Ray
Bradbury
Ray
Bradbury, in full Ray Douglas Bradbury
(b. Aug. 22, 1920, Waukegan, Ill.,
U.S.), American author best known for
highly imaginative science-fiction short
stories and novels that blend social
criticism with an awareness of the
hazards of runaway technology.
Bradbury published his first story in
1940 and was soon contributing widely to
magazines. His first book of short
stories, Dark Carnival (1947), was
followed by The Martian Chronicles
(1950), which is generally accounted a
science-fiction classic in its depiction
of materialistic Earthmen exploiting and
corrupting an idyllic Martian
civilization. Bradbury’s other important
short-story collections include The
Illustrated Man (1951), The Golden
Apples of the Sun (1953), The October
Country (1955), A Medicine for
Melancholy (1959), The Machineries of
Joy (1964), I Sing the Body Electric!
(1969), and Quicker Than the Eye (1996).
His novels include Fahrenheit 451 (1953;
filmed 1966); Dandelion Wine (1957) and
its sequel, Farewell Summer (2006);
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962;
filmed 1983); and Death Is a Lonely
Business (1985). He wrote stage plays,
television scripts, and several
screenplays, including Moby Dick (1956;
in collaboration with John Huston). In
the 1970s Bradbury wrote several volumes
of poetry, and in the 1970s and ’80s he
concentrated on writing children’s
stories and crime fiction. His short
stories have been published in more than
700 anthologies. In 2007 the Pulitzer
Prize Board awarded Bradbury a Special
Citation for his distinguished career.
