Cat's Cradle

Cat's Cradle, one of Vonnegut's most entertaining novels, is filled with scientists and G-men and even ordinary folks caught up in the game. These assorted characters chase each other around in search of the world's most important and dangerous substance, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature. At one time, this novel could probably be found on the bookshelf of every college kid in America; it's still a fabulous read and a great place to start if you're young enough to have missed the first Vonnegut craze.
The setting for this relatively short novel is the Caribbean Island of San Lorenzo, and it is here that we meet Felix Hoenikker, a physicist and one of the fathers of the atomic bomb. He has just made another discovery -- "ice nine" -- a substance that can turn all the liquid in the world into a solid block of ice.
Supporting characters include a crazy religious prophet, a bicycle salesman from Indiana, a Caribbean beauty and her dictator father.