Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 11, 1922, the son of accomplished German immigrants. His grandfather held the distinction of being the first licensed architect in Indiana; his father was also an architect, while his mother's side of the family owned prosperous breweries.

Prohibition's outlawing of alcoholic beverages, which went into effect in 1919, had already curtailed the brewery business at the time of Vonnegut's birth, but he enjoyed an affluent, privileged childhood nonetheless. Family finances suffered, however, during the Great Depression, as the demand for new building construction tapered off.

Vonnegut attended high school in Indianapolis and began his writing career on the school newspaper. He continued his journalistic endeavors with the Cornell Daily Sun, the college newspaper of Cornell University, where he majored in biochemistry. Vonnegut left school to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1942. Arriving home on special leave...