This is not Vonnegut of “Slaughterhouse 5” or “Breakfast of Champions”.

I remember that I enjoyed this satirical treatise on Luddism when I was much younger, when the novel wasn't so dated yet. Revisiting it now in the Library of America edition is a bit of a let down. It doesn't grip or inspire, and it rarely amuses. It is too long and too clumsy. It is not gifted with economic prophecy either, though it got some things right.
The look at automated industrial production wasn't far off. Much of this is technical reality now. Production processes in many industries need few human operators.
Socially, the vision is overly pessimistic. The lay-off process due to automation is certainly ongoing, but things are not that black and white. New industries have cropped up, mass production isn't the only way of life. The vision lacks analytical depth, but has its strengths.
In Vonnegut's society, laid off workers are employed by the state, either in military service, or in public works jobs. Competition of manufacturers is avoided via cartel supervision and Soviet style central planning. The economic system has become what leftist critics have called 'state-monopolistic capitalism'. Rebellions are rigorously suppressed. Big brother watches out.

Hero of the story is an engineer with the meaningful name Proteus, who has reached a career level of high influence, but feels bad about it. He is troubled by feelings of guilt. He is torn by thoughts that can be summarized by Adorno's claim that there is no right life in the wrong life. However, how would he be able to function outside the system? He hasn't learned anything 'real'. The scenes from his married life with a super ambitious wife are tedious and simplistic.

The writing is generally not worthy of praise, but there are a few gems, like the barber's speech about the barbering profession as compared to medical doctors and lawyers. One may have to take into account, that this was Vonnegut's first novel, and give him some slack. I need to check if he grew with his later work.

Player Piano was Kurt Vonnegut’s first full-length novel (he had previously published some short stories). Unlike his short stories, compiled in “Welcome to the Monkey House”, this book illustrates his talent for biting satire and social commentary. It tells the story of a society dominated by automation and machines, where most people had to survive on make-work projects organized by the government, and where you needed a PhD to do any real work, including selling real estate. The book leaned heavily of Vonnegut’s experience doing publicity work at the GE R and D Center.

This book was particularly interesting to me as I worked at the GE R and D Center, not in the publicity department but as a staff scientist, working about ten years after he left GE to become one on America’s foremost satirical writers and social commentators. I was particularly fascinated by some of the most outlandish parts of the book, which were actually patterned on real aspects of GE, although heavily satirized.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in biting satire, which unfortunately is becoming less of a satire and more of reality since he wrote the book some 50 years ago. If I could recommend only one of Vonnegut’s books this would be the one.

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of ev'ryday
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
And tomorrow's just a dream away

The quotation above is the first verse of the theme for Walt Disney’s attraction “Carousel of Progress.” Carousel of Progress premiered at the 1964 New York World’s Fair where I saw it. I next viewed it about 17 years ago at Walt Disney World. It captivated my then three-year-old daughter who demanded to see it many times.
Carousel of Progress captures part of the American spirit first noticed by Alexis De Tocqueville in the 19th Century. Progress was and would be a constant feature, if not defining characteristic of our nation. Certainly, my baby boomer generation thought that way, at least until the Viet Nam War. It is also true that materially life has only gotten better. What could go wrong?
Everything. At least Kurt Vonnegut thought so. Kurt Vonnegut was an American novelist of the last century who lingered on into this. Not the least of his formative experiences was being captured at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II and living through the firebombing of Dresden. Dresden was arguably as horrible as Hiroshima. There is lingering controversy as to whether or not the raid was at all necessary. Vonnegut did not believe it anything other than an atrocity. In what is his most famous book, Slaughterhouse Five, he recounts his work recovering bodies. The main character, Billy Pilgrim, becomes “unstuck in time” and is taken to the planet Tralfamadore. Time and space travel are among the reasons Vonnegut was considered a “Science Fiction” writer.
Player Piano, his first novel, can’t be thought of as science fiction. It is more the result of an acute sense of observation. Vonnegut saw a technological advance. He reasoned that more improvements would occur and compound. The result would be a change in the status of man versus machine not to the advantage of our species.
In 1949, while working at General Electric, Vonnegut saw the future. Machinists were expensively doing the milling of parts for jet engines. A computer operated milling machine was built and took over from the skilled workers. The men who developed the new equipment exulted about all the machines that could be “run by little boxes.” The author agreed, but was not optimistic about what it meant for society.
Has constant technological improvement been a benefit? Depends on whom you ask. Cheerleaders are happy to point out that even with dislocation, there is a net increase in employment and standards of living after every advance. Generally, an artisan craft is eliminated and lower skilled work expands. Textile mills wiped out weavers, as a class. Their higher paid employment was taken over by machines with lower wage armies replacing them to labor at work that took less if any skill. Consumers got more, if not better goods at cheaper prices. To the weaver, this was no improvement. Protests and sabotage happened but as it was only a minority harmed at any one time, they were not all that effective. It was such that the term “luddite” is considered an insult by most.
This has been seen in many industries as technology changes a society, from the beginnings of agriculture to the computer. What Vonnegut saw was the end of productive employment for most if not all of humanity.
If the computer could do machining, what could it not do? In Player Piano, all factory work is gone and even higher-level skills get eliminated as soon as machinery and programming is perfected. A small elite controls everything.
Needless to say, class conflict is a problem. What to do with all the superfluous workers? In the novel the government employs them in a grand make-work scheme called the Reconstruction and Reclamation Corps. It is known by the slang name as the Reeks and Wrecks.
The army also absorbs a significant portion of the idle manpower. Class conflicts are obvious as they are not trusted with weapons until overseas.
Alas, when people have no feeling of being needed, as in Player Piano, there can be nothing but class resentments. A revolution is attempted, but the masses do not really know what they want and it collapses.
So how does Player Piano hold up today? Actually, the flavor is antiquated. It’s as if the culture of the 50s did not end even though the society was turned on its head. Dad goes out to work on Reeks and Wrecks and comes home to dinner with mom and the kids and then the family watches TV. A woman’s place is in the home, other than maybe as a secretary. The idealized domesticity of mid-century never stopped.
Vonnegut did not predict the digital revolution. All the techno programming is done on magnetic tape. This is understandable in the early 50s. Had anyone predicted even the 8-Track revolution back then, he could be considered no less than a prophet.
So why should Player Piano resonate today? The author may have missed the science, but as to the progress of technology, he was dead on. Machines advance daily in areas previously the province of the human.
Some improvements are devoutly to be wished and bring benefits many of us have experienced. Robotic surgery is getting better all the time. It will not be long before it is completely autonomous. I assure you, we all want more precise, ergo less painful and invasive operations.
The bad news is good-bye jobs. You may have heard that that JC Penney will be eliminating checkout clerks in it stores. This is driven by the chain’s struggle to be profitable. If the people versus machine question comes down to corporate viability, we lose.
Automated checkout is the visible aspect of job destruction. Trades we might think safe are on the chopping block.
There is, on the web, a series of videos by speakers on their area of expertise called TED Talks. TED stands for “bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.” Some of the orations are brilliant and in others, at least all the words are pronounced correctly.
One all too interesting talk, posted in September is by a Mr. Andrew McAfee. McAfee is principal research scientist at the Center for Digital Business, MIT Sloan School of Management. His resume is hardly limited to that job. He has been studying tech for a long time.
In his talk, there are two quotes that stand out. First, “Just in the past couple years, we've seen digital tools display skills and abilities that … eat deeply into what we human beings do for a living.” Second, “Within [our lifetimes], we're going to transition into an economy that … doesn't need a lot of human workers. Managing that transition is going to be the greatest challenge that our society faces.” They should change his title to the Kurt Vonnegut Professor of Human Redundancy.

If those quotes don’t scare you, this one should. The first decade of the 21st Century “is the only time we have on record where there were fewer people working at the end of the decade then at the beginning.” Andy is telling us the great job destruction has already started. Next big quote, “We ain’t seen nothing yet.”

So okay, tech can’t do everything. You might say over the road truck drivers are safe. McAfee got to ride in the Google autonomous Prius. The driverless car worked flawlessly on the highway. Andy does not see it a long time from the Prius to the Mack Truck. Maybe the young fellow thinking of driving the big rigs should contemplate another trade, but what?

After his scary discussion how jobs are toast, he ends with a mealy mouthed pronouncement how humans will be freed up to use our creativity to solve our problems. Moi, I think trends that already exist will continue.

Like Vonnegut’s dystopia, we will move towards more made work. Some of it might be continuous fixing of bridges and roads as in Reeks and Wrecks. The bigger model is the wars we are now pretending to fight. The War on Drugs will continue and expand. A nation that is half drug users and half drug fighters sops up a large number of unemployed. The War on Terror can do the same, fighting opponents real and imagined. Does not the nation cry out for the TSA keeping kids safe as they get on the school bus?

I have not yet mentioned the most disturbing point made by Mr. McAfee. Andrew noted an algorithmically generated piece published in the Wall Street Journal that he called "perfect." Now, it was perfect in the sense that there were no mistakes. It could not be called stylistically excellent. H.L. Mencken does not fear from the grave for his reputation. Still, where this is going is obvious. I am sure the editor of this publication is thinking about the progress of that algorithm with every article I file.

Player Piano was Kurt Vonnegut's first novel and it is for the most part an entertaining read indeed. Published in 1952 just as post-war anxieties about automation were rising (ENIAC, the first modern computer, had come on line only a few years before), it posits a future in which human workers are increasingly being replaced by machines. That development gives rise to an intellectual aristocracy that either operates and maintains the machines or works in the government that directs the economy. Meanwhile, the displaced workers are given a choice to join either the army or a kind of ragtag Civilian Conservation Corps that does shovel ready public works projects. In return, they get a modest living stipend as well as subsidized housing and medical care, and basic education for their kids.

What Vonnegut actually describes in Player Piano is what Sinclair Lewis tried to describe in his novel It Can't Happen Here around 20 years earlier, which is the coming of fascism to the United States. Player Piano's centrally regulated, scientifically designed society with nominally private companies doing the economic grunt work while being overseen by government regulators is the wet dream of every fascist theoretician in history (the Communists had the same basic idea except they did away with the private company middlemen in favor of outright public ownership of the means of production).

I think Vonnegut misunderstands the fundamental problem with his fictional society. It's not that machines are replacing workers, but rather that those workers are not then permitted to find other jobs in the rigid centrally controlled economy (one character remarks at one point that he can't even open a corner grocery because it would conflict with the public grocery monopoly). That eliminates one of the major benefits of automation, which is to free up labor to pursue jobs in emerging industries, encouraging innovation and raising the general standard of living.

But my biggest problems with Player Piano is that Vonnegut cops out after establishing an intriguing world and teeing up a nice piece of drama set around the conflicted attitudes of his central character, Dr. Paul Proteus, who is one of the mandarins of the new order (in fact, his father was its architect). He also adds some interesting supporting characters, from Paul's insecure but social climbing wife to his iconoclastic friend Finnerty. Great raw material. But then the nonsensical last third of the book undercuts everything Vonnegut set up earlier with a slapstick revolt against the system that even its leaders know is doomed. It's like ending Blade Runner with a food fight.

I also thought that the subplot of a Middle Eastern pasha traveling across the U.S. and making pointed observations about the goings on was rather ham-handed and contributed nothing to the central plot. I kept waiting for it to get somewhere but it never did. It's a one-joke stunt.

All in all I liked Player Piano for its intriguing premise and some interesting characters, but it fails to live up to the promise.

Vonnegut’s first novel, published in 1952. A very enjoyable and stimulating book, though sadly, it is another great book from the 50s with a deployable treatment of women. In some ways, the book’s basic theme of man vs machine has been undercut in recent decades by electronics, which has taken the design and maintenance of machines completely away from the common person. But the more general theme of humanity vs technology is very topical, and the separation of society into two distinct working classes was remarkably prescient. Incidentally, the game of nim in misere form makes an appearance (p.232); the same game appears in the 1961 movie “Last year in Marienbad”.

Kurt Vonnegut is a world renowned author who wrote many books about many different topics. His first book was Player Piano which depicts a dystopian past where machines have been upgraded to take over for most of the workforce and most people are put out of jobs. The government gives those people jobs but the engineers who created machines cannot be replaced by the machines. Player Piano follows two storylines, one of doctor Paul Proteus and one of the leader of a foreign country. Paul is an engineer at Ilium Works, the main factory in the fictional town of Ilium. Society in split between two sides of a river, on one side the rich engineers and on the other side the poor people of homestead. Society has been set up so that everyone in Homestead is equal and that the engineers are better off than the rest. The leader of the foreign country is known at the Shas. His point of view is supposed to show all the flaws in the society depicted in the story. The point of view of Paul is supposed to show someone from inside the machine, inside the system. I don’t want to ruin the story so I won’t tell anything else but the biggest part of this book is the themes it portrays.
If you want my personal opinion there are two questions I need to answer. Is this a good book? Is this book thought provoking? To answer the first one, heck no, I hate this book with a burning passion. The whole book can be put into about 50 or so pages instead of 360. Most of the book is just meaningless fluff that’s just there for mild enjoyment. It’s terrible. To answer the second question, yes. It’s extremely thought provoking and I felt that was the reason for Kurt Vonnegut to write this book. The reason it is thought provoking is because it shows what will happen when machines completely take over the workforce of manual labor, an entirely possible scenario these days. The book states “Nobody’s so damn well educated that you can’t learn ninety per cent of what he knows in six weeks. The other ten per cent is decoration.”(pg 229). It states that machines have pretty much started to think for the masses that aren’t engineers. Most people in this society are stupid because of this and therefore cannot think for themselves. The book even ends without a proper resolution to let you think about what could happen after the major events in the story. In that aspect it is a fantastic book, but other than that it was a huge waste of time. Every so often there is something decently nice in the absolute clouds of fluff and unnecessary text which adds a bit of humor or something mildly interesting to the otherwise dull and boring book. This book did remind me a lot of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World because it is close to the same premise. Brave New World is about a dystopian future where everything is controlled, how many people are born, their genders, how they are born, social class, literally everything. The point of that book is also to provide a thought provoking experience but it has a lot more conflict and a better plot.
Overall Player Piano is a decent book. It has fantastic themes and it is very though provoking but it isn’t the best Kurt Vonnegut book I’ve read. In my opinion there was too much extra and unnecessary text and the whole conflict is started and wrapped up in the last seven chapters. There was a minor conflict in the beginning of the book but that was left alone and literally never mentioned again.
V.I

I first read PLAYER PIANO in college, although I had been introduced to the world of Kurt Vonnegut in high school, courtesy of his hilarious sci-fi novel THE SIRENS OF TITAN. PLAYER PIANO was actually Vonnegut’s first novel, published in 1952 after he’d spent some three years working for GE in Public Relations. Apparently, it was there he learned how managers and engineers were held in such high regard, changing the world one machine at a time.

Vonnegut’s cautionary tale, filled with the dark comedy of a wise, plain-speaking jester from Indianapolis, was perfect for a postwar American audience moving inexorably toward an automated society. But reading it again now, I see a new relevance. We are in the midst of another transformation led by the Internet of Things and pricey wearables. And if you can believe the predictions of Ray Kurzweil, soon we will become the machines—a perfect blending of flesh and titanium.

PLAYER PIANO is brilliant and still relevant. If you haven’t read this book, I encourage you to give it a try. Sure, you’ll laugh, but watch out. The next time you are chatting up Siri, you’ll shudder. Long live the Ghost Shirt Society!

This novel, Vonnegut's first, is a more traditional narrative than his later books. The story is told linearly, the chapters are much longer, etc. However, the unmistakable Vonnegut themes are very much present, and make their first appearances here. "Player Piano" deals with the ideas of the danger / dehumanizing effects of technology and how that interacts with basic human dignity. Writing in 1952 about the "false gods" of technology, one need only look around today to think that Vonnegut was a prophet foretelling our doom.
Frankly, I have a hard time nailing down "Player Piano" because I think it meant something different in its original context than perhaps it does now. There are times when the novel seems very anti-communist and anti strong centralized government. The line is even uttered by a government official "Are you against us?" implying that the State knows what is best for all. Clearly Vonnegut does not think that is the case. There is also a very intriguing character, the Reverend Lasher. Of particular interest to me was a scene in a saloon where the Reverend gives a lovely speech on the dangers of class warfare. Moments such as this seem tailor made for the early 1950s and what was happening at the time. They come across as a defense of capitalism and American values. If one has read Vonnegut's biography they know that despite the image many people have of him, these were issues that he cared about deeply.
I don't want to give away plot points, but the text left me with the distinct impression that Vonnegut had a negative opinion of the impetus and results of most revolutions. The novel is full of contradictions, showing the good and bad aspects of capitalism, communism, messianic leaders, uprisings / revolutions, technology, the advances of science, etc. I don't see where the novel comes down decidedly in one camp or the other. However, one thing the book seems definitive about is in its belief that the general population are nothing more than sheep that easily drift from whim to whim. Like Shakespeare Mr. Vonnegut, in this book at least, seems to have a low opinion of the masses. You only have to pay attention to the "common man" during an election season or during the midst of the latest pop culture fad to see that Vonnegut's pessimism is justified.
"Player Piano" is not as brilliant as Vonnegut's later books. It meanders at times and could have been edited into a "tighter" novel. However, there are many moments scattered throughout that make it worth your attention. It is thought provoking and timely, despite being 60 years old. It endures, and that alone is reason enough to read it!

People have been replaced by machines. The computer revolution has conquered mankind. His reward? Dreariness and boredom. Skill, imagination, courage, and boldness carried man forward. They wanted to be managers, engineers, civil servants, and a few professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and teachers. No one wanted to live in south Ilium. But, most did. These were in activities where machines were not economical; bartenders, police, firemen, cab drivers, even skilled artisans.
Checker Charley was a computer brain with a checkerboard painted on the front panel. He had a loose connection. He experienced a meltdown of tubes and blackened wires. Those who live by electronics, die by electronics. Eternal vigilance was the price of efficiency. Everyone had been marginalized into test cards. The machines tirelessly riffled through their decks in search of foot draggers, free riders, and misfits. During audits, physical-education requirements were required for college degrees. Severe penalties were levied for willfully coding false information on personnel cards. Some are always petty thieves of other's high moments.
Doctor Paul Proteus had been labeled as a potential saboteur by the machine. The revolution had begun. "It had all the characteristics of a lynching. Society had become mechanistic and cruel. It would be on such a big scale, I suppose, genocide is closer. The good die with the bad...the flush toilets with the automatic lathe controls." They saw now, the common man's wisdom in wrecking practically everything. The hell with moderation! Excellent.

After learning that all of Kurt Vonnegut's novels are available on the store Prime, I decided to read through them chronologically. This, his first book, was less bold in style than his later works and suffers from a passive protagonist who for most story is simply a cog in other characters machinations (a device Vonnegut uses to much greater effect in later books). Since I was born about 30 years after this novel (which is now over 60) was released, I really can't help but find the dystopian future depicted here quaint and frankly, not as interesting as the world we live in today. The internet hadn't even been invented yet, so the idea in this book that computing machines would drastically alter mankind's fate is at once both prescient and incredibly banal. If you are a first time Vonnegut reader, I would suggest The Sirens of Titan: A Novel or Slaughterhouse-Five as much better places to start.

"Player Piano" was Kurt Vonnegut's first novel, and it's a far cry from his later work, which made lavish use of humor -- including broad humor -- and unconventional narrative, including the crude drawings Vonnegut did himself for "Breakfast of Champions."

The target of Vonnegut's displeasure -- and, thankfully for us, he was always displeased about something -- in "Player Piano" is the corporate/technological power structure, or what Eisenhower referred to as the "military-industrial complex." For the most part, the novel is very straightforward, compared with KV's other works. The style is more lyrical and, arguably, more literary (I'm not denigrating his later works when I write that).

In fact, reading this novel, it's kind of hard to believe it was written by the same writer who penned "Cat's Cradle" and "Slapstick." As several commentators have pointed out, "Player Piano" has as much, perhaps even more, in common with Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" or George Orwell's "1984" than it does with some of Vonnegut's other novels.

If you like this book, don't miss "Deer in the Works," a brilliant short story of Vonnegut's that appeared in his collection "Welcome to the Monkey House," but was written and published in the same time frame as "Player Piano," with which it shares several themes.

Welcome to Ilium, New York, a dystopia where machines have overtaken the usefulness of the common worker. Vonnegut follows the standard formula in his offering to the dystopian genre: the protagonist, trapped in a severely flawed society, tries to overcome his plight and ends up, more often than not, as just another casualty of the system. In this case, the hero is Dr. Paul Proteus, an engineer and one of the big wigs at Ilium Works. Education and money divide the city into the haves and the have nots, with the highest paying jobs going to those who have earned at least a master's degree (those with less than a bachelor's are assigned manual labor). Proteus feels stifled by the boring life of social functions and parties, and often goes slumming in the poorer parts of the city. Here, he is witness to the life of the "common people," the undereducated second-class citizens who have lost their jobs to machines, and soon comes to empathize more with them than with his own class. When he is contacted by the infamous Ghost Shirt Society, an underground organization that seeks to overthrow the machines, he is given a chance to change the face of society itself. It's not exactly an original idea, but it is a classic one in science fiction: what happens when man's role in society is replaced by the very inventions he created to make his life easier? Piano Player is a timeless book about modern man's fear of technology's possibilities, and the universal worry that society as we know it will change beyond our recognition. This is a very funny, sarcastic vision of the future that any lover of classic science fiction is guaranteed to love.

A friend recommended I read this after rereading 1984, Brave New World, We, and Fahrenheit 451, I must say that I am happy I took my friend's advice.

This is a slightly different twist on the dystopian novel genre, and one that has a bit more of its plot rooted in fact rather than fiction. The world in this novel centers around industry and consumerism with a huge gap between the impoverished and the upper class. The protagonist, Paul Proteus, is an upper class elite industry leader with a PhD and a very secure and promising future. Things get interesting when Paul begins to identify himself with the 'wrecks' and begins to lose his focus on the posh future laid before him and begins questioning the way the world works.

Unlike many other dystopian novels of the era, Player Piano has a ring of truth to it (much like Fahrenheit 451 does). The vanishing middle class and the loss of jobs to machines is a very real problem facing the world today. This is a very eye opening novel to be sure.

Despite being the first novel written by Kurt Vonnegut, it reads very well and is no less polished than his other, later works. The writing style is very fluid and Vonnegut displays a wonderful grasp of prose. The characters are well portrayed and very likable. There is no real 'villain' other than the mold of society, so even characters on both sides are likable and interesting. I would put this up there with the aforementioned novels as a must read for those who enjoy well written, darkly humorous, dystopian novels.

Player Piano was the late Kurt Vonnegut's first novel. Published in 1952, the novel is set in an industrial dystopia where the engineers are the top rung of the ladder. In the name of progress, the engineers create machines that can do the work of men. Only the best and brightest are allowed to attend the colleges necessary to secure doctorates. The rest of the population is consigned either to the Army or the Reconstruction and Reclamation Corps (Reeks and Wrecks). The main character is Dr. Paul Proteus, the head of the Ilium Works in Ilium, New York. Proteus is the son of one of the men who led the mechanization of America, thus he is well-respected and expected to rise to the top. But Proteus is decidedly unhappy with the system, particularly the way the common working man has been disenfranchised. The main thread of the novel follows Paul as he attempts to sort out his loyalties, while a side story follows the Shah of Bratpuhr, who's being given a tour of America.

While the technology in the book is quite dated, the story itself still resonates strongly, especially in this age of computers and outsourcing jobs to foreign countries. The people in the story have become enslaved by technology. The people at the top need to be able to create and control the machines in order to maintain their elite status and the people of the bottom have been excluded from making a meaningful contribution to society by being replaced by machines. The people at the bottom are either in the Army, the Reeks and Wrecks, who do very menial tasks, or they just do nothing. They are segregated from the elite managers and engineers. The elite don't seem to have it much better as they spend the majority of the book spouting useless propaganda and jockeying for position. This is the America that causes Proteus to question every value he once held dear.

Despite the somewhat bleak circumstances of the story, Vonnegut tells it with a wry humor and a sharp sense of satire. Player Piano is perhaps the most conventional of his novels and written linearly as opposed to the nonlinear jumping around he would use in later books. This was the first of his novels I ever read, given as a high school assignment back in 1994. I enjoyed it then and I still love it today. I've read some reviews that have said that Player Piano doesn't hold up when compared with his later work. I couldn't disagree more. The story is still relevant to modern times and it's told beautifully.

This is the tenth of his books I have read, marathon style, over the last few weeks, and I must say, the message I have been receiving was much changed in this tome. You might have to help me understand the incessant insistence that all men are not created equal, but must receive equal shares of the God things in life, against the backdrop of this story, with everyone getting their needs and wants met, but it being a bad thing in this case. This bit of retro science fiction painted a bleak picture, but it was bleak because of the nanny state. It's hard to kick against the pricks.

It is hard to believe that this novel was written over 50 years ago. I remember that I was working as an engineer back when I first read it. This was appropriate since most of the main characters are engineers. I remember being struck at how close Vonnegutt's predictions about society actually were. Now that I've reexamined them 20 years later, I am even more impressed.

The basic premise of the story is that American industry is run by a tiny group of wealthy and powerful managers and engineers, while the vast majority of the population are stripped of their well-paying industrial jobs and forced to live as poor, powerless menials.

This elite of managers and engineers live in closed, gated Orwellian communities, where they watch each other closely for the slightest hint of nonconformity or disloyalty to the system.

Vonnegut shows how most managers and engineers have always had a contempt for the average American worker and have been looking for a way to replace them even before WW2. He thought that this would primarily be by automation (as opposed to simply shipping the jobs out of the country.)

Vonnegut also assumed that agriculture would be totally mechanised by large corporations and the small farmer made extinct.

There is also the eerie prediction that the President would be a man of low intelligence who would get elected on the basis of a "three hour television show." It would make no difference because there would be no connection between who was elected and who actually ran the country. Remenber, this was in 1952....

Oh yes, he also prdicted that no one would be able to get any job worth having without a graduate degree.

I know that some people will say that this novel is dated based simply on the repeated mention of vacuum tubes (transistors were not in commercial use in 1952.) However, if you substiute "integrated circuit" or "computer chip" for every place he uses vacuum tube the obsolescence vanishes. Simularly, a modern reader may laugh at the idea of a computer large enough to fill Carlesbad caverns. Believe me, even today the Cray supercomputers and their support equipment take up quite abit of space.

My only real criticism with Vonnegut's projections is that he thought that engineers would have alot more power and influence than they actually have. From my own experince MBA's, CPA's, and lawyers have much more power.

For what it is worth, my copy is the 1966 "new edition."
Having attended many meetings featuring a futurist nut as keynote speaker, I would have to say that Vonnegut, Jr. had a better sense of the matter than the nuts.
We have almost arrived (2012) at the point of the author's future, although perhaps having travelled a different path to achieve our destination.
In "Piano Player" a few of Those Who Rule Over Us used automation to divorce the American populace from meaningful employment when in real life Those Who Rule Over Us used the One World Market. Instead of being inducted into the military or becoming Reeks and Wrecks, our children are to be inducted into the military or become a greeter at a box store, perhaps now less Vonnegut's minor financial provisions for his characters.
I wish Kurt had been wrong...
The uprising was hokey and Dr. Paul Proteus failed to understand how to work the system.
Almost a documentary, but still a fantasy.

When I first read this book in the early 1990s I thought it was an interesting plot, but did not consider it as a serious futuristic scenario. Twenty-five years later it makes the opposite impression. The story now seems dated only in its technology, but the prospect of us entering into a world divided into programmers and non-programmers seems all too real. In a radio interview I heard a technology expert express the worry that in the future we will be divided into those who can write code and those who serve them - this is essentially the future outlines in Player Piano. Fro other types and shadows of our technological future watch the films, Gattica, The Island, and Trancendent. All Science fiction, but based on technologies that are now in play.

This is absolutely my favorite Vonnegut book, being a science fiction novel wherein the world has become a Player Piano. No one has a real job except those with doctorate degrees who can program the machines. Everyone else is sent to the army (it's a world-government so there are no wars and guns are illegal so the soldiers have wooden rifles) or the Weaks and Wrecks (road repair workers, with ten or twenty being sent to do the job of one kind of like it's becoming today). Dr. Proteus is a doctor who goes through an "enlightenment" and sees the tragedy of the way the world has become, and is inspired to lead a revolution. Though some view this work as a "developing" Vonnegut, I actually laud it above all of his others because of the stark social criticism and excellent prophetic voice. Vonnegut may have been a rougher writer at the time, but his first work is much better than the average writers fifth or sixth. He's a bit wilder and less liberal than he was in later years, speaking against socialism and communism as well as the merchantilism he criticized more vehemently in his later years. The characters are more vibrant and believable than many of those in his later works, and his experimental writing is is a joy for dated eyes. What's more, I'd have to consider this an early post-podernist work to some degree because of it's ending, which I won't tell you now.
Also, I've always wanted to hear the "symphony of machines" that Dr. Proteus imagines in the first chapter actually played liked it sounds when you read Vonnegut's description.

This book is entertaining, thought provoking, and funny. Lately, I've read a lot of Vonnegut, and after most of his novels, I finally picked this one up. I must say I rank Player Piano as one of my favorites. This is a book that makes you wonder, as a lot of what was happening in this future Vonnegut's describing has started to happen to us.

Set in a future where most of American jobs have been automated and efficiency is extremely high. The skills of yesterday are no longer needed. The people are divided based on IQ, is that better than a class division based on wealth? Maybe a little. At least we have the very brightest running the country right?

I had a lot of fun reading this book, it throws a lot of ideas at you without being too serious.

Highly recommended.

One of Vonnegut's early works, he sets the stage & location for many of his future works. Essentially, humans have progressed beyond man vs. machine and the protagonist is in the upper echelon of a culture where machines run humans. This sets the stage for an attempted coup. The explanation of why & wherefore and the outcome are the meat of the story which you'll have to read to understand.

Just yesterday, my refrigerator and I got into an argument about the late, great Kurt Vonnegut's first novel! I am currently re-reading PLAYER PIANO for the 5th time. I can't get enough of it. I feel about Mr. Vonnegut the way I feel about Dashiell Hammett: why didn't he write more? This fantastic story lays the ground work for all of Vonnegut's later works. Hi Ho, indeed!

As social commentary I love this book, I'd give it 4 stars. It's spot on in it's description of a "meritocratic" society in which people are entirely sorted by fairly arbitrary and yet seemly worthy and entirely quantifiable (of course!) criteria.

This sorting becomes necessary because there is not enough relevant work for people to do and people must be sifted into the few good jobs remaining somehow. And after all what is a more "rational/mathematical" way of sorting people than turning human beings into nothing more than numbers? And all this sifting by numbers is only to determine who can even qualify for the obscene levels of over education (PhDs) needed to actually do anything. The competition for relevant work is just that stiff. Everyone who doesn't make the cut (the overwhelming majority of the people) gets sent to the universally despised government make work of the "reeks and wrecks" or to the army.

Think that's not the case today? Well to a large extent it is the case today, but it probably would be even more so if this reality weren't hidden under one absurd bubble after another.

As a novel though, this book leaves much to be desired, and that's why I only give it 3 stars. The plot becomes weak halfway through. The technology in the book is also totally outdated but that's irrelevant.

An interesting early novel by Vonnegut. Not as fun-filled or imaginative as later works, but contains the seeds of later themes. The main character, Paul Proteus, manages the Ilium Works. He has doubts about the technological advance that seems to value output and efficiency above people. In the story there is a writer, husband of a woman who turns to prostitution rather than have her husband compromise his artistic integrity by writing a book that will sell. The writer's first book was rejected because it was "27 pages too long", and had an anti-machine theme. The wife remarks, "cmy husband says somebody's just got to be maladjusted; that somebody's got to be uncomfortable enough to wonder where people are, where they're going, and why they're going there." An insight into Vonnegut's views, perhaps. Although the book is more about ideas than character or dialogue, yet both character and dialogue are competently handled. Paul questions the absolute value and benefice of technology, because of what he feels within himself as well as what he sees happening to people around him. Yet Paul never fully joins the revolutionaries either, whose fanaticism and amateurism lead to their downfall. His difficulties are compounded by the fact that he has no-one in whom he can confide, and in addition, he is being considered for promotion, and his wife is very ambitious. There is quite a lot of symbolism: Paul frequently crosses the river into Homestead where the "workers" live. This is seen as a socially downward move. Paul comes into contact with an underground movement, "The Ghost Shirt Society", and later actually joins them in an underground bunker where he is hailed as a messiah. The alert reader will recognize echoes of Huxley's "Brave New World", HG Wells' "The Time Machine" (with its division into 2 races), and George Orwell's "1984", a world where machines and technology rule. Not as much fun as Vonnegut's later works, but solid fare, and food for thought: although the descriptions of Ilium seem dated, the theme of a technological "utopia" gone wrong is one that continually crops up in the popular culture, cf movies such as "The Matrix", "Fifth Element" and "Blade Runner", or even "Terminator".

_Player Piano_ depicts a dystopian American society in which machinery runs everything. These instruments were not designed to assist mankind, but quite the opposite: mankind exists as servants of these gigantic leviathans. Human initiative has been permanently stiffled. Managers and engineers exist as mere handmaids to these machines. Anyone who dares speak up may be accused of sabotage or worse. Doctor Paul Proteus, the brilliant manager of Ilium works in New York State inadvertently becomes, through the efforts of others, the pawn in a nascent revolt against this mechanized dictatorship. What results is utter chaos--but what fun!

Kurt Vonnegut's satiric and disturbing novel is a cross between _1984_, _Brave New World_, _Oedipus Rex_, and Custer's Last Stand. The novel even includes a group of Indians, a Ghost Dance Society, as well as a bemused Shah and his befuddled interpreter as observers of the resulting confusion. Revolution has never been as enjoyable nor as frolicsome.

The theme of man being replaced by machines is an old one and perhaps a touch cliched, but in our age of computer domination and the sinister out-sourcing of American jobs to foreign companies, Vonnegut's apocalyptic novel is as fresh, relevant, and aptly cynical today as it was in 1952, the year _Player Piano_ was published.

This was the first book of Vonnegut's that I have ever read and I found it to be a very well written, interesting book. When I read the description of the book, I did not think I would like it. But once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Vonnegut does an excellent job of always keeping the reader wondering about what will happen next. I liked how the book had a few different stories that it followed and how they all came together in the end. For me, this added to my curiosity as I was reading because I was trying to figure out how everything tied in together.
This book really got me thinking. Vonnegut wrote it back in 1952 about a world dominated by machines and how people were getting replaced in their jobs by these machines and felt useless, like there was no point to their lives. Today, as technology is advancing, computers are becoming more and more a part of everyday life. Are we headed in the direction of a world dominated by computers? Are we already there?
Lastly, I think Vonnegut did a good job of emphasizing the importance of fighting for what you believe in, no matter how bad the odds are against you. The first half of the book really just built up the feeling of people being dissatisfied with the way things were. The second half of this book really showed what people were doing to try and fix their lives. Although the Ghost Shirt Society may have lost the physical battle against the machines, they still came out winners in the end. They took their chances and stood up for what they believed in.
I think is a very good book and would recommend it to anyone.

PLAYER PIANO (1951) is a medium-future semi-science-fiction novel, set about 15 years in the future... say 1965-1970 (much like ATLAS SHRUGGED, written in the same era).

The Brilliant: Does a fantastic job of predicting wide-scale unemployment and government "make-work" jobs, due to Robotic (and to an extent, AI) technology. Many of the general masses react to being replaced just like today's 99ers, and Disability Insurance abusers; and many others react by getting make-work government jobs like the 1930's WPA jobs; but the WPA jobs had actually produced many good things: highways, the TVA, Hoover Dam, Aztec Bowl at San Diego State, which provided the venue for Don Coryell to begin developing the West Coast Offence in the early 60's, etc.. The difference between Vonnegut's government do-nothing jobs, and today's government do-nothing jobs, is that today's are office-oriented. in either event, he predicted the growth of government to "coddle" the unemployed masses, and only a few of the people actually being discontent with their (in fact virtually worthless) existence.

The Mediocre. But, while the transistor had been developed by 1949, this was written BEFORE the widespread commercial application of the Transistor - viable commercial transistor radios were still 4 years in the future; and Vonnegut makes use of Vacuum Tube technology to describe the workings of the Robots and Computers (rudimentary AI). There is nothing like Asimov's "Positronic Brain" (which he thought up in 1939!).

The Imbecilic: The final "revolution" is a self-parody of the book itself... it peters out into an absurd and completely unlikely sequence of events, and one is left at the end of the book feeling "ripped off" for having spent their time finishing it.

TIME SAVING READING HINT: Just like one should skip over the hundreds of pages beginning at about the 2/3rd's mark in the epically-long (for it's day) ATLAS SHRUGGED, one should skip over the last 1/5th of PLAYER PIANO.

What vision!
Vonnegut writes this amazing novel from a pre-Internet, pre-Information Revolution, pre-Overautomated era. It is based a post-war society that is run by technocrats - an elite group of managers and engineers who year over year gradually improve and automate society.
The story explores the moral choices presented to a society, and the institutions required to maintain an ever-improving status quo. The protagonist is a budding technocrat struggling with his place in this dehumanizing society. He struggles with a wife he claims to love, a duty he feels obligated to live up to, and a sense that something is deeply wrong.
The agitation, and revolutionary action in the novel speaks to many times. It speaks to a fear of automation in a pre-technical society. It also talks to the activism in the 60s, with a message of "Rebel even if you can't succeed". It also speaks to today's world, where every choice presented to us seems to be filtered through numerous technologies...
This was a very quick read, a very entertaining read, and a very insightful read. It put words to ideas that it drew from within me. It's timeless message does great justice to the author's reputation.

Re-Reading Vonnegut's works from A to Z. Hadn't read Player Piano since college, and even with 25 years in betweem, the story still rings true. Vonnegut's stories are generally character-filled, as is Player Piano, and each character is given a back story and development that makes his tales more fully dimensional and complex. His knack for dry wit and satire is unmatched.

The test for a great novel is the test of time and how well it retains its relevancy. When "Player Piano" first begins, the reader is presented with an alternate reality of the 1950s/1960s in America, who has just fought the "Last War" and where the common masses are subsidized by the federal government and all industry has been centralized and streamlined by a massive bureaucracy. The new factories are fully automated through a conglomeration of vacuum tubes, wiring, and machines. A technocracy of engineers and managers rule the country, as the President is nothing more than a highly-paid actor.

Some of the notions are laughable, such as a supercomputer comprised of millions of vacuum tube that is housed in an enormous network of caves. The great technical computers use punch cards and use standardized tests that determines a person's fate. Indeed, the computers make all the decisions, as the middle class has ceased to be relevant.

The central theme of the novel, that of the dangers of relegating factory jobs to machines, has become a reality today. Of course, that has been a positive development, as these lead to new and higher-paying jobs. Indeed, it turns out that the main threat to the factory job has not been the development of technology, but the outsourcing of the manufacturing to overseas factories. Perhaps novels like this and others helped to ensure that technological development always helped to improve the human condition and retain a personal touch to any new technology. Or maybe these novels were just anti-technology hysteria of a bygone era.

So now that I've dispelled the central theme of man becoming enslaved to machines, what is the point to read this? It turns out that the anti-machine tone is just one of several complicated themes in the novel. This could just as easily be interpreted as a novel about the perils of the corporate structure and the struggle to belong to a cause. Indeed, the novel's protagonist, Paul, is seeking to find himself. He is the son of the national head of industry, and he is trying to find his own path in the shadow of his father, a father who he resents deeply. His wife is nothing but a hack who attaches herself to a person she thinks will give her the most money and biggest house. The characters surrounding Paul could just as easily be taken from any major corporation, as there are the faithful workers, the brownnosers, the unheralded engineers, and the malcontents. Throughout the novel, the character of Paul evolves as he attempts to "find" himself.

A larger issue presents itself in the idea of a revolution to restore "power to the people." The revolutionaries are presented in a conflicted nature, as they are not as idealistic and pure as they seem at first. In fact, each of the leaders of the new revolution have their own reasons. It seems as if life would not be any better even if they succeeded in overthrowing the yoke of machines and technology. There is a moral lesson that we should not engage in change unless one is willing to accept that change, as the characters in this novel are not.

Overall, this is a great novel and lends an air of suspense. Although some aspects may be outdated, Vonnegut does a good job in relaying a story of power, corruption, and revolution in a thought-provoking manner.

What immediately struck me is that this book is not chopped into neat little portions that make the other Vonnegut books so easy to digest. Also, the chronology of the book follows a conventional time line of events that Vonnegut seems to avoid in his later books. Besides that, this is wild science fiction. America has been taken over by a computer and everyone has an employee rating based, predominately, on an IQ score. Engineers and executives rule the corporate world as most jobs have become automated. Engineers have become great by making other people's jobs obsolete. The corporate workers don't see what they are doing. For example, when one of the company's long-standing and self-important secretaries (with a Ph.D. - many people in this futuristic setting have been made to get PhDs) is told her job is not necessary because a computer can do it; she becomes upset and can't understand why anyone would tell her that her job wasn't necessary.

This crazy culture is oddly observed by Shah of Bratpuhr who hails from an obscure but rich, unindustrialized society. The Shah prays and cajoles the computer to answers his riddles about the meaning of life, but it can't. The shah, despite admonishments by his tour guides, perceives all humans in the society to be "slaves."

My favorite part of the book is the Executive team building camp. Complete with adulterous affairs, roaring team anthems and silly adult competitiveness, the setting nails corporate suck-ups and purveyors of the corporate line. But watch out, the ghost shirt society is out to change it all!

Kurt Vonneguts books (the ones I've read, anyway) range from very good to great. This book, his first, is not one of the great ones, as it's satrical prose is not yet refined to the perfection that he would achieve in his later works. Also, the book starts out a little slow. However, once the plot is apparent, this is just like any of Vonnegut's books in which it reads very easily and smoothly and leaves you wanting more at the end, with nary a dull moment. Not as jaw-droppingly entertaining as Cat's Cradle or Breakfast of Champions, but Player Piano is a highly interesting book with a message. Kurt is one of literature's most famous Luddites, and this book proclaims the theme, not as good as 1984 or Brave New World, but probably as good as anything since, and with the satrical view, cynicism, and biting wit that only Vonnegut could deliver. Vonnegut fans will certainly enjoy this book, as will those looking for dystopias with a little less pessimism and a little more humor.

What's really to say? This was Vonnegut's first novel and it was intriguing and well-written. I've read lots of Vonnegut in the past, but not this one for some reason. I'm doing some research on the area of robotics and its impact on culture and employment and someone recommended going back and looking at how the mid-20th century Sci-Fi folks looked at robotics and Player Piano was one they strongly recommended. I can see why. I plowed through this as quickly as I've done any anything for a while. Definitely worth reading on all sorts of levels.

Who among us has not heard of Slaughterhouse Five? For so many years, I avoided it simply because the title made me think he was a horror writer. But I read it recently, leading to a wonderful odyssey of reading all twenty or so of his published books. I absolutely love this guy's writing. And his way of thinking. The early stuff was wonderful, the later more undisciplined but somehow even better. A phenomenal talent.
Now let's talk about Player Piano. This was his very first novel, and it is probably the most underrated thing he's written. Remember, it was a late fifties product. How he got it past the censors, I'll never know. And by that, I mean that the underlying theme is so true, and so subversive.
All the characters are well-conceived and expertly drawn for us to enjoy. The plot is all-too-credible. The story is entertaining and gripping. The man's grasp of the truth of human existence is obvious even here, in his very first of many novels. This is a book that everyone simply must read. Buy it now!

It is a good exercise to revert to 1950's Science Fiction occasionally, in that its prolific nature can be especially close to our current society. "Player Piano" is no exception: fully automated factories, cars that start with the push of a button, and riots for individuality. The book's structure supports the allegories and symbolism present without feeling too overt. A good instructive piece for a contemporary Science Fiction enthusiast who is not well versed in the classics.

This kind of surprised me. I think I had confused Sirens of Titan and this in my mind, and hadn't expected this first book to be so... Vonnegut-y. I don't really know what to expect from Sirens of Titan either, but I was very struck by the quality and depth of this first novel, written while Vonnegut was still at G.E. Everything you come to expect from later Vonnegut stuff is here, and it's a huge step up from the earlier written, posthumously published works like 'Basic Training,' which show a writer learning his trade. Frankly, I expected something less polished and I was blown away. Highly recommended.

As corporate managers realise the power that they weild over those that they purport to serve either as shareholders of cutomers their behaviour becomes more and arrogant. The narrowness of personal value and vision that got them to where they are, raises no objection to more and more extreme action in defense of their power. The elevation of consumption to culture that fueled their success leaves them frustrated and unfulfilled at the pinnacle. To give their success meaning, they begin building a new culture based on their shared experience of success through slavish obediance to superiors. Underneath this culture, oppossition inevitably builds against not only the managers but, mistakenly, the systems of production from which they draw their power. In the ensuing revolution, the best and the worst are lost together.

I read PLAYER PIANO because Kurt Vonnegut is by far my favorite writer, and because I'm a completist. I'm glad I did. It's a decent post-pulp-heyday, Eisenhower-era dystopian sci-fi work, and as a period piece and an example of early Vonnegut, it's fascinating. It's not, however, terribly GOOD. It's clearly an author's first novel, and Vonnegut could have used a better editor, because it seems the one he had was writing this off as a dime-store novel by an unknown. A more exacting editor would undoubtedly have torn apart the more glaring problems: Dangling plot threads, a lumbering first third, entire themes forgotten for chapters at a time. Still, even the best editor in the world could not fix other problems, such as the fact that Vonnegut had yet to find his voice (although echos of it are there, particularly in the characterization and the subplot involving the Arab visitor). And nobody could have seen how dated the novel would look today, given that the 50's-era brand of mechanization has given way to the 80's-era brand of digitization, an entirely different dynamic. PLAYER PIANO is not a BAD novel, just a decent one. It's fun for us fans to see Vonnegut develop as a novelist over the course of his next three novels, each of which is progressively better: THE SIRENS OF TITAN, MOTHER NIGHT and finally his masterpiece CAT'S CRADLE. For Vonnegut fans and sci-fi historians, this is essential. For casual readers, I'd recommend skipping straight to MOTHER NIGHT.

Vonnegut's debut novel, published in 1952, is a little constrained. There are hints of Vonnegut's sardonic wit, wild imagination, and unconventional writing style, but only hints. Unlike virtually all of Vonnegut's other novels, Player Piano tells its story in a linier fashion. It starts at the beginning and ends at the end. There's nothing really wrong with that, but for fans of the author, accustomed to Vonnegut's eccentric voice, it feels a little too conventional.

Vonnegut is a humanitarian and the message of Player Piano is that people need to have a sense of purpose, and that if you take that away from them - their lives will be empty. Throughout the novel, a leader from another country tours the cities of the United States and having no similar word in his own language, confuses `civilians' for `slaves'. The message of course, is that the civilians, in this machine dominated world, are in-fact slaves.

Similarities between this novel and Brave New World are inevitable, as both novels explore the relationship between technology and happiness, and the role class structure plays in our society. In both Player Piano and Brave New World, the protagonist is unfulfilled by the trappings of the privileged class and longs for something `real'. Player Piano is arguably more hopeful than Brave New World (and certainly 1984) suggesting that people will band together to fight for their freedom, however futile, even if it means that they are doomed to repeat the same mistakes again.

Player Piano is admittedly dated. It is evident from this novel, and others of the era, that people were wary of the advent of computers and the proliferation of machines and technology. As for predicting the future, neither Brave New World nor Player Piano (nor 1984 for that matter) proved to be a reliable crystal ball. These novels are far more reflective of the times they were written and the author's commentary on those times, than of any actual or likely future.

Player Piano is far from Vonnegut's best. Cat's Cradle and Slaughter House Five are two of the best novels ever written and there are close to a half dozen other Vonnegut novels (he wrote 14) I would recommend before Player Piano, but it's still worth reading.

3 ½ stars (almost four).

Player Piano is Vonnegut's first work. It's also quite different from most of Vonnegut's other works. The writing has much less "Vonnegut punch" to it than Vonnegut's other novels. However, that's not to say that it wasn't as good.
Player Piano is a story of the world in the future, seen from the eyes of Paul, dissatisfied leader of Illium works. Everything is run by machines. Because of this, there are only two types of people. Educated people who work running, regulating, and designing machines, and un-educated people who perform manual tasks machines cannot (ex-road repair). These two types of people live on different sides of town, with very different life styles. They associate with eachother as little as possible. Paul soon realizes that the creation of machines has ruined the lives of many people that could have become something. If only the people would unite, and the machines be destroyed, quality of life could be improved- that is the general theme of this book. Of course, the plot has more depth and is actually very entertaining at parts.
There were quite a few "side plots" put in by Vonnegut to stress the theme and make the story more interesting. At times, they did just that. At other times, they seemed unnecessary and just distracted me from the plot. (So be sure to concentrate when reading this book). My only other complaint was that Vonnegut almost used the entire first half of the book to introduce the characters and set the scene for later "action". This is both good and bad.
I DO recommend you read this book. It's entertaining, and the moral of the story is very true. Begin reading Player Piano when you have some sort of energy to concentrate, so you can pick up on the characters and story line. You'll get the most out of it that way. Overall, it's a good, entertaining read.

Some books I can plow through in an afternoon, regardless of the number of pages. However, every time I read something by Vonnegut, it becomes so deeply philosophical and thought-provoking that I can only take it in small bites.
It's about the future of America. It was written in 1952, as his first novel. In the book, a computer takes over the U.S. and most of mans' work has been taken by machines. Citizens are split into two groups: the ones who have high IQs and the ones who don't. In an almost communist society (where the government takes certain steps to ensure a person's well-being through provisions), a few people decide to call for a revolution against the machines, with surprising twists and an ironic ending.
It made me consider how much of my life seems automated--wake up, go to work, go home, repeat--and how much more I need to be less mechanized and more human.
This is a book that I think I'll buy so I can re-read it.

This year is the 50th anniversary of this novel. I remember that I was working as an engineer back when I first read it. This was appropriate since most of the main characters are engineers. I remember being struck at how close Vonnegut's predictions about society actually were. Now that I've reexamined them 20 years later, I am even more impressed.

The basic premise of the story is that American industry is run by a tiny group of wealthy and powerful managers and engineers, while the vast majority of the population are stripped of their well-paying industrial jobs and forced to live as poor, powerless menials.

This elite of managers and engineers live in closed, gated Orwellian communities, where they watch each other closely for the slightest hint of nonconformity or disloyalty to the system.

Vonnegut shows how most managers and engineers have always had a contempt for the average American worker and have been looking for a way to replace them even before WW2. He thought that this would primarily be by automation (as opposed to simply shipping the jobs out of the country.)

Vonnegut also assumed that agriculture would be totally mechanised by large corporations and the small farmer made extinct.

There is also the eerie prediction that the President would be a man of low intelligence who would get elected on the basis of a "three hour television show." It would make no difference because there would be no connection between who was elected and who actually ran the country. Remenber, this was in 1952....

Oh yes, he also predicted that no one would be able to get any job worth having without a graduate degree.

I know that some people will say that this novel is dated based simply on the repeated mention of vacuum tubes (transistors were not in commercial use in 1952.) However, if you substiute "integrated circuit" or "computer chip" for every place he uses vacuum tube the obsolescence vanishes. Simularly, a modern reader may laugh at the idea of a computer large enough to fill Carlesbad caverns. Believe me, even today the Cray supercomputers and their support equipment take up quite abit of space.

My only real criticism with Vonnegut's projections is that he thought that engineers would have alot more power and influence than they actually have. From my own experience MBA's, CPA's, and lawyers have much more power.

Slow at times & steeped in the beginnings of what would later become his distinctive black humor style, Kurt Vonnegut's first novel examines one question: when all the work humanity fills its time with is performed by machines, where does one find self worth? While this book is over 50 years old, it still has relevant & exciting messages about humanity & technology, & what exactly a person requires to feel fulfilled.

As I said in my heading, this is probably the greatest Vonnegut book, but it doesn't have the odd and recognizable prose that most of all of his other books have. This was his first book, a satire on society, technology and the future. I wouldn't call it science fiction, I would just call this book 'true'. It has some very interesting and provokative points and really makes you think about where you stand in this world.
This is the story of a man named Paul who is very high in a society where it's all based on social skills and your IQ, who is influence by an old friend and breaks away from society loosing everything. It's an amazing book, the only down fall is the length, but I'm not complaining. It's one of those books that when you are done you feel compassion for literature, life, what you have and the fact that Kurt Vonnegut is one of the greatest writers ever. God Bless you Kurt Vonnegut...that's all I have to say.

The scenario of Player Piano is just a little unrealistic, when compared to today's reality: yes, computers seem to be taking over much of the work formerly done by humans (or other animals). But, humans keep finding other things to do. They seem always to stay one step ahead of the "machines." At least so far.
Therefore, the world of Player Piano didn't really "grab" me. I can't see it happening. Oh, there is classism, as in this book, here in the good ol' US of A, but the system seems also to keep evolving, thus preventing the "revolution" that takes place in this book. People complain widely about the "trickle down" theory, but there seems to be something to it.
The women in this story are pretty sad. You can tell they're from the 50s, when women, I suppose, seemed to lack original thought of any type. Paul's wife, Anita, seems a prototype in this regard, same with Kroner's wife, "Mom." How many "Moms" have we known?
The idea of the Reeks and Wrecks, though, I think is workable. It was workable, with the Civilian Conservation Corps, and now we have the Job Corps, state Conservation Corps, and such. CETA was that type of program, but not all of the jobs were "make work." This just means that the government is the "employer of last resort." There's nothing wrong with that, it doesn't imply a ruling class of scientists and engineers, and it really has nothing to do with Marxism. CETA or CCC jobs can satisfy a person just as much as other jobs, and from that job they certainly can move up, if they have the ability to do so.
Another point: Notice how the good ol' boys got together on an island and did competitive physical activities (with their wives at a separate location). This also gives Vonnegut's time period away: pure 50s stuff. Today, people don't compete so much one or two weeks a year, but they go to a gym and work individually in a non-competitive atmosphere. Times have changed? For the good, I'd say, otherwise, you get poor fools like this Shephard fella, who lives to compete (and seems to enjoy losing also....masochistic?).
Anyway, except for the date and time "stamps" on this novel, it still does hold up well today, and it's certainly intellectually stimulating, makes you think and take a position regarding "encroaching" technology, so-called "technocrats," and, what should we call it, "Neo Ludditism" today. This will probably be an ongoing conflict throughout human history, or at least for a long time, so Vonnegut touched an archetypal chord there, and his book may still be relevant in 3004, who knows?
Diximus.

There are scenes in "Player Piano" that contain the funniest writing I have ever read - and that is saying something for a book that is over half a century old. Apparently upon its publication a large number of people thought it was a serious novel about automation, not a satire - which probably shows more than anything else what an effective satire it is. Cartoonish and ludicrous but at the same time laser-sharp and biting, this lesser-known Vonnegut work is fantastic, with a message that is as relevant now as when it was published.

This was Kurt Vonnegut's first book. Its obvious he was highly influenced by his engineering background. I'm a mechanical engineer and I thought it was a bit over the top on the engineering and GE-like company culture. The book didn't really have the best follow through on the concept that left you satisfied. The Shah of Bratpuhr was the best part of the book.

Not my favorite Kurt Vonnegut, but his usual style of quirky characters that seemingly don't match, but come together in the end. In this future society we're over reliant on computers, our IQs and having a classification code. But what happens when things start to unravel is anyone's guess.

It was hard to get into, but for the time it was written, this is pretty visionary and not really *that* far off from the truth. Love Vonnegut.

This was the first Kurt Vonnegut book that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It was also his first book, since I was reading them chronologically. At first, it was a bit slow-going and a little confusing. But after the first 20 pages or so, you're taken into this world that is completely believable and utterly fascinating. This book was ahead of its time; describing the life of one man living in an age of machines. It's funny and poignant and absolutely wonderful. If you've never read anything by Vonnegut, I recommend starting here; it's a great way to see how his writing style has developed over the years. If you have read some of his stuff before and just haven't read this, READ IT. I tell you, it'll suck you in and you won't be able to put it down. I know that's an annoying cliche, but it's true. Kurt knows what he's doing. :)

The great Kurt Vonnegut's first novel is, well, great.

This was nothing short of excellent; a strong cast of characters and a vividly imagined world, yes, but where Player Piano really shines is in its rich social commentary. In this world, America has established a sort of minor utopia of ease within which regular, everyday people don't have to do much of anything. Everything is done for them.

And boy does that make people miserable.

At times funny, at times heavy with satire, and at times straight and serious, Vonnegut manages to keep all the plates spinning at once. Dr. Paul Proteus is a near perfect protagonist, even though he doesn't DO much of anything really. He's just along for the ride, observing the modern world in which he lives and realizing that a life of ease and convenience has a down side. And what an ending!

Player Piano makes it clear that Vonnegut was mining gold from the very start.

I've read a couple of Vonnegut novels and have fallen in love with his style of writing from the very beginning. He's is the first author i've had the pleasure of reading where i'm not consistently looking ahead to see how many pages are left in the book. Every book that i've read by him i find myself upset when the story is done. Player piano is no exception. Since I enjoyed Vonnegut's books so much i figured i'd start with his first published novel. This book started off slow but it wasn't tough to follow the story line and stay somewhat interested. By the end of the book i found myself in awe of Vonnegut's insight of the human race. He seems to be able to see the world from a much higher plateau. One part i found particularly interesting was after the rebellion the only listed injuries to the immediate crew were caused by them trying to tame their own people from causing too much harm to the city. Overall a very enjoyable reading experience .... now it's on to Sirens of Titan.

Player Piano is the story of an unlikely uprising against an over-industrialized society, which proved to be too successful and reminds the reader to "be careful what you wish for." Doctor Paul Proteus, manager of the Ilium Works plant responsible for the industrial output and energy production of Ilium, New York and the surrounding area, sought to escape his predestined vocational life. One of the people he encounters in this quest summarized nicely the disenchantment Proteus and his cohorts felt with technology, and the trail of obsolete men left behind in its wake.
"The machines are to practically everybody what the white men were to the Indians. People are finding that, because of the way the machines are changing the world, more and more of their old values don't apply any more. People have no choice but to become second-rate machines themselves, or wards of the machines."
Proteus' rebellion against his industrialized world starts quietly enough, with the acquisition of a farm and the conscious sabotage of a promotion he deserved. However, he eventually crosses paths with radicals who saw fit to not only stem the tides of mass-production, but to destroy all of the machines in the process.
Interesting enough story-line, right? Yes, but the story's potential is better than its execution. Many great ideas are left unpolished. Besides Dr. Proteus, there are no sympathetic characters in this tale, which made it difficult to root for the revolution's failure or success. Plus, things spiraled so badly out of control that you don't even know if success was achieved by anyone's measure. This book was one giant crescendo, and the actual revolution occurs in about five pages at the end, hastily described and leaving way too much to the imagination. There were many characters introduced independently who eventually met at the end- not in a logical way that sewed everything together, but in a chaotic assembly of random people (e.g., the Shah of Bratpuhr- what was that guy's purpose other than comedic relief?).

This Vonnegut novel is about a futuristic world that is controlled by machines and engineers. The main character of the book, Paul Proteus, is an engineer himself, and in the course of the novel he starts to question his job and the society his peers have created. It is a very funny and entertaining critique of modernization and the ever increasing role of machines in our lives. The only problem i had with the book was the ending, which seemed rushed and too short. It seemed as if Vonnegut was not sure where to take the story anymore and therefore decided to end it quickly. Other than that, the book is excellent; it is definitly worth reading.

After reading this again and remembering how the first time I finished the it and felt we were already on our way to this brave new world, it's chilling to see how far along we've come... why he was a master and one of the best.

Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano is an interesting book about technology being mankind's ultimate undoing. The book really does not get much credit for being ahead of the curve especially considering how popular the novel 1984 is. I find this fear towards technology very fascinating. There is a great deal of fear of the unknown and change. This fear manifests itself in all forms of culture.

While not as good a Slaughterhouse-Five Vonnegut's Player Piano is a great book about total control and manipulation. It is funny and well written. For anyone that is a Vonnegut fan this is required reading.

This is the first Vonnegut book I've read. We have several in our home library, inherited from a family member. I just happened to choose this one, not knowing it was Vonnegut's first. I read it all, but found it a slog. First, it predicts a future that's basically here in 2015. The fact that he wrote about it in 1952 is interesting, but the detailed descriptions: Yawn.

It was hard to keep track of all the characters. Some of the plot lines went nowhere. Proteus buys a farm, his wife wants to harvest the fixtures, the caretaker is a curmudgeon and when Proteus tries working on the farm, Proteus doesn't like it.

However, by reading a number of reviews, I've learned that this is one of Vonneguts's least loved books. So I'm willing to try some of the othres.

Some books I can plow through in an afternoon, regardless of the number of pages. However, every time I read something by Vonnegut, it becomes so deeply philosophical and thought-provoking that I can only take it in small bites.
It's about the future of America. It was written in 1952, as his first novel. In the book, a computer takes over the U.S. and most of mans' work has been taken by machines. Citizens are split into two groups: the ones who have high IQs and the ones who don't. In an almost communist society (where the government takes certain steps to ensure a person's well-being through provisions), a few people decide to call for a revolution against the machines, with surprising twists and an ironic ending.
It made me consider how much of my life seems automated--wake up, go to work, go home, repeat--and how much more I need to be less mechanized and more human.
This is a book that I think I'll buy so I can re-read it.

The book is as much a novel as it is an insightful glimpse into what Vonnegut saw as the devaluation and dehumanization of the American worker in the early 1950s. Those who criticize this Player Piano as dated must remember that the transition taking place in this country in the early 50s was as significant as the Industrial Revolution was to the English in the 1780s. American society was undergoing a monumental metamorphasis-- the birth of a consumer culture that, for example, makes things like the store.com, and the fact that you are reading my opinion, possible. 10 years before this book was written, sugar and gasoline were rationed and bread came unsliced because the machines built to slice it were scrapped to build tanks. Suddenly, after the war, Americans were deluged with electric hot dog cookers and automatic garage door openers and the like. The world of Player Piano is the logical conclusion of that process, had that process gone unchecked. Where machines once merely augmented man's abilites, they have come to replace them. It's about more than a loss of pride, Player Piano is about a loss of purpose, and about mankind's tendency to make himself obsolete. Look at Player Piano not as Vonnegut's best novel (it's not) but as the very real concerns of both he and a large group of people who witnessed this dramatic change in how we, as a people, lived.

This is vintage Vonnegut. A very cynical look at the future of a country that exhibits the best and worst of human nature. Colorful characters who are quintessentially flawed humans. Yup, vintage Vonnegut!

This book is getting a little long in the tooth, but it is still worth reading. I can understand how it may be read (superficially) as a typical fifties/Star Trek 'omigosh-the-machines-have-taken-us-over" novel. I do think, however, that Vonnegut has a lot to say in this book about the scaryass, stupidass ways we order ourselves in the pursuit of social status. He has created in this book a society of rigidities and absurdities: how different are the formalized executive games in _Player_ from the informal good-old-boys golf game...no women invited...that occur every weekend in the real world. How many proteges are groomed or rebuffed based on their conduct during those golf games? This is an example of the commentary on conformity that I believe Vonnegut created in _Player_.
There's a lot in this book for the modern reader, especially if you like Vonnegut (which I obviously do...)

This book is Vonnegut's view of how technology would transform society. Because it was written in the 50's, Vonnegut looks at technology as a force for repression by the elite (i.e., keeping the wrong people in their place). Of course, technology in general (and computers in particular) have had just the opposite effect. Despite this, this book is worth reading if only as a study of how politics are played in a bureaucracy (this, at least, hasn't changed much with time). Especially interesting is the main character, Paul. He a man who, despite having everything on a silver platter, is a malcontent at heart. His pathetic fall from grace is fascinating, funny and nauseating at the same time. His fatal flaw is in thinking his effortless rise through the system entitles him to be mankind's Savior from the tyranny of technology.

Man versus machine is this book's timely theme. "No more spput, puttt or rrrrut!" says Kurt Vonnegut. Player Piano is well worth reading; Vonnegut is the unique author who succeeds in making a reader ponder deeply and laugh heartily all on one page. His main character, Dr. Paul Proteus, is humanely and expertly portrayed in complete contrast to the unfeeling mechanical inventions he has helped to build. Paul is the unpretentious, laidback, and wise electrical engineering manager of Ileum Works near New York. He becomes painfully aware that these repetitive 'musical' monsters have taken over worthy folks' careers and lives. His concern, and that of Vonnegut's main characters, is sensitively portrayed amid clever irony and spontaneous humor. Kurt makes us feel their loss of dignity, not only in their name, Reeks and Wrecks, but also in their low wages, indifferent dress, and separation from managers and machines. Though everyone, regardless of I.Q., has a number, Kurt makes us fell these are prisoners without freedom, escaping from problems in their Homestead pub.
Vonnegut's irony runs throughout, one incident involving Paul when his old beat up Plymouth 'dies' on him while visiting Homestead. Though a renowned manager, he couldn't fix it. Along came a rough laborer who not only found the trouble, but also made a new gasket for the car, and instead of putt putting after that, the car purred smoothly.
The husband-wife relationship is another irony where romance is a matter of mechanics: "I love you, Paul!" "I love you, too, Anita!" Their contrasting characters are very interesting; Paul, desperate to get back to his roots and to nature, buys an old rundown farm where he hopes to work with his hands. Anita, on seeing it, arranges for all of its old tools and old-fashioned articles to become electronic. Paul's depth and integrity are contrasted with her shallowness throughout the book, like two antagonists purging with swords.
Vonnegut's supreme irony has to be when Paul is ready to quit, even turning down a Pittsburgh promotion, and is requested by the big boss to infiltrate The Ghost Shirt Society (really the Worker's Union), a cause to which Paul has already (unbeknown to all the upper crust managers) committed himself. So the `used' becomes the `user' unbeknown to them all. Thrust into the honor of the title, Deliverer of The Ghost Shirts, he joins the rebels to overthrow management and machines. Build up and climax are great. Though Finnerty, Hasher, and Neumann seemed content with results, despite the fact that they did lose, Paul stood apart thoughtfully and sadly. As he gazed at twisted wires and wrecked machines that were once man-made invention, he pondered that one day, disregarding thee emotionless egg-heads of evolution future inventors and programmers would be born to create stronger, more challenging and, though emotionless, mind-controlling machines.
The one distraction is the Shah visiting American technology. But it is so hilarious that it's an asset especially when he meets Epic Ac XIV, the machine wiser than the wisest man. The Shah, though we laugh at him, is the wise one. He thinks American citizens and army soldiers as slaves because only slaves would do as they're told.
I found this book to be uncannily accurate, especially since it was written in 1952. As an aspiring engineer, it made me think of how advanced technology will be by the time I have reached my goal. I can't even imagine what it will be like in two or three years, while Vonnegut, somehow, knew what life might be like 50 years later. It's a must read!

A good quick read about an American Society where machines take care of all the work for us humans. After all the mahines are more efficient than man could ever be. Thoughout the book the question is constantly posed "if machines do all the work, what is a human being for?" The question is mainly left unanswered by kurt, I guess he leaves that up to us to figure out. All in all it was a good book that kept my interest and i would recommend to anyone, especially someone who is a fan of Kurt Vonnegut's work.

The reviews I read before diving in weren't very good in comparison with other Vonnegut novels. I found this to be my favorite so far. I felt that the story was perfectly thought out and the world was cleverly crafted. The futility in the end was tough to digest, but a fitting end none the less.

I must have read most of Vonnegut's books. I enjoyed this book because he talks about human nature.
No one wants to give up an easy life and go back to work. He introduces us to a life of taking a meal
out of the freezer and everything is complete. Resting, shopping, watching TV is the main part of
the day, but some people want to go back to the old ways. You have to read the book to see how
it turns out and why the player piano becomes an important part of the book.
I like Mr. Vonnegut's books because his ideas are "different".

Player Piano, by Kurt Vonnegut, is an interesting novel, especially considering it was published in 1952. The basic plot centering around Dr. Paul Proteus, the flawed City of Illium and his struggles with the dominant machine-centered lifestyle is solid enough to hold someone's attention, and the humor peppered through the dialogue is a welcome compliment to the traditional science fiction theme. Paul's casual "To hell with you" remark to his colleague Doctor Kroner showed his cynicism but was still humorous nonetheless. There's some interesting exchanges as well, notably the encounter between the Shar of Bratpuhr and the super-machine EPICAC XIV. One of the reviews I read mentioned loneliness as the central theme of the book and that the science fiction surrounding played a secondary role. I wouldn't go that far, but there is a certain amount of validity in that theory. Vonnegut himself, being so anti-technological, might agree with this as well. Obviously, he wanted to show the destructive and negative affect mechanization will have on society as a whole. But the ill effects of a machine-dominated society come at a personal level just as much as they do on a grand scale. Toward the end of the novel, Proteus comes to the conclusion that he is alone in his grasp of reality (the true evils of Illium) as the revolution ends. From his hatred and struggle against the machine-dominated society to his "automatic" relationship with his wife, Doctor Proteus was emotionally isolated. He doesn't want people to perceive him as a "stuffed shirt", and he struggles with this throughout the book. Vonnegut wants people to see how excess technology can harm and potentially destroy both the fabric of society and the inner-person as well.

Vonnegut provides a thoughtful look at the intersection of machines and men. Are the benefits of quality and efficiency worth the cost of man's souls and self esteem. What is progress? Makes one wonder.

Mr. Vonnegut' first novel was a good read, with blistering sarcasm and hilarity. A tale of an America taken over by machines that controlled success or failure and a man's desire to to make sense of himself made this novel an enjoyable thought-provoking read.

Kurt Vonnegut does an amazing job of integrating his vast knowledge of science and technology with the harsh realities of society. While his work is science fiction, it is truly believable as it speaks of many of the problems which plague American today. When the novel was first published in 1952, Vonnegut cleverly predicted a society, which would be led by technology, and would one day devalue all human thought. The amazing thing about this is that this concept may seem even a bit outdated today.
Not only does he deal with issues of technology, he also incorporates ideas of female roles through the inception of Anita into the plot and the restraints she feels as a result of being a woman. Most importantly, however, Vonnegut is very "Thoreauesque" throughout his novel. He is quite successful at leading the reader to realize how important a simple, individualist life is away from many of the confines which society tries to place on people. In this way, I would highly recommend the novel to anyone interested in the culture studies or society as it was in the 1950's.

I agree with a professor of mine when he told me that Slaughterhouse Five is better written, but Player Piano is more entertaining. This book is not at the peak of what Vonnegut is capable of, but it is a well done piece of satire that is wonderfully entertaining. One thing I enjoy about Vonnegut is the model T writing. By this I mean for him it is the bare essentials. He writes only what is necessary for either plot or character. Now I do enjoy the verbose nature of some of the grand old novels or the stream of conscious experimentations, but when I settle into a Vonnegut I love every moment of it. This isn't his best novel, but I give it five stars because of the special affection it holds to me as being one of the first novels I read growing up. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes good entertaining satire.

Too many of the stories ideas can be seen around us today. Possibly the best idea I came away with was the taxation of machines. Something only now the leaders of business like Bill Gates are talking about.

This is one of my two favorite Vonnegut books (along with Galapagos), but I disagree with those who have posted the opinion that the true value of the book is Vonnegut's earily prophetic vision of social dinamics in post-industrial America. I believe that Vonnegut's intent was to convey his opinion of what constitutes fundamental human dignity (usefullness to others, in Vonnegut's opinion). Read in such a way, this book flawlesly illuminates the indignity of social welfare and mechanization.

Player Piano is written so well that I just had to get through the end to find out what happens. Vonnegut wrote for anyone who wants to see the humanity of this world remain, it was a pleasure to read such a poignant story.

Player Piano was Kurt Vonnegut's first novel, so it does not exactly fit the style he later developed. In many ways it does contain classis Vonnegut humor and irony, but it is not on the same level as Cat's Cradle. This book is an amazing attack on corporate bussines and technology in general. The whole way we replace men with machines, then turn the world over to the companies with the machines, is examined. Don't like Microsoft? Well this book shows just what they might do if given the chance. An excelent book, just do not expect the same Vonnegut style you found in his later books.

I have been a big fan of Kurt Vonnegut for many years, and I've enjoyed several of his books immensely. This one got lost on my overstuffed bookshelves for many years until I recently found it. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to the many other books I've enjoyed by this author. That's not to say it wasn't good; this man vs. machine story set in the future is dated and relevant at the same time. The description of "future" machines is unintentionally amusing, considering our computerized world, yet the theme of man being displaced by machines is still timely.
The books starts off slowly; if you can make it through the first third, you'll do OK. It never really builds beyond that point, but it's never boring, either. Still, fans should take a look at this one, because it's early Vonnegut, and he's beginning to show the style and humor that have made him so popular.

1984 isn't happening. Brave new world isn't happening. Fahrenheit 451 isn't happening much. Player Piano is happening in every free technologically advanced country in the world. Read it and be afraid for the future of the common man.
Or maybe not

Vonnegut has a couple of stinkers, Slapstick & Deadeye Dick, in his more than one dozen novels, but Player Piano ain't one of them.

Kurt wrote Player Piano while working for General Electric. He saw a machine that was programmed to do the work of a bunch of people and came up with the idea for this novel, set in a time when most of the population have lost their jobs to machines. It's an efficiently run society but not too enjoyable for all those lowly folks with no jobs. Great socialist Vonnegut teaches us we all need work and that we're simply not human without it in this beautifully written, entertaining story.

After reading this book, I was amazed at how someone during that time period could write something so drastic and get it published. Before reading this book, I had never read anything by Kurt Vonnegut. However, once I finished it, I decided that it was so intriguing that I wanted to read other works of his, so I bought Slaughterhouse-five. After only reading part of Slaughterhouse-five, I found that these two books are quite different and that I actually like Player Piano more than Slaughterhouse-five even though Slaughterhouse-five is better known. I believe that being an engineering student affects that opinion greatly because I can better understand the concepts of machines doing work that regular people once did. The main character in Player Piano provides such a great portrait of what happens to a lot of engineers and other people in such technical fields. The stress that Paul Proteus undergoes and the effects that it has on his well-being matches almost perfectly some engineers and other technically inclined people that I know. Based on this experience, I think that this book would be a great read for anyone who has some sort of technical background, but that it is definitely not for the younger, less knowledgeable group of people. I think that it actually might help people in Proteus's situation because it will give them an outlet to relieve all the stress that is created in such an environment.

This is my first Kurt Vonnegut book and certainly will not be the last. Vonnegut's book the "Piano Player" is a social commentary disguised as a science fiction novel. His choice of mixing religion and man's need to be useful with the ever-progressing technological evolution is genius. Even if his ideas of technology are a little out of date, the way it affects people's way of living definitely is not. His writing is very light and almost comical at times he doesn't burden the reader with extremes he merely comments on them in short excerpts switching back and forth from different view points and finally having them all come together in the end, proving that each point to characters are making are universally the same. Man needs to be needed. I look forward to reading more of his work.

This book is a 5-star book for engineers and technologists, particularly those working for big corporations, but probably only a 3-star book for anybody else. (You can guess from my rating what I do.) Vonnegut creates hybrid eu/dystopia brought about by the ultimate success of American ingenuity and capitalism. Dr. Proteus is brilliantly and complexly written as a successful technologist desperately aware of his relationship to his corporation and of the corporate's relationship to the world. Feels more like Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" than Orwell's "1984," but is more humane and sad and beautiful both in its hope and despair in humanity than either of them.

This is Vonnegut's first book and is not the typically satirical comedies it is more of serios view of a second industrial age. The book is very thoughtfull and worth a read if your a Vonnegut fan you need to get this book because it provides intersting difrences from his later works but I would not suggest this as a first read of his books.

At the beginning this book seemed like it would be a great one. The problem is that it wasn't. The author had a great idea with the futuristic, machine-oriented world, but just failed to make the book match that ideal. The story was very drawn-out and boring at times. There are two plots going on during the book and when they meet there isn't any relevance in it. The book was very predictable as well. You saw it coming the whole time, so the end was very anticlimactic. Overall the book was a big disappointment, and if you are considering reading this, don't.

Player Piano is one of Vonnegut's longest novels. And though very enjoyable, I figured out what was nagging me the entire time I read it - Player Piano is an extrapolated retelling of the plot of Fritz Lang's classic silent movie Metropolis (1926). Nonetheless, Vonnegut took the 115 minute silent movie, which would probably translate into a 40 page book, and wrote in detail and additional subplots to fill out an additional 300 pages that are well worth reading.

Many consider Slaughter House Five to be Vonnegut's finest work. I respectfully disagree (although I do like that one as well). In this, Vonnegut's first published novel, we get the story of Paul Proteus who strikes out against all he was raised to revere and protect.
Anyone who appreciates that sub-genre of Science Fiction that takes theposition that technological advance isn't always all it's cracked up to be owes it to himself to read this book.

This book was really thought provoking, and despite my suspicions that it would be just another 1984 type book, it wasn't at all. It presents a very unique and interesting way in which humanity can go screaming from the track into oblivion. It isn't as funny as other Vonnegut, though, so I deducted a star. good stuff. this book should be on school reading lists.

I think most of the reviewers missed the boat on this one. This is probably one of the most accurate predictions of the future I have read. All it needs is an update in computer nomenclature, and this could have been written yesterday. Think about it: How many craftsmen have been replaced by the kind of machines he describes? How many "engineers" are walking around today, who have never physically built anything? How useless is a high school diploma in today's job market? Planned obslescence, artificial economies-The only thing he got wrong was the world war (at least for now). And yes, I realize the irony of writing this review on a computer.

I have read three Vonnegut books. I loved Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five, so I decided to read his first book, and was disapointed. It was good, but it took me many tries before I could really sit down and get into it, and that doesn't happen to me very often. It has a really slow start, and I can't decide whether it ends up being worth the trouble.

I am only 25 and already burnt out and disgusted with the corporate world. This book really hit home with me. Vonnegut mocks and satarizes corporate life, which, after reading this book, obviously hasn't become any less discouraging or frusterating as it was 47 years ago. Player Piano is a must read for anyone who is appauled by the reality that, with few exceptions, one must completely sell out and conform in order to advance in a large corporation. Anyone who is currently mired in corporate America will recognize at least one or two of the characters and/or situations in this book as ones they themselves have had to (or continue to) deal with regularly, and therefore will feel a strong bond with Paul Proteus by book's end.

Well-written, full of good vocabulary words (so glad there's a built-in dictionary app when you highlight an unknown word), a plot that took me to places I didn't expect but left me quite satisfied in the end - considering that it's a dystopia. Bravo, Vonnegut.

Although I consider myself an avid reader of Vonnegut, I was surprised to find that I couldn't help finding this book kind of childish in the simplicity of it and its message. Don't get me wrong! I love Vonnegut. I'm just saying that this book happens to be an exception to his great work, possibly because it was his first and his style hadn't fully matured then. The true Vonnegut books that I recommend reading, are 'Slaughter-House-five' and 'Mother Night.' Please don't dissmiss Vonnegut as a bad writer if you don't like this book or hear that it isn't good. It is not in any way representational of what Vonnegut can do. Go read 'Slaughter-House-Five' and you'll witness the true power of Vonnegut's art.

A good storyline requires proper characterization to back it up. Player Piano creates a variety of well drawn characters each with their own twist. I enjoyed the discussion on machines (some great points and quotes), but the characters were by far the best part. I enjoyed the storyline, although a bit predictable. There were comical turns that changed the story enough to keep me interested through the entire book.

His writing style was not fully developed, and the series of events went in order, but for his first novel, Player Piano is a great book about a totalitarian soicety, a revolt against technology and machines, all with hints of Vonnegut's wit and humor.

This novel, now more than half a century old, does not hold up, except perhaps as an indicator of what people were worrying about when the novel was published. The problem is Vonnegut's tendency to sketch so many of the details of a society run by machines. As a result, there are too many set pieces where a character whose skills have been (or are about to be) replaced by a machine ruminates, rather predictably, on his loss of purpose and dignity. You will find your eyes skimming the page.

I found myself thinking a lot about that other depiction of the triumph of the scientists and engineers, "Brave New World." Both novels have rather obvious plots that serve primarily as vehicles for the authors' ideas about the future, but Huxley is content to mostly suggest the domination of machines through an apparatus like the Feelies or games like Obstacle Golf, without pages of detail. And the philosophical meditiations he gives to characters like Mustapha Mond are far more interesting (and frightening) than the evidently mindless boosterism of Vonnegut's Dr. Kroner. Some of "Player Piano" actually sounds like the earlier book ("Brave New World" was published in 1932), particularly Vonnegut's description of The Meadows, with loudspeakers blaring cheery songs and suggestions the way they do in Huxley's [...] Porgy scene.

Ultimately, "Brave New World" is the bleaker (and, to me, more troubling) book, since it predicts that human beings will always give up their personal freedoms in order to be comfortable through an abundance of consumer goods, readily available drugs, and promiscuous sex. Vonnegut, on the other hand, is more optimistic, since he seems to suggest that there will always be people to question the role of machines and even smash them up if need be (if only to turn around and build them again). In Huxley's world, life is so pleasing that dissent is almost umimaginable---and certainly doomed, as the swinging of John's feet to all points of the compass suggests. If you want to read a dystopia about the triumph of machines and engineering, start with "Brave New World," then check out Margaret Atwood's three dystopias, which are more compelling and better written than "Player Piano."

Vonnegut's first novel is an excellent piece of writing that represents the author's fabulous potential. Do not, however, read this book simply because you enjoyed Slaughterhous 5. While the most famous of Vonnegut novels deserves every word of praise it has recieved, it does not, in my opinion represent the gist of his work. Player Piano does. It includes all the classic elements--vivid and fresh characters, clever and careful plot, and, most importantly, the satirical wit. Vonnegut's style changed substantially throughout his career, and this is a shining example of the first phase.

I enjoy all of Vonnegut's book. I'd recommend this book to anyone who appreciates his writing style and humor. Don't expect a mind bending adventure or sci-fi thriller, it's thought provoking and worth a read.

I honestly would of never have read this book if I wasn't in honors English. It is required summer reading, so I had to read it. I am not sorry that I did. In fact, this book is one of the best books that I have ever read. I could hardly tell when it was written. It told the story of the future, where machines had replaced most human actions and the managers were starting to take over the job force. Paul, the main character, is mad over the system and wants to quit his job as manager of the Ilium works. Before he can, he has run-ins with people from his past and from his future.

Somewhat uncharacteristic of Vonnegut's work, Player Piano is a bit more serious, a bit more science fiction. The way it makes you feel when you read it is something like when you read Fight Club: you're stirred up, you have to DO something, but you don't know what, because the waters are muddied. Is technology bad or good? Which is more important, being a good person or having know-how? This book is a terrific read, is thick with detail and plot, and is one of my favorites both by Vonnegut, and in terms of fiction in general.

This book is a very interesting book. Anyone who decides to buy this book will be done it in about a week. The premise of the book focuses on a person who inadvertantly messed up they sysytem and tries to make it right. This book has almost every type of subject matter ranging from drama to war to machinazation of idustries to the social impact of machines on people in everyday life. This book may seem to be technically, but once the book starts it grabs you and every page gets better and better.

If you are responsible for the creation, maintenance, or some other aspect of technological innovations, I highly recommend reading this novel. An amazing insight into what could happen. A deliriously wonderful tangled web of societal woes. Truly many messages can be read from this story even if Vonnegut did not put them there on purpose. Vonnegut's style enthralled me and pulled me into Ilium. A wonderful read!

Uninspiring. Story dragged on. It is just there. Expected better ending. I do not give good reviews just because a book was well received by the critics. The story kept going on and on it could have made its point in half the time. I like long books but when they grab you take you to another world. This book took me to dreamland only because I entered REM sleep after reading a few chapters. Read it from begin to end and only three parts made me sit up and go wow.

As a fan of Vonnegut's writing, I was extremely disappointed with this book. It has a good story premise but it doesn't really go anywhere. The basics of this story: Vonnegut depicts America as a land run by machines. All the humans must have a doctorate in order to be considered qualified for any jobs because machines have been built that efficiently replace lower workers. There is very little mention of children, but the few that are brought up merely point out the struggles of trying to pass tests for degrees and then fighting 500 others for the one job opening available. The protagonist, Dr. Paul Proteus, gets fed up with his machine dominated environment but doesn't have the will to commit himself to opposition until he is forced into it. There is a second story line with a diplomat from another country touring America as his host tries to convince him of the need to replace humans with machines in his own country. The host fails in his mission as things fall apart in the end.
Basically, I thought there were too many strings left hanging in this book. Vonnegut would start off on a tangent, with such extreme description, but then there was no real resolution. Like, what happened to the farm? I was especially disappointed in the ending, expecting more out of Dr. Proteus than was given. So many things were left unexplained that I felt like I was wasting my time reading this book. I would become interested in one aspect only to find myself filled with more questions left unanswered.

I started reading this book with an open mind, but by the end, I could not wait to put it down. It drags its feet through the beginning, however the middle is a bit more interesting. Whatever the middle does is crushed by the sour ending. It seemed this book could have made its point in a 5 page essay without being very repitive.
Previous to reading Player Piano, I had read 1984 by George Orwell. Player Piano seemed to be struggling to be 1984, but didn't come to the same level. 1984 was a fast-paced book with a spectacular ending that made it's point by being subtle. Player Piano pretty much hits you over the head with its point from page one.
If you are interested in this kind of thing, buy 1984 and forget this one.

I really tried. I powered through no matter how boring and repetitive, and finally got to the end. And now I regret it because it was a obvious, uninspired, non-ending.
This story is "1984" with machines and computers run by the government creating a dystopian society instead of just the government. I've had many opportunities to formulate that thought, because he beats you down with the central theme on every other page. 1984 was subtle and intriguing, this one is neither.

This book did not appeal to me. I have read many Vonnegut books and this one was just boring. Unlike other Vonnegut Books, this did not hook me. It was not interesting or weird, thus boring me to death. To tell you the truth, I skipped many pages just to get done with this book.

Like I said, if you hated this book or are about to read it, do not judge Vonnegut by just reading this book. I would rather suggest reading Cat's Cradle, Galapagos, or Breakfast of Champions. This book does not include any of vonegut's black humor, or sheer bizzarity (I have no clue if that is a word) well anyway, The back cover may seem interesting, but the book rarely touches this subject.

I had the pleasure of reading this book while I was studying Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic. This book is very well written and the story is fantastic. One of my favorite parts of the book is when the engineer engineers himself out of his own job. Classic! kind of remind me of my last IT project.

I'm slowly working my way throught the Vonnegut library; I've read about 12 books so far. Player Piano is far, far below the rest. This is Vonnegut trying to be a pure science fiction writer, devoid of much of the wit and satire that make his other books so wonderful. Looking for some Vonnegut to read? Try Slaughterhouse Five, Hocus Pocus, or Timequake. Only read Player Piano if you're a Vonnegut fanatic and won't feel complete until you do.