If you are only going to read one collection of letters by a writer, let it be Kurt Vonnegut’s letters, collected and edited by Dan Wakefield. They are exactly what you’d expect Vonnegut’s letters to be – occasionally wry, sometimes funny, but always honest and clever. The letters will not tell you the full story, but read and catch a glimpse of a man concerned with earning money as a freelance writer, a flawed husband and father, and a writer outraged by the banning and even burning of his books. You do not need to be a Vonnegut expert – biographical introductions to each decade and brief explanations of people and events prefacing most of the individual letters provide the necessary context.