Out of all the author's I've read Kurt Vonnegut stands out to me the most. He has a very rueful style and perspective, and Cat's Cradle is that distilled. This story evokes a strangely comforting feeling of despair. One that's more relevant now than ever.
This is how fiction is meant to be. Fantastic short stories that teach you something about human nature. I still think about them fairly often.
This is my gold standard of writing, I can't fault it at all. The worldbuilding, characters, and plot are all great. If I ever decided to become an author I'd just write this book again.
Read this book. Completely changed how I think about education and writing. It should be a mandatory read for every educator. It's a tragedy that more people don't know about this book.
If you're American, you don't know any history until you've read this book. You'll realize how shallow every other history book is compared to one that explains the societal level causes of events.