Customer Reviews (1)

book purchase
I was very happy with my purchase! It arrived promptly and in good condition. Thanks! ... Read more

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Eighteen stories by Bradbury, follows after The Martian Chronicles. ... Read more

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Over the course of a storied literary career that has spanned more than half a century, Ray Bradbury has taken us to wonderful places: across vast oceans to foreign lands, onto summer porches of small-town America, through dark and dangerous forests where predators wait, into the hypnotic mists of dream, back to a halcyon past to remember, forward into an exhilarating future, and rocketing through outer space.

Customer Reviews (16)

P is for Paris?A Fun Collection from Bradbury!
This was quite a collection of various Bradbury stories.Some are fantasy, some are interesting to look at and think about and others are pure science fiction.What I like about Bradbury's stories are the people inside them.He develops his characters, each with their own quirky personalities and mixes them into interesting, provocative character sketches.

Other authors have done the same thing; Bradbury though puts it together in ways that get you to think and respond and to care about these characters.I won't go through all the stories nor create a table of contents (boring!) but just some of the tales that have impacted me.

We'll Always Have Paris (of course the line from the Bogart film Casablanca) is no cloak & dagger tale.It's about a man who has a run-in with a complete stranger - it's not a gay love exactly, but you can see the two men interact, be fascinated with each other and then go off with a memory.It's like being sidetracked off of what you were doing and then coming back to reality with a "Huh, what do you know about that?" feeling.

Ma Perkins Comes to Stay is about a lonely woman whose husband is constantly away from home.To keep herself entertained, she turns on the radio.Except the radio characters come to life for her so vividly that they begin to appear in the livingroom!Here's Ma Perkins baking cookies!(She was an old radio show drama program.)The husband comes home: "Who's this woman in the kitchen?"Interesting, fun human drama.He busts the radios to prevent them from coming.[SPOILER] He even tries to murder Ma Perkins and is somewhat surprised to find the body of a dead old woman on his hands.When he tries to explain to the police she's imaginary, they don't buy it.

Unpillow Talk was cute.A man and a woman "spoil it" by having sex, thus destroying their friendship as it moves to a new level.Except they don't want to do that, they want to continue to be friends.Was it the champagne? Was it the candlelight dinner that did them in?Very cute story.

Fly Away Home, about astronauts on Mars and how they try to recreate a bit of Earth as they suffer from the loneliness of explorers on the Red Planet.Very akin to The Martian Chronicles (another great space tale by Bradbury).

Overall a great little collection of about 22 stories that don't really fit in with the regular Bradbury lexicon - and that's ok!Recommended.

Ray's gay?
Surprised by the title story where a married American man prowls the streets of Paris at night and has an intimate encounter with a French joyboy: "blond and quite handsome."

Whoa!This is Republican-voting-traditional-values Bradbury???

(BTW, the book's dedicated to his "lifetime friend," Donald Harkins, "who is buried in Paris."Was that Ray's "partner"?)

Unfortunately, it's the only thing that's remotely interesting about this book.Don't get me wrong.I think Ray is an American icon.But he seems to be phoning it in these days.Case in point: "The Murder."A story with a fantastic premise -- one guy bets another that he can make the guy commit murder.The guy who suggests the bet has a body full of scars from bullets and knives!But then it all fizzles out in a too-abrupt ending with no development of the idea or the characters.Serious let-down.Honestly, I couldn't read all the stories as I got tired of being disappointed.None would've past muster with an editor had they been written by anyone else.You can flip through any genre mag on the newsstand and find stories by "amateurs" that are many times better crafted.

One good thing -- good to see Ray's got a liberal-bent, making a sympathetic portrayal of a gay man.Unfortunately though his political stances are screwy.But that's another story.

Get Weird, Get Wonderful
It's like poetry the way Ray Bradbury conveys so much in so few words. His writing is delicate yet resounding, lighthearted yet pensive, simple yet wonderful. The stories in "We'll Always Have Paris" will charm, delight, and provoke imagination. Many of stories left me with a satisfied feeling as if the last 10 pages I read were instead a gooey chocolate cupcake that is now sitting happily inside my stomach. From twilight golf to the Martian highlands to tennis romance to ladies in radios, Bradbury covers a wide spectrum of trivial, weird, and wacky. A few times, a story did make me scratch my head and go, "What just happened?" but for the most part, this book was a liberating and enjoyable read.

Classic,solid Bradbury
Bradbury continues to write to write witty, somewhat askew stories which now test the waters of Post-modernism. They donot have the impact of SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COME; or FAHRENHEIT 4 5 1 but contain the magic of the Ray Bradbury touch("The Last Laugh";"Ma Perkins Comes to Stay").
If you're a fan you will like/love the collection. If You're a novice start, perhaps, with DARK CARNIVAL OR "QUICKER THAN THE EYE; or "I Sing the Body Electric".
Bradbury is our greatest tale teller and a true world master of fantastic literature.These works will convince you that lit is alive and well.

Inventory for the clearance-sale bin
WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS is described on the dust-jacket as "a new collection of never-before-published stories ... with prose that soars and sings." Puhleeze! This volume should never have gone to print. It's composed of short stories - some very short - that author Ray Bradbury perhaps culled from yellowed composition books surviving from high school and/or college days (Writing Skills 1A).

The twenty-two offerings in this book generally run the gamut from amateurish ("Ma Perkins Comes to Stay") to incomprehensible ("Doubles") to just plain stupid ("Pater Caninus"). For me, most of them fell into the Why Bother? category. The one stab at science fiction, "Fly Away Home", while containing a good concept at its core, is hopelessly outdated. Only one, "Arrival and Departure", is passably intriguing (3 stars). In it, an aged couple discovers that the monotonous comfort and familiarity that derive from forty-five years of marriage are not easily displaced.

Famous and accomplished authors should resist the pressure from publishers to trot-out old jottings for the purpose of milking the reading public for a few more dollars.

You know those bins at the used-book stores marked "3 for $1"? WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS is best lumped there with the other bookshelf residue. ... Read more

Product Description

In this lavishly illustrated labor of love, Jerry Weist -- Sotheby's fantasy and science fiction collectibles expert and longtime Ray Bradbury friend and collector -- gives us a unique "visual biography," a one-of-a-kind celebration of the life, career, and genius of one of America's most beloved literary giants.

The works of Ray Bradbury have been read and revered for more than half a century. The winner of countless awards and accolades, including a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation, he has left a deeper, more enduring imprint on our times than most writers of his or any generation. The source of The Martian Chronicles, father of The Illustrated Man, and master brewer of Dandelion Wine, Bradbury has penned stories, novels, stage plays, and screenplays that have long demonstrated the limitlessness of the human imagination and pure power of the word.

Bradbury: An Illustrated Life features magazine illustrations, movie stills and posters, comic book art, letters, scripts, book jackets, and paintings -- all expertly selected and insightfully explained -- that trace an incomparable artist's journey through the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Here also are rare and illuminating gems from some of his renowned compatriots and collaborators, including excerpts from the journal of legendary director Fran ois Truffaut, written during the making of the motion picture version of Bradbury's classic Fahrenheit 451.

Customer Reviews (8)

Great Bradbury Visual Anthology
What can I say?Historically an important book for Bradbury fans but also a visual feast for anyone and everyone!

Mars is Heaven!
Now that Sam Weller's "The Bradbury Chronicles:the Life of Ray Bradbury" is selling like water at the bookshops,we'll see the importance of Jerry Weist's "BRADBURY,AN ILLUSTRATED LIFE,A JOURNEY TO METAPHOR".I didn't read yet Weller's book,but I know that Frederik Pohl didn't like it.Iown a copy of "Bradbury,an illustrated life...", since it appeared.And I loved it.What a gorgeous "objet d'art"!The ailing Bradbury must be proud to have inspired a book as beautiful-and good-as this one.The text by Jerry Weist is well written,professional,competent.The Foreword,by Bradbury's archivist ,collector and friend,Donn Albright,is very informative about a few ofBradbury's illustrators.The Introduction,penned by Bradbury himself,is enlightening.
As an admirer of Science-Fiction illustration andcollector of SF Memorabilia ,this work was a visual feast to my eyes ,taste and, sensibility.
Called my attention:firstly,the reproductions of book and magazine(AMAZING STORIES,WONDER STORIES QUARTERLY)covers,interior illustrations,movie stills and posters(the famous one-sheet poster for the silent "THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA" and the glorious six-sheet poster designed for William Cameron Menzies's/H.G.Wells's "THINGS TO COME")and the Sunday comic strips(TARZAN,BUCK ROGERS),that influenced Bradbury's visual taste and literary preferences.Secondly,the reproductions of publications(fanzines)like IMAGINATION and FUTURIA FANTASIA(with Bradbury as editor)that enriched his beginnings as a science-fiction fan ,nurturing his creative juices and his friendship with the futuregreat illustrator Hannes Bok,plus the moving photos made when Ray was visiting New York City during the (First)1939 WORLD SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION financed by his buddy Forrest J. Ackerman, or made in Los Angeles ,like the amazing photo showing a youthful Ray at ameeting of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society(LASFS) in 1940,when nineteen-year-old Bradbury was just beginning his writing career.This photo is sensational because it shows us other famous(now)members of the LASFS:FORREST J. ACKERMAN,MOROJO,RAY HARRYHAUSEN,ARTHUR K. BARNES,EDWARD E. "DOC" SMITH,CHARLES HORNIG,ROBERT HEINLEIN(seated at the table,only his face showing).Also appearingin the photo :JACK WILLIAMSON and EDMOND HAMILTON(standing near the wall in the background).The other photograph that moved me wastaken(circa 1946/47)probably in Los Angeles, too. In this one , Ray appears side by side with the couple EDMOND HAMILTON/LEIGH BRACKETT and with Hamilton's sister.Thirdly,I was enraptured by the exquisite beauty of the interior B&W drawings(Oh,the marvelous B&W drawings by HANNES BOK,LEE BROWN COYE,BORIS DELGOV, VIRGIL FINLAY&LAWRENCE STERN STEVENS) illustrating Bradbury's stories in pulp magazines ;the outstanding colour paintings printed as illustrations for Bradbury's stories in the 'slicks'(ESQUIRE,THE SATURDAY EVENING POST,COLLIER'S,and so on).His stories(for instance,"A Sound of Thunder","The Beast from 20000 Fathoms","The Illustrated Man" and "Mars is Heaven")were,then, interpreted by great artists like STANLEY MELTZOFF,REN WICKS,JAMES R. BINGHAM&JAMES BAMA;the futuristic cover designs for Hardcovers ,like GEORGE BARROWS'S Arkham House(American edition) and MICHAEL AYRTON'S Hamish Hamilton(British edition) cover designs for "DARK CARNIVAL",ARTHUR LIDOV'S cover illustration for "THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES"(1950)and JOSEPH MUGNAINI'S cover painting for the british edition(1963)of "SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES";the catching paperback's covers for the BANTAM edition of"THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES"(1951)and the BALLANTINE editions of "FARENHEIT 451" &"THE OCTOBER COUNTRY"(1953&1956 respectively,both JOSEPH MUGNAINI'S covers).Deserve special mention the series of JOSEPH MUGNAINI'S(1912-1992) litographs,preliminary watercolor sketches,original B&W drawings andpaintings inspired by Bradbury's stories and books.The italian-bornMUGNAINI wasconsidered the best interpreter of Ray's dreams.
Finally,the chapter dealing with 'EC COMICS and Ray Bradbury:The Untold Story' is precious.Jerry Weist is in his terrain here.As he says in the opening of the chapter:"The story of how Ray Bradbury came to have his writing adapted by a small,energetic company named Entertaining Comics in the 1950's is now a legendary chapter of comics history".How very true this is.I was enchanted by fantastic reproductions of originalsby FRANK FRAZETTA,AL WILLIAMSON,AL FELDSTEIN(his recreations are amazing).And it is always rewarding for me to admire the fabulous adaptations&splash-page arwork by the great WALLACE(WALLY)WOOD,a real genius of the comics.'Last,but not least' I was thrilled reading and seeing the archive of photos and Film Memorabilia reproduced.My favorites:the promotional photographs of Ray with the lovely Barbara Rush during the production of "IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE"(Universal,1953);the Half-sheet &Insert posters & Window lobby cardfor the same film and the known(signed)One-sheet poster for "THE BEAST FROM 20.000 FATHOMS" .
Many years ago I saw "THE BEAST FROM 20.000 FATHOMS" at an old movie theatre in my home town.It was an unforgettableexperience for me.A few years later ,I read the famous Bradbury's terrifying short story "MARS IS HEAVEN",the first yarn by this great writer that I read.I was definitely hooked.From then on I've been reading almost all his SF&Horror stories and a good number of his novels(novels?).
So,I love this book and I warmly recommend it.

A biography of Bradbury, told in pictures
There's a point in this book where the author says "You have to be an amazing writer to inspire so many illustrations and paintings." And that's why Bradbury is so great. After reading a book like The Martian Chronicles, you can easily imagine what he was describing. And if you can draw or paint, you'll want to create those images on canvas.

That's why almost every piece of artwork in this book is so beautiful. Just take the Illustrated Man as an example. Each artist who was commissioned to create a cover for the book had the task of showing an almost-naked man covered in tattoos. But the tattoos had to show scenes from dozens of short stories. One artist made the Illustrated Man an obese, shirtless guy in a carnival sideshow. Another gave him technicolor cartoons across his back and shoulders, depicting roaring lions and men in spacesuits. The third image is the most famous --- a nude man with his back to the viewer, sitting, with all of the skin below his neck covered in images.

This approach is repeated throughout the book --- different artists interpret the most vivid images from Bradbury's best books and stories. Over a hundred paperback book covers are reproduced (including a few that I was obsessed with when I was ten years old), along with movie posters, paintings, movie stills, and comic book pages.

The text is just as good. This book serves as a biography of Ray Bradbury, tracing the arc of his career from science fiction author to short story writer for 'the slicks' to comic book writer, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. Bradbury's relationship with EC comics is recounted through the correspondence between Bradbury and William Gaines. It's very interesting, especially when Bradbury catches Gaines stealing his stories and offers to write more for EC instead of suing.

If you're a Bradbury fan, you'll love this. It's the kind of book you'll pull off the shelf every month and flip through, just to marvel at all of the strange and beautiful images. If you don't know Bradbury's work, you'll still enjoy all of the artwork. Maybe the images will inspire you to read his books..

A Wonderful Volume
This treat of a book is unique in that it is not merely a collection of illustrations from Bradbury publications over the years, but seeks to document the whole spectrum of "visualizing" the rich prose of Mr. Bradbury, an almost impossible task!This includes films, stage productions, marginal doodles by Bradbury himself, books and films that inspired Bradbury in his early years, and much more - a rewardingly broad approach to crafting the book.
In addition wholeheartedly agreeing with the wonderful points noted by other reviewers, I would like to point out that the book features much rare material by Joseph Mugnaini, the definitive Bradbury artist, in the form of concept sketches for covers, stage backdrops, and some of the original paintings that inspired the Bradbury-Mugnaini partnership in the first place.The contribution of Mugnaini's works to Bradbury's success, as a visual carnival barker beckoning readers into Bradbury's world is tough to underestimate.
The book is beautifully printed, with one absolutely tragic exception - the reproduction of Charles Addams' original illustration for the story "Homecoming" is horrible!It is terribly blurry and there are some kind of liquid stains on the original work, which hung in the Bradbury home for many years.For comparison, look at the (reversed) reproduction used as the dust jacket for Bradbury's recent "From the Dust Returned" novel/collection.Just unfortunate that the one illustration botched - was the lone collaboration between two magnificent twentieth-century masters of the macabre.Still OVERWHELMINGLY worth owning however.

The must have coffee table book
This coffee table book is a must have for Bradbury fans.Full of pictures and illustrations of his various stories and books are interweaved with text written by friends and associates of Bradbury's throughout his professional carreer.The book spends a great deal of time on his personal correspondance with William Gaines (comic book publisher and later MAD magazine).The correspondance shows a literary master who was truly fond of comics,then considered a trash medium during the 1950's.The book also spends a good deal of time on notes by Francois Truffaut, the french cinema genious who filmed farhenheit 451.Bradbury is also shown as a man who loved Hollywood from the time he was a small boy.This book is a great addition to have, both for the written word and the beautiful artwork. ... Read more

Product Description

“The Definitive Ray Bradbury Book”

“I volunteered for the Moorpark College newsroom assignment. Thespeech changed my life just listening to Bradbury speak. I thought he wasthe greatest orator I had ever heard and thought to myself, “If he can writeas well as he can talk, I’ll read everything he’s written and seek outmagazines to sell an article about him.” Back then (1968), I had started myfreelance writing career and was always looking for new ideas. That firstBradbury speech changed my life and his advice gave me my life’sphilosophy: ‘Follow your loves! Don’t listen to anyone else—even yourown spouse. However, if you have the love of a good spouse and severalgood friends, you’ll be successful. If you don’t yet know what you wantto do in life, go out and find your loves and you’ll have a happy life.’”

You’ll find this biography may be more of a self-help book and “thedefinitive Ray Bradbury” revealed like no other book has yet done.Whether you are a science fiction fan, student, attorney, architect, writer,priest, or just a person trying to find your mission on planet Earth, there isa piece of the jigsaw puzzle to your life awaiting you in this book. If youare going on a trip or simply want something to read for a weekend, thisbook is designed as a quick, entertaining read for all people. And you neednot know anything about science fiction to enjoy reading the study of thisgenius and American icon. Enjoy!

—Gene Beley, author

Customer Reviews (1)

Fun and informative...
Ray had a crazy life, I never would've guessed about! This book covers a lot of stuff and provides a very unique perspective on this epic author! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Master at the Height of his Powers
This is vintage Bradbury - no punk, obscenity, fantasy, horror or sex.Just beautiful, succinct, wonderfully constructed short stories that give new meaning to the term "American Genius".

The stories range in subject matter from religion to space to family to war but through it all Bradbury explores the meaning of being human in all its wondrous degrees.There is more poetry in this prose than in most English books of poetry. Every single story - I mean every one! - is excellent, thought provoking and haunting.What a writer!

one of his best short-story collections....
....I particularly liked "A Miracle of Rare Device."21 tales by the master of the imaginative. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

Great classic just as relevant today. for 1984 lovers also
My sis recommended this book and I must say I was impressed and would recommend all public schools make high school kids read this book as food for thought as they go out to shape the world. This book is just as relevant today if not moreso- as TV's take over our lives and being different or voicing opinion is being considered unpatriotic or made one viewed as an outcast. I couldn't help but keep rooting for the protagonist and definitely appreciated how the book ended. And it left me wanting more. It definitely makes you think about how we value material pleasures in life as the fire chief goes into his extended description of the fall of society and the creation of "Book burners". Our world is becoming so PC we are moving towards a world like that of the book in each day which is why I support the ACLU, boycott city hall on police state policies, and will NOT sacrifice my liberty when the government uses Terrorism as a scapegoat for scare tactics and control over citizens and I was one of the pedestrians running in downtown NYC on 9-11 when it came down. As our forefather said, Give me liberty or give me death.
fans of 1984 and Naked Lunch will love this one.

Even more relevant now than when first written
Farenheit 451 was first published in 1953, so as I started on my first reading of the book I wondered if it would feel dated. After finishing it, I've decided that this book is even more relevant today than when it was first written.

Farenheit 451 is set sometime in the future (Bradbury wisely chose not to set a specific date for his story), and is the story of Guy Montag, a professional book burner, or "fireman." In Montag's time, American society now focuses primarily on constant pleasure seeking without inhibitions of any kind. Intellectual pursuits such as reading or writing are strongly discouraged, and those found owning any banned piece of literature (which by this time includes almost any piece of literature) are punished by imprisonment, while their homes are burned with the offending books inside. It is a time of apathy and lawlessness, and most of the population spends almost their entire lives focused on vacuous entertainment which massages the minds of the masses into an intellectual sleep. Montag's contentment with this existence is disrupted one day when he meets a young girl, Clarrise, who engages him in a conversation that begins to awaken in him the desire for a more meaningful life. Ultimately, Montag rebels and finds himself a fugitive from the very society that has created him.

To be upfront, I will admit that I hate modern television, specifically the drivel of reality tv that consists of watching the antics of dysfunctional individuals in all their horrific glory. I will be the first to admit that I enjoy television shows like Lost and Battlestar Galactica which actually seem to have a story driven plot, and are delightfully complex. Still, I am blown away by a recent statistic that states that the average American spends 7 hours a day watching television. At this point, you are probably wondering, what does television have to do with Farenheit 451? This is not a novel about censorship, although that certainly is present in the novel. Bradbury has stated that the novel is primarily an exploration of how the obsession with television and mass media can or will destroy our desire to read. I find Bradbury's idea of the future frightening, especially when I consider that so many of my own acquaintances can't even remember the last time they read a book for enjoyment. In fact, that is the reason I was primarily attracted to book blogging. I wanted to find a place to share my love of books with others, and I couldn't seem to fill that need in my local community.

I found the coda that Bradbury added in a later edition to be especially interesting. As I was listening, it was spooky when I considered how many aspects of the novel have an equivalent in our modern society. One example that jumps out to me is the "seashell" device that Montag's wife Mildred is wearing almost continuously throughout the novel. Bradbury later wrote:

"In writing the short novel Fahrenheit 451 I thought I was describing a world that might evolve in four or five decades. But only a few weeks ago, in Beverly Hills one night, a husband and wife passed me, walking their dog. I stood staring after them, absolutely stunned. The woman held in one hand a small cigarette-package-sized radio, its antenna quivering. From this sprang tiny copper wires which ended in a dainty cone plugged into her right ear. There she was, oblivious to man and dog, listening to far winds and whispers and soap-opera cries, sleep-walking, helped up and down curbs by a husband who might just as well not have been there. This was not fiction."

This book is a classic, and it deserves to be. If you haven't ever read this book, or if it has been a while, give it a try. If nothing else, it will give you plenty to think about.

Good but flawed book
I read this book in high school, and I'm sure that it was assigned because it has a number of interesting ideas contained within it.However, it was written at the dawn of the nuclear age, and it is very dated.Many things that seemed plausible back then are simply established to be impossible now.Still, the book was so good, that I am constantly reminded about the ideas in it when I see the rise in "infotainment" and nightly celebrity worship shows (ET, Access, ...).I would recommend reading it as if you were living in the 1950s.If you do, you will be richly rewarded.

Great Idea but NOT an incredible book
I am a 10th grade teacher so I read all of the books that I will teach my students.One of these was Farenheit 451.I know it's a classic and I love Ray Bradbury but this book is famous more for the idea than the actual story.This is the type of book that you could discuss but not the type of book I would recommend for pleasure reading.Some of his other works and short stories I find much better than this including the one he references in the book, The Pedestrian.Ray Bradbury is great but don't read this book thinking that you will be completely engrossed from page one.However, if you want something to really think about and an idea that is incredibly interesting this is the ticket.

Dry leaves serve the fire
Just try to imagine how could be our world today with every book with a death sentence... it would be worst that it is today.
This is a terrific story, which comes from a desperate internal scream of liberty, `cause our freedom is made in the cements of the knowledge. Bradboury paints us a history perfect to be the worst nightmare ever; every detail was clearly study step by step, to gain us into a wonderful story that mede me feel at first horror and later a little bit of pain, just to thinkthat once the world not far enough was tried to get ruled by an enmey of the many expressions of thinking.

The main message of this history is to valuate and feel a posetion feeling of our information, but mainly of the imprent information, which it has been leaving behind by this generation. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (13)

Decent collection, but not Bradbury's best
I have read many sci-fi short stories, and by far Bradbury's are often my favorites. This collection though, I consider sub par. It is jumbled and some of the stories aren't even sci-fi are seem out of place. The collection has many great stories, but I don't recommend it to people new to Bradbury; if you haven't read "The Illustrated Man", I suggest it over this collection.

Not Bradbury at his Best
I would like to note, as have some other reviewers, that I am working from the 18 story collection. It saddens me to say this, but these stories are a far cry from some of Bradbury's other material, and hardly worth the time for modern readers. Bradbury has an unnerving tendancy in his short stories to be one-dimensional, hokey, and heavy-handed; all these characteristics are on display in this collection. Also, I am willing to forigive his portraits of women in some of his earlier work, but these stories date as late as the 1960s, and Bradbury has to learn to write women in ways that are not hysterical or conniving.

While there are moments when Bradbury is able to recapture some of the awe and beauty of his earlier work, much of this is, sadly, sentimental hackery. Stories like "Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby's is a Friend of Mine" and "The Man in the Rorscharch Shirt" are so obvious and dull as to be difficult to finish reading. "Tomorrow's Child" is so absolutely ridiculous and wrong-headed that is almost makes a person angry. I've read quite a bit of Bradbury, and this was the first book of his where I have had trouble reaching the end. "The Inspired Chicken Motel" is the one bright spot, I felt, where Bradbury manages to stumble into a father and son's shared sense of wonder, and their desire to believe in some kind cosmic meaning, revealed in an omen. Other than that, the stories are rote and uninspiring.

There is plenty of great Bradbury out there; I love Dandelion Wine, Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. All those books are worth owning. But not everything Bradbury ever wrote is genius, and certainly not _I Sing the Body Electric!_

Ray Bradbury -- untalented, or merely incompetent?
In the fifth edition of "Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians", the article on Rachmaninov affirms that the popularity of his works is proof they aren't very good. By that reasoning, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms must be even worse composers.

But there is _some_ truth to the idea that popularity and "quality" are inversely related. Ray Bradbury, arguably the most popular 20th century writer of fantasy and science fiction, is a perfect example. Bradbury is a writer for people who have no imaginations of their own.

I read a lot of science fiction when I was young. (Fantasy had not become as popular as it is today.) By a wide margin, no writer struck me as consistently awful as Bradbury.

Why? None was quite so _obvious_ -- Bradbury telegraphed his punches in the titles of his stories! His treatment of any idea was often heavy-handed and sentimental. And he claimed priority for any work with even the least resemblance to one of his (qv, "The Foghorn" and "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms"). I don't know whether "Boys, Grow Giant Mushrooms in Your Basement!" predates Philip K. Dick's "The Father-Thing", but if it had, Bradbury surely would have sued.

It's about time (while Mr. Bradbury is still alive) to proclaim him the semi-competent mediocrity he is. There, I said it. He also needs a kick to the knees for his inane use ofWhitman's "I sing the body electric", a reference to human sensuality and sexuality, to title a story about an asexual, unsensual android.

I sing the body electric;
The armies of those I love engirth me, and I engirth them;
They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them,
And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the Soul.

Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves;
And if those who defile the living are as bad as they who defile the dead?
And if the body does not do as much as the Soul?
And if the body were not the Soul, what is the Soul?

I find it amazing Ray Harryhausen has put up with him for 70 years.

"I Sing The Additional Grip/Electric!"
(Please note that the edition I am reviewing is the older publication that contains only the original 18 works that make up I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC!.)

I usually adore Ray Bradbury short story collections, but I think it would be more honest of me to say that I "merely" very much enjoyed I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC!.While I wouldn't rank this as his best work, it contains a number of seductively powerful moments.It's a wonderful set of quite varied fiction, however not all of the stories gave me the same emotional charge that I get out of other selections of Bradbury's writing.It's still a compilation worth reading, of course, since even Bradbury on a mediocre day is still better than the vast majority of short story writers.

As with other Bradbury collections, it is difficult to characterize the feel of this.The stories cover a smorgasbord of topics; included are stories about Mars colonies, Irish peasants, supernatural chickens, electric grandmothers, and a host of other mind-bending fictions.You have to admire his creativity if nothing else.And he has a fantastic way of making even the most bizarre of artifacts seem as familiar as apple pie and the smell of freshly cut grass.His characters are painted with broad strokes, but they're so carefully crafted that you'll feel as though you've known them all your life.

Some of my favorite Bradbury stories are his most basic and uncomplicated ones, I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC! being no exception.THE KILIMANJARO DEVICE is a simple tribute to Ernest Hemmingway written with a deceptive elegance.The science fiction overtones of DOWNWIND FROM GETTYSBURG, THE LOST CITY OF MARS and the titular story mask some very real human emotions.In some stories, youth and old age are brought together, with childlike enthusiasm touching characters at all points during their lives.In other stories, depression and gloom are all-encompassing and inescapable.

On the other hand, there are a few stories that I just didn't care for.And I must admit that the poem at the end (CHRISTUS APOLLO) did very little for me.Still, it's testament to Bradbury's ability as a writer that the poorest stories can only fill me with mild indifference.Very little here blew me away in the manner of his DANDELION WINE book, but there is nothing that I would refuse to read again.

I enjoyed I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC! during my initial read.But I found myself appreciating the stories even more the second time around.Bradbury excels at painting the whole spectrum of humanity, from the most noble to its most pathetic.And he turns both extremes into very compelling stories.This is probably not his greatest collection, but it is definitely not one to be skipped.

Wonderful!
When I was about 14, I went through a several year phase of reading every science fiction book I could get my hands on.And now, fifteen years later, I decided to go back and try to read a few of the books I remembered.I especially remember enjoying books by Asimov, Bradbury, Dick, Wells and a few others.This was the first one I happened to read, and I was amazed.The first few stories were kind of 'iffy', but I was quickly pulled into each and every story.Ray Bradbury has a writing talent that few today can replicate.His mastery of words and his imagination are amazing.

I've read a few 'modern' sci-fi, and they've all failed to impress me.The true wonder of sci-fi is in books like this.Sure some of the ideas are out-dated, but who cares?It is science-fiction.Stephen King and the others I read didn't seem to capture the wonder that is in books like this.

I know that some prefer modern sci-fi, but for me, the 'oldies' are where the great science-fiction lies. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (13)

Decent collection, but not Bradbury's best
I have read many sci-fi short stories, and by far Bradbury's are often my favorites. This collection though, I consider sub par. It is jumbled and some of the stories aren't even sci-fi are seem out of place. The collection has many great stories, but I don't recommend it to people new to Bradbury; if you haven't read "The Illustrated Man", I suggest it over this collection.

Not Bradbury at his Best
I would like to note, as have some other reviewers, that I am working from the 18 story collection. It saddens me to say this, but these stories are a far cry from some of Bradbury's other material, and hardly worth the time for modern readers. Bradbury has an unnerving tendancy in his short stories to be one-dimensional, hokey, and heavy-handed; all these characteristics are on display in this collection. Also, I am willing to forigive his portraits of women in some of his earlier work, but these stories date as late as the 1960s, and Bradbury has to learn to write women in ways that are not hysterical or conniving.

While there are moments when Bradbury is able to recapture some of the awe and beauty of his earlier work, much of this is, sadly, sentimental hackery. Stories like "Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby's is a Friend of Mine" and "The Man in the Rorscharch Shirt" are so obvious and dull as to be difficult to finish reading. "Tomorrow's Child" is so absolutely ridiculous and wrong-headed that is almost makes a person angry. I've read quite a bit of Bradbury, and this was the first book of his where I have had trouble reaching the end. "The Inspired Chicken Motel" is the one bright spot, I felt, where Bradbury manages to stumble into a father and son's shared sense of wonder, and their desire to believe in some kind cosmic meaning, revealed in an omen. Other than that, the stories are rote and uninspiring.

There is plenty of great Bradbury out there; I love Dandelion Wine, Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. All those books are worth owning. But not everything Bradbury ever wrote is genius, and certainly not _I Sing the Body Electric!_

Ray Bradbury -- untalented, or merely incompetent?
In the fifth edition of "Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians", the article on Rachmaninov affirms that the popularity of his works is proof they aren't very good. By that reasoning, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms must be even worse composers.

But there is _some_ truth to the idea that popularity and "quality" are inversely related. Ray Bradbury, arguably the most popular 20th century writer of fantasy and science fiction, is a perfect example. Bradbury is a writer for people who have no imaginations of their own.

I read a lot of science fiction when I was young. (Fantasy had not become as popular as it is today.) By a wide margin, no writer struck me as consistently awful as Bradbury.

Why? None was quite so _obvious_ -- Bradbury telegraphed his punches in the titles of his stories! His treatment of any idea was often heavy-handed and sentimental. And he claimed priority for any work with even the least resemblance to one of his (qv, "The Foghorn" and "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms"). I don't know whether "Boys, Grow Giant Mushrooms in Your Basement!" predates Philip K. Dick's "The Father-Thing", but if it had, Bradbury surely would have sued.

It's about time (while Mr. Bradbury is still alive) to proclaim him the semi-competent mediocrity he is. There, I said it. He also needs a kick to the knees for his inane use ofWhitman's "I sing the body electric", a reference to human sensuality and sexuality, to title a story about an asexual, unsensual android.

I sing the body electric;
The armies of those I love engirth me, and I engirth them;
They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them,
And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the Soul.

Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves;
And if those who defile the living are as bad as they who defile the dead?
And if the body does not do as much as the Soul?
And if the body were not the Soul, what is the Soul?

I find it amazing Ray Harryhausen has put up with him for 70 years.

"I Sing The Additional Grip/Electric!"
(Please note that the edition I am reviewing is the older publication that contains only the original 18 works that make up I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC!.)

I usually adore Ray Bradbury short story collections, but I think it would be more honest of me to say that I "merely" very much enjoyed I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC!.While I wouldn't rank this as his best work, it contains a number of seductively powerful moments.It's a wonderful set of quite varied fiction, however not all of the stories gave me the same emotional charge that I get out of other selections of Bradbury's writing.It's still a compilation worth reading, of course, since even Bradbury on a mediocre day is still better than the vast majority of short story writers.

As with other Bradbury collections, it is difficult to characterize the feel of this.The stories cover a smorgasbord of topics; included are stories about Mars colonies, Irish peasants, supernatural chickens, electric grandmothers, and a host of other mind-bending fictions.You have to admire his creativity if nothing else.And he has a fantastic way of making even the most bizarre of artifacts seem as familiar as apple pie and the smell of freshly cut grass.His characters are painted with broad strokes, but they're so carefully crafted that you'll feel as though you've known them all your life.

Some of my favorite Bradbury stories are his most basic and uncomplicated ones, I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC! being no exception.THE KILIMANJARO DEVICE is a simple tribute to Ernest Hemmingway written with a deceptive elegance.The science fiction overtones of DOWNWIND FROM GETTYSBURG, THE LOST CITY OF MARS and the titular story mask some very real human emotions.In some stories, youth and old age are brought together, with childlike enthusiasm touching characters at all points during their lives.In other stories, depression and gloom are all-encompassing and inescapable.

On the other hand, there are a few stories that I just didn't care for.And I must admit that the poem at the end (CHRISTUS APOLLO) did very little for me.Still, it's testament to Bradbury's ability as a writer that the poorest stories can only fill me with mild indifference.Very little here blew me away in the manner of his DANDELION WINE book, but there is nothing that I would refuse to read again.

I enjoyed I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC! during my initial read.But I found myself appreciating the stories even more the second time around.Bradbury excels at painting the whole spectrum of humanity, from the most noble to its most pathetic.And he turns both extremes into very compelling stories.This is probably not his greatest collection, but it is definitely not one to be skipped.

Wonderful!
When I was about 14, I went through a several year phase of reading every science fiction book I could get my hands on.And now, fifteen years later, I decided to go back and try to read a few of the books I remembered.I especially remember enjoying books by Asimov, Bradbury, Dick, Wells and a few others.This was the first one I happened to read, and I was amazed.The first few stories were kind of 'iffy', but I was quickly pulled into each and every story.Ray Bradbury has a writing talent that few today can replicate.His mastery of words and his imagination are amazing.

I've read a few 'modern' sci-fi, and they've all failed to impress me.The true wonder of sci-fi is in books like this.Sure some of the ideas are out-dated, but who cares?It is science-fiction.Stephen King and the others I read didn't seem to capture the wonder that is in books like this.

I know that some prefer modern sci-fi, but for me, the 'oldies' are where the great science-fiction lies. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (13)

Decent collection, but not Bradbury's best
I have read many sci-fi short stories, and by far Bradbury's are often my favorites. This collection though, I consider sub par. It is jumbled and some of the stories aren't even sci-fi are seem out of place. The collection has many great stories, but I don't recommend it to people new to Bradbury; if you haven't read "The Illustrated Man", I suggest it over this collection.

Not Bradbury at his Best
I would like to note, as have some other reviewers, that I am working from the 18 story collection. It saddens me to say this, but these stories are a far cry from some of Bradbury's other material, and hardly worth the time for modern readers. Bradbury has an unnerving tendancy in his short stories to be one-dimensional, hokey, and heavy-handed; all these characteristics are on display in this collection. Also, I am willing to forigive his portraits of women in some of his earlier work, but these stories date as late as the 1960s, and Bradbury has to learn to write women in ways that are not hysterical or conniving.

While there are moments when Bradbury is able to recapture some of the awe and beauty of his earlier work, much of this is, sadly, sentimental hackery. Stories like "Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby's is a Friend of Mine" and "The Man in the Rorscharch Shirt" are so obvious and dull as to be difficult to finish reading. "Tomorrow's Child" is so absolutely ridiculous and wrong-headed that is almost makes a person angry. I've read quite a bit of Bradbury, and this was the first book of his where I have had trouble reaching the end. "The Inspired Chicken Motel" is the one bright spot, I felt, where Bradbury manages to stumble into a father and son's shared sense of wonder, and their desire to believe in some kind cosmic meaning, revealed in an omen. Other than that, the stories are rote and uninspiring.

There is plenty of great Bradbury out there; I love Dandelion Wine, Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. All those books are worth owning. But not everything Bradbury ever wrote is genius, and certainly not _I Sing the Body Electric!_

Ray Bradbury -- untalented, or merely incompetent?
In the fifth edition of "Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians", the article on Rachmaninov affirms that the popularity of his works is proof they aren't very good. By that reasoning, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms must be even worse composers.

But there is _some_ truth to the idea that popularity and "quality" are inversely related. Ray Bradbury, arguably the most popular 20th century writer of fantasy and science fiction, is a perfect example. Bradbury is a writer for people who have no imaginations of their own.

I read a lot of science fiction when I was young. (Fantasy had not become as popular as it is today.) By a wide margin, no writer struck me as consistently awful as Bradbury.

Why? None was quite so _obvious_ -- Bradbury telegraphed his punches in the titles of his stories! His treatment of any idea was often heavy-handed and sentimental. And he claimed priority for any work with even the least resemblance to one of his (qv, "The Foghorn" and "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms"). I don't know whether "Boys, Grow Giant Mushrooms in Your Basement!" predates Philip K. Dick's "The Father-Thing", but if it had, Bradbury surely would have sued.

It's about time (while Mr. Bradbury is still alive) to proclaim him the semi-competent mediocrity he is. There, I said it. He also needs a kick to the knees for his inane use ofWhitman's "I sing the body electric", a reference to human sensuality and sexuality, to title a story about an asexual, unsensual android.

I sing the body electric;
The armies of those I love engirth me, and I engirth them;
They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them,
And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the Soul.

Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves;
And if those who defile the living are as bad as they who defile the dead?
And if the body does not do as much as the Soul?
And if the body were not the Soul, what is the Soul?

I find it amazing Ray Harryhausen has put up with him for 70 years.

"I Sing The Additional Grip/Electric!"
(Please note that the edition I am reviewing is the older publication that contains only the original 18 works that make up I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC!.)

I usually adore Ray Bradbury short story collections, but I think it would be more honest of me to say that I "merely" very much enjoyed I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC!.While I wouldn't rank this as his best work, it contains a number of seductively powerful moments.It's a wonderful set of quite varied fiction, however not all of the stories gave me the same emotional charge that I get out of other selections of Bradbury's writing.It's still a compilation worth reading, of course, since even Bradbury on a mediocre day is still better than the vast majority of short story writers.

As with other Bradbury collections, it is difficult to characterize the feel of this.The stories cover a smorgasbord of topics; included are stories about Mars colonies, Irish peasants, supernatural chickens, electric grandmothers, and a host of other mind-bending fictions.You have to admire his creativity if nothing else.And he has a fantastic way of making even the most bizarre of artifacts seem as familiar as apple pie and the smell of freshly cut grass.His characters are painted with broad strokes, but they're so carefully crafted that you'll feel as though you've known them all your life.

Some of my favorite Bradbury stories are his most basic and uncomplicated ones, I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC! being no exception.THE KILIMANJARO DEVICE is a simple tribute to Ernest Hemmingway written with a deceptive elegance.The science fiction overtones of DOWNWIND FROM GETTYSBURG, THE LOST CITY OF MARS and the titular story mask some very real human emotions.In some stories, youth and old age are brought together, with childlike enthusiasm touching characters at all points during their lives.In other stories, depression and gloom are all-encompassing and inescapable.

On the other hand, there are a few stories that I just didn't care for.And I must admit that the poem at the end (CHRISTUS APOLLO) did very little for me.Still, it's testament to Bradbury's ability as a writer that the poorest stories can only fill me with mild indifference.Very little here blew me away in the manner of his DANDELION WINE book, but there is nothing that I would refuse to read again.

I enjoyed I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC! during my initial read.But I found myself appreciating the stories even more the second time around.Bradbury excels at painting the whole spectrum of humanity, from the most noble to its most pathetic.And he turns both extremes into very compelling stories.This is probably not his greatest collection, but it is definitely not one to be skipped.

Wonderful!
When I was about 14, I went through a several year phase of reading every science fiction book I could get my hands on.And now, fifteen years later, I decided to go back and try to read a few of the books I remembered.I especially remember enjoying books by Asimov, Bradbury, Dick, Wells and a few others.This was the first one I happened to read, and I was amazed.The first few stories were kind of 'iffy', but I was quickly pulled into each and every story.Ray Bradbury has a writing talent that few today can replicate.His mastery of words and his imagination are amazing.

I've read a few 'modern' sci-fi, and they've all failed to impress me.The true wonder of sci-fi is in books like this.Sure some of the ideas are out-dated, but who cares?It is science-fiction.Stephen King and the others I read didn't seem to capture the wonder that is in books like this.

I know that some prefer modern sci-fi, but for me, the 'oldies' are where the great science-fiction lies. ... Read more

Product Description
A LONELY LITTLE boy who is scared of the dark sits in his room alone, with only light for company, until a little girl named Dark appears and shows him that light switches don’t just switch off the light—they switch on the night. And to switch on the night is to switch on the stars, the moon, the crickets, and the frogs. With the Dillons’ dreamlike illustrations, Switch on the Night is sure to reassure any child who has felt afraid of the unkown; the story will also impress adult readers with its imaginative approach to understanding that which is different.

“Bradbury’s story of a boy who conquers his fear of the night with the help of a child named Dark has been newly illustrated with appropriately mysterious, dramatic artwork, clearly influenced by M. C. Escher’s work.”—The Horn Book

“The Dillons’ interpretation works well intellectually and aesthetically.”—Booklist ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Switch on the Nignt
Great book for thinking about being scared of the dark or focusing on the sense of vision.

Perfect bedtime story
We received this book as a gift for our baby when she was three months.I read other stories to her but THIS one is perfect.The story is wonderful, the narration flows beatifully, and the best part is that it is long (short) enough to fit in perfectly with our "nite-nite" routine.She's 16 months-old now and most nights we still read this story to her.I've read dozens of other stories but this one is by far my favorite.

must have for kids
i bought this for my daughter angelina. the illustrations are excellent and the story is exceptional. i enjoy reading this to her. i recommend this for all parents.

"Once there was a little boy who didn't like the night."
Ray Bradbury is not often thought of as a writer of horror stories, although certainly the idea of living in a world where firemen were the people who burned books would be just about the most horrific thing a writer could imagine.But E.C. comics like "Tales of the Crypt" were doing version of his horror tales, so he certainly has the credentials in that field.What makes "Switch on the Night" unusual is that it is the only picture book for very young children written by Bradbury.While it is not exactly a horror story, it is certainly based on a basic theme in horror, being afraid of the dark.However, what Bradbury does with that theme is simply magic.

We begin with the declaration, "Once there was a little boy who didn't like the night."What he liked were lanterns and lamps, torches and tapers, and basically anything that created light.So he never went outside at night, although from his window he could see the other children playing on their lawns on summer nights.At night, he slept in the only room in town with a light on: he did not like light switches, because they switched off the light, and he never switched off the light.But then comes the night when his parents were away and the boy turned on every light in the house to keep away the night.Then there came a knock at the door and there was a young girl who said her name was Dark, and who told the little boy that she would introduce him to the Night so that they could be friends.

Needless to say, if you have a child who is afraid of the dark, this book can help them get over it (I bet some parents will read the book and instead of passing it along to their child will simply follow Dark's lead and play it out for real)."Switch on the Night" was originally published in 1955 with illustrations by Madeleine Gekiere.This newer edition has artwork by Leo and Diane Dillon (whose dedication is to M.C. Escher, which you will understand as soon as you see a few of their pictures).As a rule I am willing to pick up anything the Dillons illustrate, having been introduced to their work for the myriad covers they have done for pretty much every hardback and paperback collection of Harlan Ellison's work published since the 1960s.These illustrations demonstrate a softer side to their artwork and help to create the dreamlike quality necessary to the telling of this particular tale.

No More Fear of the Dark
A delightful journey with a young, lonely boy who lives only in the light because of his fear of the dark. He meets a young girl that shows him thebeauty and magic of the dark, along with all the creatures that live in thedark. He learns that he has a choice to 'turn on' the light or the dark. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

An awesome book with aliens
From the sixth through the tenth grade, I read this book at least twice a year.I did a book report on it at least once a year (depending on whether I had a new english teacher or not).It is a collection of short stories about Mars, arranged into chronilogical order, from the first man to set foot on Mars, down to the destruction of the Earth and chronicles the demise of the native martians and the colonization of Mars by Humans over a period of about a century.

Not all of the stories are of equal length or quality; most are great, but some are mediocre.A couple of highlights for me were the story about the House of Usher, which is where some one recreates the stories of Edgar Allan Poe in a house on Mars, and also all the bits with the native Martians.This is one of my very favorite books of all time.

The martians
I think that the Martian Chronicles is a cool book and should have Cliff Notes.I also think that the with the whole story being about the future it has some really cool stuff in it.

Viviana Pendragon

Great.Best book I've ever read.
This book is great. Great book to read for the mellenium

People go to Mars and try to change it according them.
Well, it was a very interesting book from what i have read. Yet, I have an exam tomorrow and i need the summarization for it. So frankly i dont care about the book. ... Read more

Product Description
The author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles is among the bestknown science fiction/fantasy writers today.

This title, Ray Bradbury, part of Chelsea House Publishers’ Modern Critical Views series, examines the major works of Ray Bradbury through full-length critical essays by expert literary critics. In addition, this title features a short biography on Ray Bradbury, a chronology of the author’s life, and an introductory essay written by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Narrow focus, remarkably little insight
From Harold Bloom's Modern Critical Views series, this book collects
critical essays discussing one of America's most unique storytellers,
sci-fi/fantasy writer Ray Bradbury.Although one applauds Bloom's acumen in
choosing Bradbury as a subject worthy of elucidation, the actual essays
selected are really rather disappointing.Perhaps the fault lies not with
the editor (whose bona fides are so widely recognized), but with a general
dearth of meritorious criticism regarding an author who works principally in
the literary ghetto that is known as 'genre' fiction.Most of the scholars
represented here have picked up some specific quality that seems noteworthy
in a few of his works, and have explicated this quality in some detail, but
none seem able to view the man's work as a whole, or evaluate its overall
import.Perhaps closest is William F. Touponce's cryptic essay "The
Existential Fabulous: A Reading of Ray Bradbury's 'The Golden Apples of the
Sun'", but his 'oneiric' approach is aimed at the serious scholar, not the
casual reader.More commonplace are Diskin's "Bradbury on Children", and
Hazel Pierce's "Ray Bradbury and the Gothic Tradition", with emphasis on the
horror genre, and the pieces by Wayne Johnson and Gary Wolfe, which focus
more on the famous sci-fi collection The Martian Chronicles.It is typical
of the narrow focus of this volume that only Kevin Hoskinson's fascinating
political study "Ray Bradbury's Cold War Novels" does more than mention the
master's finest novel, Fahrenheit 451.This reviewer would much rather have
seen some in-depth analysis of Bradbury's style (which is surely one of his
strong points), and more attention given to his many short stories, which
are certainly superior to most of his novels.Inquisitive readers who come
to this book wondering why this fine, but often overlooked writer is deemed
worthy of criticism at all will come away knowing little more than they came

in with.

Ray Bradbury fan
My all time favorite book has been Martin Chronicles, so this is a very great surprise for me, to read several essays from different experts. And learn more about such classic.

And it doesn't end there, they analyze more of his stories. I don't know if Mr. Bradbury will agree on this book, but it did enlight me. ... Read more