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Yestermorrow

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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.