Vonnegut strikes gold again

God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian" is certainly an interesting way for Kurt Vonnegut to grab your attention from a shelf. I picked it up not knowing what to expect; my curiosity was rewarded with a strangely uplifting collection of musings on the fate of people who have passed on. Some are humorous, some are sad and all provide a story that affirms hope. \nThe premise of the book is that Vonnegut is a reporter who has a fantastic assignment. With the aid of Dr. Jack Kevorkian and the Texas Department of Corrections, he engages in a series of near-death experiences to interview those who have passed on. In a series of interviews with the dead he learns their thoughts on life, death, life afterwards and everything in between.\nWhile in the realm between ours and the gates of heaven, Vonnegut interviews some of the most famous and notorious people to die in our day. In an interview, Adolf Hitler expresses his regret over his actions that caused the death of so many. He simply says to Vonnegut "Entschuldigungen Sie," roughly translated as "Please pardon me." He also interviews esteemed writers and philosophers like Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the author of "Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus," and Isaac Asimov, the former head of the American Humanist Association and one of the most prolific American authors. \nAll those interviewed have amusing things to say to Vonnegut, and not all of them are complimentary. William Shakespeare is particularly harsh towards Vonnegut, calling him a hack and answering questions with quotes from his tomes of work. James Earl Ray, the admitted assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr., is also hostile toward Vonnegut.\nVonnegut doesn't limit his interviews to only the famous or infamous. He conducts one with a man who died protecting his beloved schnauzer from a rabid pit bull. When the man is asked how he felt dying for a pet, he responds that it was better than dying for nothing. \nThis book is not religious in any nature. In fact, Vonnegut is the current head of the American Humanist Association and professes to believe in no higher power. He believes that people should be good for the sake of being a good person, not for any reward, actual or not, in the afterlife.\nWith that said, I found this book powerful. It is short, succinct and deeply spiritual without scaring off the reader. It shows how each person creates their own heaven or hell within their minds. The wily St. Peter at the gate allows everybody in, but some choose not to enter. "God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian" provides the reader with hope for something beyond in a book that can be finished in less than a day. Vonnegut has once again exercised his unparalleled talent as an author and lifted his readers up with a spiritual and moving work.