The Vintage Bradbury (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As tersely stated on the cover, this is "Ray Bradbury's own selection of his best stories." The Vintage Bradbury contains 22 classic stories, plus four chapters excerpted from his first mainstream novel, Dandelion Wine. His career as an author was only about 15 years old when he compiled this volume in 1965 for the prestigious Vintage imprint. Like the vast majority of his collections, it has never been out of print. Bradbury's own selection of "his best" is also intriguing because most of the stories chosen are from the beginning of his career, and most are quite hauntingly sad. "The Illustrated Man" relates the ultimate fate of the tattooed title character from the novel of the same name. "The Fog Horn" is the tragic love story of a dinosaur who believes the horn's wail is actually that of his lost mate. "Hail and Farewell" tells of a 43-year-old man who is fated to never look older than 12. Although later upstaged by the truly definitive The Stories of Ray Bradbury, this remains a fitting introduction to one of the world's great fantasists and prose stylists. --Stanley Wiater

Review

"Ray Bradbury is one of the most original living American authors....A curious mixture of poetry and colloquialism, [his style] is so brisk and economical...so full of unexpected quirks that it never becomes boring....Most of Ray's stories are impossible-so far-but they are certainly convincing....His work will last."

-- Gilbert Highet, from the Introduction -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (July 14, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679729461
• ISBN-13: 978-0679729464
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #954,008 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to make the bizarre believable, March 27, 2000

By	Stephan Stuecklin "thduggie" (Basel, Switzerland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Almost all stories contained in this volume have strangely weird premises. Almost all characters are truly odd or at least genuinely quirky. Almost all plots have surprising twists and strain the reader's imagination. And yet, each story is believable, is frighteningly real, and of a bizarre, almost grotesque beauty, combining playful fantasy with profound issues revolving around family and society, and I found myself rooting for the disillusioned outsider again and again. The tragedy is poignant and bittersweet - a real feast to read.

9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars bradbury in my ear!, June 7, 1998

By A Customer

Ray loves words like a father loves his children. He caresses his images and then holds out his hand to you. What a trip he has in store. Come along!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Vintage Bradbury, March 30, 2009

By	Mom of 11 (Calif) - See all my reviews

Just as the seller had promised, it arrived ontime and in great shape. I was very pleased. The book, of course is fantastic. Ray Bradbury is a phenomenal author. He never ceases to be able to take me on the journey right there with him.