The Golden Apples of the Sun and Other Stories [Library Binding]

Ray Bradbury (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 2008

Ray Bradbury is a modern cultural treasure. His disarming simplicity of style underlies a towering body of work unmatched in metaphorical power by any other American storyteller. And here are thirty-two of his most famous tales-prime examples of the poignant and mysterious poetry that Bradbury uniquely uncovers in the depths of the human soul, the otherwordly portraits that spring from the canvas of one of the century's great men of imagination. From a lonely coastal lighthouse to a sixty-million-year-old safari, from the pouring rain of Venus to the ominous silence of a murder scene, Ray Bradbury is our sure-handed guide not only to surprising and outrageous manifestations of the future but also to the wonders of the present that we could never have imagined on our own.Track List for The Golden Apples of the Sun: Disc 1"The Fog Horn"-Track 1"The April Witch"-Track 8"The Wilderness"-Track 16"The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl"-Track 23Disc 2"The Flying Machine"-Track 6"The Murderer"-Track 10"The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind"-Track 17"I See You Never"-Track 21"Embroidery"-Track 24Disc 3"The Big Black and White Game"-Track 1"The Great Wide World Over There"-Track 9"Powerhouse"-Track 18Disc 4"En La Noche"-Track 1"Sun and Shadow"-Track 4"The Meadow"-Track 10"The Garbage Collector"-Track 22Disc 5"The Great Fire"-Track 1"The Golden Apples of the Sun"-Track 6"R Is for Rocket"-Track 12"The End of the Beginning"-Track 24Disc 6"The Rocket"-Track 1"The Rocket Man"-Track 9"A Sound of Thunder"-Track 18Disc 7"The Long Rain"-Track 3"The Exiles"-Track 13"Here There Be Tygers"-Track 24Disc 8"The Strawberry Window"-Track 10"The Dragon"-Track 18"Frost and Fire"-Track 20Disc 10"Uncle Einar"-Track 7"The Time Machine"-Track 14"The Sound of Summer Running"-Track 21

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ray Bradbury is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and poet. He became a full-time writer in 1943 and contributed numerous short stories to periodicals before publishing a collection of them, Dark Carnival, in 1947.His reputation as a writer of courage and vision was established with the publication of The Martian Chronicles in 1950, which describes Earthlings' first attempts to conquer and colonize Mars and the unintended consequences. Next came The Illustrated Man and Fahrenheit 451, which many consider to be Bradbury's masterpiece. Other works by Bradbury include The October Country, Dandelion Wine, A Medicine for Melancholy, Something Wicked This Way Comes, I Sing the Body Electric! Quicker Than the Eye, and Driving Blind. In all, Bradbury has published more than thirty books and close to six hundred short stories. 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. Michael Prichard has played several thousand characters during his career. While he has been seen performing over one hundred of them in theater and film, Michael is primarily heard, having recorded well over five hundred full-length books. During his career as a one-man repertory company, he has recorded many series with running characters---including the complete Travis McGee adventures by John D. MacDonald and the complete Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout---as well as series by such masters as Mark Twain, John Cheever, and John Updike. His numerous awards and accolades include an Audie Award for Tears in the Darkness by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman and several AudioFile Earphones Awards, including for At All Costs by Sam Moses and In Nixon's Web by L. Patrick Gray III. Named a Top Ten Golden Voice by SmartMoney magazine, he holds an M.F.A. in theater from the University of Southern California. Michael appears regularly on the professional stage, including as a member of Ray Bradbury's Pandemonium Theatre Company, performing such great roles as Captain Beatty in Fahrenheit 451, which became the second-longest-running production in the Los Angeles area. Bradbury himself dubbed Michael "the finest Beatty in history."

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439500541
• ISBN-13: 978-1439500545
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,056,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The poet laureate of science fiction, February 6, 2001

By 

"ionadh" (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golden Apples of the Sun, The (Paperback)

This is the first collection of Ray Bradbury's stories I ever read, and it still rocks! I was only 13, and it immediately put me into his own, lyrical and yet dark world: lovelorn sea monsters, pining away for foghorns; time-traveling big-game hunters who accidentally change our history; spaceships dispatched to collect a piece of the sun; dictatorships that outlaw any form of eccentric behavior, such as *not* watching television---a scary premise, indeed, since we're practically in that world now; and more. Bradbury's delight in telling stories, inventing fabulous glimpses into other worlds as well as our own, radiates from every page. His work is warm, but it is not overly sentimental---he is unafraid to let a story end very badly for its characters, if it should help him to make the point he has in his mind. Nor are his tales all scary and dark---one or two are positively hilarious. This is not just highly recommended---it is urged that you rush out and purchase it...

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bradburry's classic collection of short stories., April 25, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Montana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golden Apples of the Sun, The (Paperback)

I first read "The Golden Apples of the Sun" when I was in grade school, loving it then for the adventure and sense of wonder Bradbury always brings to his work. I have since read and reread it through the years until my tired old copy was so dog-eard and broken as to be almost unreadable. I'm glad to see it still in print.

No one can infuse so much tension, or wring as much drama out of a short story as can Ray Bradbury, and "Golden Apples," in my opinion, is his best collection, easilly rivalling "The Martian Chronicles" in sweep and vista. Just to read the classic time-travel story "The Sound of Thunder" is reason alone to pick up a copy.

I honestly think Mr. Bradbury could write ingrediant lists on cereal boxes and make them spell-binders.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bradbury's SF strength is in the humanity..., April 22, 1998

By 

Ryan Garcia ([e-mail]) (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golden Apples of the Sun, The (Paperback)

You've probably heard a half a dozen Ray Bradbury stories without even knowing it. His tales of space flights, Martian expeditions, and strange occurences on our own planet are all classics. While "Martian Chronicles" is arguably the best collection of Bradbury stories, this book also shows the amazing talent of Bradbury. His ability to mix the human with the fantastic makes for incredible stories.

This book collects several of the best stories Bradbury ever created in one volume. There are several books that group Bradbury stories together, but few contain the raw number of stories as this one.

My own personal favorite Bradbury story is in this collection: "A Sound of Thunder." This short tale of a time-travelling dinosaur safari is an amazingly powerful look at the wonder and consequences of time travel and personal behavior. The story is easily consumed by the youngest reader and just as easily debated by science fiction scholars for hours. I first heard this story on an audio tape during a family car trip--hearing it inspired me to read other Bradbury stories. To me, Bradbury will always be "A Sound of Thunder" and that's quite a reputation to have.

One of Bradbury's longer shorts, "Frost and Fire," is also included. This is an amazing tale of the rapid development of humans on Mercury. Rapid in that everyone grows quickly and dies young. Set against the backdrop of a planet that allows only a few brief minutes of freedom on the surface before the residents must hide from the scorching heat or blistering cold. The story can be appreciated from a pure SF perspective or just from the human side--Bradbury creates realistic worlds in the most fantastic location.

Two other stories are also stand-outs: "The Fog Horn" and "Here There Be Tygers." Saying anything about the actual plots would give away the stories, but I will say they both present unexpected twists that will have you thinking twice about your own normal everyday lives.

As a first introduction to Bradbury this collection is excellent. It gathers together a wide variety of his stories from various sub-genres and has enough to keep readers busy for a while. Ultimately you'll want to read other story collections, but this book will give you a taste of things to come.

For Bradbury fans who haven't read some of these stories I probably don't need to recommend the book at all--by now you've already clicked on a purchase link and had the book sent to you.

For everyone else I can only urge that you try Bradbury. Even if you aren't a science fiction fan, Bradbury is a very approachable author and his works cross the traditional boundaries of science fiction. This isn't nerdy Star Trek or hard-core Neuromancer. His stories are human and that's what makes them universal. Rocketships are entirely optional.