"All the things I'm about to tell you are blatant lies." This is how the Bokonon Books begin. Bokononism is an original religion introduced in this book, Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. The book shows the importance of religion, even if that religion is "shameless lies." It also shows how people convince themselves that things are better than they actually are. I read this book because of a promise I made to my father. I'm happy I made that promise; I just read a delightfully funny and profound story about the end of the world. The book begins with a writer named John doing research for his book about the day the atomic bomb was dropped. Talk to Newt, son of Dr. Felix Hoenikker, the creator of the atomic bomb. Then he goes to Illium, the city where the Hoenikkers grew up, and there he learns about ice-nine, a sliver of which could freeze all the world's oceans. John soon discovers that Frank, Felix's other son, is on a small island called San Lorenzo. He goes there to do further research for his book. On the plane he personally meets Newt, who turns out to be a dwarf, and the Crosbys, a married couple. John reads a book the Crosbys gave him on the plane, all about the religion of Bokononism and its customs. One custom is Bokomaru, touching the souls of the feet together to get closer. He also reads about how Bokonon, the creator of Bokononism, was outlawed. When they arrive in San Lorenzo the president becomes ill. Frank, who...