Yestermorrow: Obvious Answers to Impossible Futures [Paperback]

Ray Bradbury (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993

Visionary writings from the protean Bradbury, America's preeminent master of the fantastic who has enchanted millions of readers worldwide. Part memoir, part commentary, these writings are an exploration and celebration of ideas. Bradbury reflects on art, literature, history, architecture, science fiction, and the people who have influenced him.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

More fizz than tonic, Bradbury's exuberant essays are intended to evoke a sense of wonder, of humanity's limitless possibilities. Intellectually lazy pieces include panegyrics to Federico Fellini and to science fiction ("the most important fiction ever invented by writers") and a blueprint for a "People Machine"--sort of an enticing, humanized shopping mall "to make the small town work again." In a starry-eyed style that borders on self-parody, Bradbury ( The Martian Chronicles ) spins boyish fantasies about time travel and the holographic theater of the future. His dabblings in art and literary criticism elicit purple prose ("Van Gogh owns all the sunflowers that ever sprouted from seed and ran their juices to turn their clock faces to follow noon"). Elsewhere he crows about his epistolary relationship with a fan, Bernard Berenson, and recalls his acquaintance with Walt Disney. This collection is strictly for hardcore Bradbury enthusiasts
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Joshua Odell Editions (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1877741086
• ISBN-13: 978-1877741081
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,271,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ray Bradbury has published some 500 short stories, novels, plays and poems since his first story appeared in Weird Tales when he was twenty years old. Among his many famous works are 'Fahrenheit 451', 'The Illustrated Man' and 'The Martian Chronicles'.

Customer Reviews

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Past, Present, and Future Collide, January 4, 2007

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tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Yestermorrow: Obvious Answers to Impossible Futures (Paperback)

YESTERMORROW is a collection of essays by Ray Bradbury. Some of them are reflections upon places in Bradbury's past while others are musings on dreamed-up future possibilities. In these writings Bradbury touches upon everything from art, literature, history, science fiction, architecture, and music. Like many of Bradbury's other non-fiction works, YESTERMORROW is a unique blend. I enjoy reading Bradbury. He's a gifted American writer who next to Asimov and Verne stands as one of the giants and grandfathers of science fiction writing. That's not to say, however, that YESTERMORROW is without its faults. The book was originally published in 1991, therefore all of the writings were written before 1990. Some of the essays, especially the ones musing about the future, actually seem dated now. The world is a far drastic place than it was in 1990, but all the changes haven't been far the better. It is a brave, grim world in which we live now. Nevertheless, despite this, one cannot fault the soulful optimism in which Bradbury writes. Personally, I think the strongest pieces in the book are "The Renaissance Prince and the Baptist Martian" in which Bradbury writes about his relationship with Renaissance scholar Bernard Berenson, "Federico Fellini" where Bradbury talks about the genius of Fellini's filmmaking, and "The Hipbone of Abraham L" which describes Bradbury's relationship with the Walt Disney company and how he came in possession of Abraham Lincoln's hipbone. YESTERMORROW probably isn't a book that an average reader will enjoy, but it is a book that fans of Bradbury and those interested in the history of popular culture can take something away.