
R.I.P. Ray Bradbury, Author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles  - danso
http://io9.com/5916175/rip-ray-bradbury-author-of-fahrenheit-451-and-the-martian-chronicles
======
valuegram
RIP Bradbury. Martian Chronicles is indirectly one of the most influential
books in my life, due to an interesting twist...

In high school, we had a literature class where there was a list of a couple
hundred books we could choose from to read each month. At the end of the
month, the teacher had a canned test she had purchased somewhere for each
book, that we would take to prove our comprehension. For those of you who
haven't read Martian Chronicles, it's a series of around 30 stories with
mostly independent characters and story lines.

The test I was given was a "match the character to their description" test.
Not only am I normally bad with names, but with 30 stories featuring unique
charters, I had no idea on a majority of the names.

So, I flipped over the multiple choice test, and wrote an essay about how I
read, comprehended, and loved the book,but this was an outrageous assessment,
and a poor way to judge my aptitude.

Although I scored less than 30/100 on the multiple choice, the teacher gave me
an A on the test.

I learned to think outside the box, and the power of reasoning and discussion.
All the credit in the world to my teacher for having an open mind.

...Anyways, totally off topic, but it's something that will always stick with
me. Bradbury was a great author who will be sorely missed.

~~~
hkmurakami
The very fact that the teacher allowed students to choose what _they_ wanted
to read, rather than the books that the teacher him/herself liked (which was
the unfortunate case for me), is wonderful. Had I been afforded such a
situation, it probably wouldn't have taken me 10 years (after High School) to
finally enjoy reading for myself.

~~~
planetguy
On the other hand you're not doing your students any favours if you let them
_only_ read the stuff they're interested in; or rather, the stuff they think
they're interested in at the age of twelve. Gotta force them to broaden their
horizons and read something else once in a while or they'll become... well,
the kind of adults who only read science fiction.

~~~
TruthElixirX
>well, the kind of adults who only read science fiction.

The horror.

~~~
ktizo
The horror indeed, for what should we do when we see these dastardly
creatures? Should we wave pitchforks, or just ring the church bells to warn
others, while we cower inside and pray?

------
jedberg
My favorite Ray Bradbury memory is the time he came to my school to talk about
his books and ended up yelling at my English teach for trying to find hidden
meaning that wasn't there just for the sake of busywork. RIP Mr. Bradbury.

~~~
alanfalcon
This thread feels incomplete without this Mark Twain quote:

"Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted;
persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting
to find a plot in it will be shot."

~~~
Apocryphon
I was expecting someone to mention his stance against modern tech and ebooks.
But I like it better this way, this is a good memorial and nostalgia thread,
fit for an author whose writing style was very nostalgic.

~~~
Qz
It's so much easier for people just to delete the books off of your device
without your permission than to send people to your house to burn them.

------
koeselitz
I was just talking about this with my girlfriend, and while we both loved
Bradbury deeply, what's odd is that our first thought wasn't of this being a
tragic loss. The man lived to 91 - which is three times as long as we've lived
so far. Ray Bradbury saw so many amazing things come to pass in his lifetime,
and thinking about the things we'll see in our next sixty years is kind of
inspiring and lends one a sense of awe. I kind of think that's what Ray
Bradbury himself might have preferred - that his life and death inspire in us
a sense of wonder. What a fantastic soul he was, in the true sense.

------
akharris
He had a short piece in last week's New Yorker on how "The Fire Balloons" was
inspired by the fire balloons he, as a small boy, lit with his grandfather. It
was a beautiful testament to his craft and his inspiration.

Sadly, behind the paywall:
[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/06/04/120604fa_fact_...](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/06/04/120604fa_fact_bradbury)

RIP

~~~
telcodud
Works for me. No longer behind the paywall?

Update: indeed, just saw this G+ post by The New Yorker:
[https://plus.google.com/107786469140133631773/posts/hxnZD124...](https://plus.google.com/107786469140133631773/posts/hxnZD124x5D)

------
saraid216
"We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and
we want them. We are beholden to give back to the universe.... If we make
landfall on another star system, we become immortal." -- Ray Bradbury, Speech
to National School Board Association, 1995

"People ask me to predict the future, when all I want to do is prevent it.
Better yet, build it. Predicting the future is much too easy, anyway. You look
at the people around you, the street you stand on, the visible air you
breathe, and predict more of the same. To hell with more. I want better." --
Ray Bradbury, "Beyond 1984: The People Machines", 1982

------
adrianhoward
"Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious, and
anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must
do things." - Ray Bradbury 1920-2012.

RIP.

------
vannevar
He was the last of the giants, along with Heinlein, Clark and Asimov. As a kid
in the 70s, I devoured their novels and stories from the 50s and 60s. Bradbury
was probably the most sophisticated writer of the four, though I preferred
Asimov's straightforward, techie prose more back then. But we did get to read
Bradbury in school, while none of the others was deemed lofty enough for the
curriculum (except Heinlein's _Stranger in a Strange Land_ , and that wasn't
until college).

~~~
joshuahedlund
Orson Scott Card is not too far off, IMO.

~~~
Retric
Sadly, I found over time his newer books became steadily worse. It's odd to me
that someone like Jim Butcher can get steadily better where other authors
'give up', start believing their own hype, use ghost writers, or something.

~~~
pasbesoin
Of the more recent generations, I've particularly enjoyed Vinge and Brin,
although Brin varies somewhat.

There are probably a few others I could mention, but they have a nasty habit
of not coming to mind when I make a conscious effort.

For Vinge, I would recommend particularly _A Deepness in the Sky_ and
(prequel) _A Fire Upon the Deep_.

For Brin, the second and third books of his _Uplift Trilogy_ , adding also the
first for context. The second and third are _Startide Rising_ and _The Uplift
War_. Also, his book _Earth_ , which stands alone.

P.S. Gibson and Stephenson. Gibson's _Neuromancer_ and the two subsequent;
after that, I couldn't continue (so, another "Card-esque" experience?). Also
Gibson's collected short stories, _Burning Chrome_.

I've quite enjoyed several Stephenson novels -- I guess they might tend to be
his "older" ones. I tried _The Baroque Cycle_ and could not stay with it.

~~~
zem
my favourite recent author is unquestionably lois bujold (unless you want to
count pratchett as recent). also, don't forget charles stross and stephen
baxter.

------
Irene
“If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never
have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well,
that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your
wings on the way down.”

~~~
dbrannan
This is why I hate twitter for limiting us to 140 characters. I love this
quote, but the darn thing doesn't fit!

------
wglb
I often walk by this building
[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Carnegie+Library+Waukegan,+Ct...](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Carnegie+Library+Waukegan,+Cty+A22,+Waukegan,+IL&hl=en&ll=42.359606,-87.829385&spn=0.009244,0.019205&sll=42.073778,-87.805192&sspn=1.188563,2.458191&oq=waukegan+carnegie+library&t=h&hnear=Carnegie+Library+Waukegan,+Cty+A22,+Waukegan,+Illinois+60085&z=16&layer=c&cbll=42.359607,-87.82953&panoid=ZmaArSu8I6v3XgfJ74ZvmQ&cbp=12,30.02,,0,0)
which is the library he spent lots of time in as a youth.

Sadly, the building is now closed, but I do hear occasional rumblings of it
being reopened.

~~~
alanfalcon
Ray was a huge proponent of libraries. If you want to honor the man, go visit
your local library today. Check out a book. Shame on you if you don't have a
library card, but it's not too late to get one. If you have some money or some
books you can donate, help the library out while you're there.

~~~
pasbesoin
I'm pretty certain wglb has a library card.

~~~
alanfalcon
I replied to wglb, but I meant it as a call to everyone. I could have been
more clear.

Bradbury gave a talk and did a book signing at my local library in Fullerton,
CA. It was crazy inspirational. I loved how passionate he was about books and
about public libraries in particular. I loved how he described his writing
process, and his general storytelling ability. My father and I discussed that
visit this past weekend when I was visiting from Vegas, and it was interesting
to hear the details stuck stuck with him, especially since I've started
writing novels of my own just recently. I was very sad to read of Bradbury's
passing today.

------
javajosh
I heard him speak at the LA Times Festival of books, and even in his eighties,
he was vibrant, sparkling, and extraordinary. He told of his optimism and his
humble beginnings (renting typewriters in the basement of the LA public
library). He signed books tirelessly, including mine, and was a marvel. That
man exuded more life at 80-something than most people do in their twenties.

For some reason I thought he would never actually die. And now that he has, I
can't help but feel that the world is lessened by his loss, and that we all
have a responsibility to try to live as fully and inspirationally as he did.

In tribute to a great man.

~~~
neilparikh
Didn't he also write Fahrenheit 451 on typewriters in UC Berkley?

~~~
javajosh
Apparently we are both incorrect: it was a library at UCLA.

[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/06/ray-
bradb...](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/06/ray-bradbury-and-
the-dime-at-a-time-typewriter-of-fahrenheit-451.html)

------
ilamont
My favorite Bradbury book is _Dandelion Wine_. It's not sci-fi, but great
authors are not limited to a single genre.

~~~
topherjaynes
Dandelion Wine is one of my yearly reads. Perfect blend of fantastical and
nostalgia.

“No person ever died that had a family.” ― Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine

------
Nrsolis
Ray Bradbury was one of my favorite authors as a child. The depth and
complexity of his stories truly enlightened me about good Sci-Fi.

Most students in the US probably read Fahrenheit 451 in high school, but I
enrolled in a literature course at the Naval Academy that focused on science
fiction. The Martian Chronicles was a main text for the class. IIRC, the
professor had a very special connection to Bradbury, but rather than get it
completely wrong, I'll just state that I think the professor (who was a USAF
officer) was the curator of a collection of his works.

I might try and re-read 451. I think his words will be even more powerful and
prescient now.

------
dmsinger
I found Ray Bradbury a difficult read in high school. Not for lack of
understand or the style of his writing, but I was reading for a 'surface
story', for lack of a better term. I wanted something very future-tech-Sci-Fi,
and it didn't fit.

It only took a few years, a few real world experiences and one re-read of one
story for me to see the depth in his writing, the metaphors about today's and
yesterday's societies, and his open questions about the future. It led to many
re-reads and a lot of appreciation of his work.

~~~
mortenjorck
Dandelion Wine was the story that taught me that sci-fi didn't need space
ships or robots to deliver its essential explorations of humans and their
relationships with technology. I must have read it 15 years ago, but I still
remember the wistful dialogs about the smell of grass clippings in the summer
and the roar of lawnmowers, gone forever in a world whose only sci-fi tech was
grass that never needed mowing.

------
phreeza
There are a couple of enjoyable radio dramatizations of his some of his
stories from the 50s available for download at the Internet Archive:
<http://archive.org/details/XMinus1_A>

Stories include:

"And The Moon Be Still As Bright"

"Mars is Heaven"

"The Veldt"

"Dwellers in Silence"

"Zero Hour"

"To the Future"

"Marionettes, Inc."

"There Will Come Soft Rains"

~~~
shrub
I listened to the X Minus 1 version of "Mars is Heaven" when I was 12 or
something. Gave me nightmares!

------
farnsworth
One of my favorite Bradbury stories: "The Rocket", in The Illustrated Man. A
junkyard owner tries to save money to send his family to space, but can't
afford it, so he builds a replica rocket with some kind of 3D windshield
display to convince his kids that they are flying through space.

------
brudgers
I read and enjoyed Bradbury's short stories as a teenager, but his novels made
no connection with me. I found them boring.

A few years ago, I started reading science fiction again and reread _The
Martian Chronicles_. The degree to which it's themes about family and
community connected was stunning.

------
ajdecon
I loved _The Martian Chronicles_ , though I found it difficult to enjoy much
of the rest of his writing. But his skill was undeniable, his influence is
still huge, and you can find touches of his style in many other authors' work.

RIP

------
d1c0m
"There was a smell of Time in the air tonight. He smiled and turned the fancy
in his mind. There was a thought. What did Time smell like? Like dust and
clocks and people. And if you wondered what Time sounded like it sounded like
water running in a dark cave and voices crying and dirt dropping down on
hollow box lids, and rain. And, going further, what did Time look like? Time
looked like snow dropping silently into a black room or it looked like a
silent film in an ancient theater, one hundred billion faces falling like
those New Years balloons, down and down into nothing. That was how Time
smelled and looked and sounded. And tonight--Tomas shoved a hand into the wind
outside the truck--tonight you could almost touch Time." (Illustrated Man)

"And we lived in a world that [...] was like a great black ship pulling away
from the shore of sanity and civilization, roaring its black horn in the
night, taking 2 billion people with it, whether they wanted to go or not [...]
to fall over the edge of the earth..." (Don't recall the story this is
from...)

------
shawnc
I was introduced to Ray Bradbury through The Ray Bradbury Theater tv series,
in 7th grade. A fellow classmate, Eric Johnson, was in an episode and so we
watched it in class. I enjoyed it - enough that I wanted to see more. I only
saw a few more episodes, but from that I took out 'Something Wicked This Way
Comes' movie from the Library. I enjoyed that, and ended up diving into some
of his written stuff as well. While I didn't read everything the man ever
wrote - his work is certainly credited for helping me find literature outside
of the normal stuff we're given in school - or what everyone else was reading
at the time (David Eddings).

Sidenote: Eric Johnson went on to play the young Brad Pitt in Legends of the
Fall, and Lana Langs boyfriend in the first season of Smallville. I hated him
in junior high - he was exceptionally rude to everyone. What's weird, is I was
still happy for the guy, whenever I saw him in something new.

------
Tycho
RIP, one of my favourite authors. _Martian Chronicles_ and _Illustrated Man_
were story collections on par with the likes of Hemingway IMO. The last
collection I bought, One for the Road, wasn't more than ten years ago. I think
he had a few more since then too.

~~~
ZanderEarth32
The Martian Chronicles is my favorite book of all time. I saw him speak at
UCLA in 2007 or 2008 and I'll never forget his emphasis on love and being
creative. Sad day. Science fiction and literature has lost one of it's greats.

------
bootload
_"... 'Live forever!'

I thought that was a wonderful idea, but how did you do it?

The next day, being driven home by my father, fresh from the funeral, I looked
down at those carnival tents and thought to myself, "The answer is there. He
said 'Live forever,' and I must go find out how to do that." I told my father
to stop the car. He didn't want to, but I insisted. He stopped the car and let
me out, furious with me for not returning home to partake in the wake being
held for my uncle. With the car gone, and my father in a rage, I ran down the
hill. What was I doing? I was running away from death, running toward life.
..."_ ~ <http://www.raybradbury.com/inhiswords02.html>

------
Shivetya
Great author, I am a fan of his Martian Chronicles the most, there are so many
short stories of his that I have come across that picking favorites is not
fair.

Today CATO released an interesting story about Ray and the form of censoring
he faced which is one many here would never consider. That being authors being
coerced to include or exclude groups based on influence they exert within
society. We even see that today with big name authors, most common is when
their works are brought to screen and characters take on new traits; physical
or otherwise; to fit politically correct norms.

<http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/censoring-ray-bradbury/>

------
DigitalSea
Severely underrated author. Fahrenheit 451 to this day still is my go to novel
that I've read so many times I've lost count. One of the best books I've ever
read, the guys was a genius and he will be missed.

------
SageRaven
Awesome storyteller. My personal favorite was the short story "The Fog Horn".
Don't know why. Maybe the bleak, lonely atmosphere of the story appealed to my
then-young sense of angst. Who knows.

------
jmduke
We've lost a brilliant voice.

My favorite quote of his, from "Zen in the Art of Writing":

 _"And what, you ask, does writing teach us? First and foremost, it reminds us
that we are alive and that it is gift and a privilege, not a right. We must
earn life once it has been awarded us. Life asks for rewards back because it
has favored us with animation. So while our art cannot, as we wish it could,
save us from wars, privation, envy, greed, old age, or death, it can
revitalize us amidst it all."_

------
mindcrime
Wow, sad day. RIP, Mr. Bradbury.

 _Fahreneheit 451_ is a book that I consider one of the most influential I've
ever read (along with _Nineteen Eighty Four_ ), and I also enjoyed _Something
Wicked This Way Comes_ , and all the other Bradbury works I've read. There are
still quite a few of his works that I haven't read, so maybe I'll pick up
something else of his and read it soon as a tribute.

------
libraryatnight
One of my favorite memories of growing up was listening to Ray Bradbury
Theater audio cassettes on the drive to and from camping trips. I loved The
Veld, The Screaming Woman, Sound of Thunder, and well pretty much all of them.
When I got older and started to read his books they became very dear to me.

I will miss Bradbury.

------
dudeguy999
His other early short story collections are on par with "The Illustrated Man".
Don't miss them! I have fond memories of "The Toynbee Convector".

------
smoyer
RIP ... He filled my later elementary school and junior high years with
possibilities.

------
epynonymous
i cant believe you missed "something wicked this way comes"!

------
zkan
RIP

------
ktizo
Is a weird thing with authors, that even though you never knew them other than
through marks on paper, when they die it can actually feel like the death of a
friend.

Bye Ray.

------
fts89
Amazon has a page on Ray Bradbury -
[http://www.amazon.com/mn/landing/B000AQ1HW4/?_encoding=UTF8&...](http://www.amazon.com/mn/landing/B000AQ1HW4/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=asdfdsa-20&linkCode=ur2&qid=1339037047&camp=1789&creative=390957)

------
horsehead
Ah that is very sad. I read Fahrenheit 451 in high school and absolutely loved
it. One of my very favorite books.

He will be missed.

I suppose now would be a good time to expand my single-item Ray Bradbury
collection.

