At ninety, Ray Bradbury ranks as the dean and grand eminence of science fiction. This giant omnibus volume collects three major works by this genre titan: The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and The Golden Apples of the Sun. It would be nearly impossible to identify three works more central to sci-fi than this trio.
Once read, his words are never forgotten. His best-known and most beloved books -- The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Fahrenheit 451, and Something Wicked This Way Comes -- are masterworks that readers carry with them over a lifetime. His timeless, constant appeal to audiences young and old has proven him to be one of the truly classic authors of the 20th Century -- and the 21st.
Ray Bradbury's work has been included in several Best American Short Story collections. He has been awarded the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America, and the PEN Center USA West Lifetime Achievement Award, among others. In recognition of his stature in the world of literature and the impact he has had on so many for so many years, Bradbury was awarded the National Book Foundation's 2000 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and the National Medal of Arts in 2004.
On the occasion of his 80th birthday in August 2000, Bradbury said, "The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me. The feeling I have every day is very much the same as it was when I was twelve. In any event, here I am, eighty years old, feeling no different, full of a great sense of joy, and glad for the long life that has been allowed me. I have good plans for the next ten or twenty years, and I hope you'll come along."
"I spent three years standing on a street corner, selling newspapers, making ten dollars a week. I did that job every day for three hours and the rest of the time I wrote because I was in love with writing. The answer to all writing, to any career for that matter, is love."
"I have been inspired by libraries and the magic they contain and the people that they represent."
"I hate all politics. I don't like either political party. One should not belong to them -- one should be an individual, standing in the middle. Anyone that belongs to a party stops thinking."
Bradbury is sort of a literary anomaly. He's a writer nearly everyone's heard of, and yet when discussions about great names in American fiction come up, he's not mentioned. I think because we associate him with Sci-Fi (he himself didn't like to be called a sci-fi author) we assume it's necessary to downplay his role in literature, and not place him in the same category as F. Scott Fitzgerald or Hemingway, even though many of his stories are better than many of theirs. The Martian Chronicles is his best book, without a doubt. It's a book that openly expresses guilt over the toll American imperialism (and colionalism in general) took on the world. Many of the stories resemble the misfortunes native Americans underwent when America pressed west. The Golden Apples of the Sun is a good collection of stories--very fun and lighter in tone than the Martian Chronicles. It's a good book especially for young readers. I read it in junior high and can still remember many of the stories.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 3, 2013
The book is great, even more than expected!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.DeneMD
Posted May 3, 2013
A great volume of the 3 major Bradbury novels. Sincw I have all of his stories this will complete the collection. The hardback volume put out by Barnes and Noble and Harper Collins as one of the Leatherbound Classics is an excellect value. Recommended reading.
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Posted February 27, 2013
Flawless and beautiful book. If you're considering ordering this book, I urge you to go ahead and do so!
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Posted June 8, 2011
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Overview
The Martian Chronicles is the history of Earth's brief colonization of the red planet, Mars. As humans set up home in the ruins of the extinct Martian civilization, they try to remake ...