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Ray Bradbury


About the Author

Ray Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois, in 1920. His fond memories of small town life are apparent in much of his writing, such as Something Wicked This Way Comes and particularly the semi-autobiographical Dandelion Wine. As a child he developed a fascination with magic, carnivals and Halloween. He also spent many hours in the Carnegie Library in Waukegan reading fantastic tales about Tarzan, Flash Gordon and Oz. When he was a teenager his family moved to Los Angeles, where he still lives today with his wife of over 50 years, Marguerite.

Although his formal education ended with high school, Bradbury continued to educate himself in the public library and out on the city streets. He began writing a science fiction fan magazine and published his first short story at the age of 20. In 1950, he published The Martian Chronicles, one of the most seminal works of science fiction. He wrote the first version of Fahrenheit 451 – a novella entitled “The Fireman” – on a rented typewriter in the UCLA library. The book that cost him just under $10 to write has sold over 5 million copies since its publication in 1953 and is now considered a classic.

Over the course of his long career, Ray Bradbury has written over 500 creative works. In addition to stories and novels, he has also tried his hand at poetry, essays, plays and screenplays. Several of his books have been made into films, and many of his stories aired on cable TV series “Ray Bradbury Theatre.” Bradbury has won numerous awards for his writing. In the year 2000 he was awarded the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Ray Bradbury is still writing today.

 

Selected Works

The Martian Chronicles – 1950

The people of Earth set out to colonize Mars, but they are in turn conquered by it.

The Illustrated Man – 1951

The Illustrated Man at the carnival has fantastic and phantasmagoric stories etched in ink on his body.

Fahrenheit 451 – 1953

In this chilling exploration of censorship and anti-intellectualism, a fireman whose job it is to burn books is awakened to the importance of knowledge and truth.

The Golden Apples of the Sun – 1953

Central to this collection of 32 tales is “The Sound of Thunder,” about a safari 60 million years into the past where one false step can change the course of the future.

The October Country – 1955

This collection of haunting and harrowing tales includes “The Small Assassin,” in which a newborn plots murder, and “Uncle Einar,” about the winged uncle in the wonderful Elliot family, who feature in many other Bradbury tales.

Dandelion Wine – 1957

A 12-year-old-boy in Green Town, Illinois, experiences a magical summer in 1928.

A Medicine for Melancholy – 1959

A collection of stories including “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit” and “The Pedestrian,” which was a precursor to Fahrenheit 451.

R Is for Rocket – 1962

Seventeen tales including the novella “Frost and Fire,” in which people living in an atom-blasted landscape are born, live and die all in the space of eight days.

Something Wicked This Way Comes – 1962

When the carnival rolls into Green Town, Illinois, the week before Halloween, two boys are drawn to its eerie attractions and confront an evil that will change their lives forever.

I Sing the Body Electric! – 1969

In the title story of this collection, grieving children who have lost their mother are comforted by a robotic grandmother.

The Halloween Tree – 1972

A mysterious man leads 8 children on a journey through centuries of the past to discover the true meaning of Halloween.

Long After Midnight – 1976 Fiction

A collection of 22 stories of amazing range and variety.

The Stories of Ray Bradbury – 1980

A collection of 100 of Bradbury’s finest stories.

Death Is a Lonely Business – 1985 Mystery

A mystery about four deaths that occur after an old amusement park is torn down.

The Toynbee Convector – 1988 Fiction

23 tales that begin with the familiar and then take off through the farthest reaches of the imagination.

A Graveyard for Lunatics – 1990

On Halloween in 1954, a young screenwriter makes a horrifying discovery in a graveyard on a studio backlot.

Green Shadows, White Whale – 1992 Fiction

A novel based on Bradbury’s own experiences in Ireland while writing the screenplay for John Huston’s version of Moby Dick.

Quicker than the Eye – 1996

A collection of nostalgic tales not previously published in book form.

Driving Blind – 1997

More unforgettable excursions into the fantastic.

From the Dust Returned – 2001

Bradbury returns to the delightful Elliot family, outlandish creatures living on an Illinois farm who await the gathering spirits of All Hallows Eve.

One More for the Road – 2002

Bradbury’s latest collection includes 17 new tales of the magic of everyday life.

Let's All Kill Constance - 2003

A mystery about a writer who helps a faded Hollywood starlet who fears that someone is out to get her.

Bradbury Stories - 2003

A collection of 100 of Ray Bradbury's best stories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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