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The Illustrated Man Mass Market Paperback – Illustrated, April 17, 2012
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Ray Bradbury brings wonders alive. For this peerless American storyteller, the most bewitching force in the universe is human nature. In these eighteen startling tales unfolding across a canvas of tattooed skin, living cities take their vengeance, technology awakens the most primal natural instincts, and dreams are carried aloft in junkyard rockets. Provocative and powerful, The Illustrated Man is a kaleidoscopic blending of magic, imagination, and truth—as exhilarating as interplanetary travel, as maddening as a walk in a million-year rain, and as comforting as simple, familiar rituals on the last night of the world.
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSimon & Schuster
- Publication dateApril 17, 2012
- Dimensions4.13 x 0.9 x 6.75 inches
- ISBN-109781451678185
- ISBN-13978-1451678185
- Lexile measure680L
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There were differences between memories and dreams. He had only dreams of things he had wanted to do, while Lespere had memories of things done and accomplished.Highlighted by 570 Kindle readers
“To be asleep is to be dead. It is like death. So we dance, we dance so as not to be dead. We do not want that.”Highlighted by 473 Kindle readers
Long before you knew what death was you were wishing it on someone else.Highlighted by 425 Kindle readers
From the Publisher
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012)
Bradbury was the author of more than three dozen books, including Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and Something Wicked This Way Comes, as well as hundreds of short stories. He wrote for the theater, cinema, and TV, including the screenplay for John Huston’s Moby Dick and the Emmy Award–winning teleplay The Halloween Tree, and adapted for television sixty-five of his stories for The Ray Bradbury Theater. He was the recipient of the 2000 National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, and numerous other honors.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Ray Bradbury has accomplished what very few artists do. With his visions of possible futures and edgy presents . . . he has changed us.” —The Boston Globe
“His stories and novels are part of the American language.” —The Washington Post
“Deftly plotted, beautifully written, characterized by protagonists who are intensely real . . . there is no writer quite like Ray Bradbury.” —The New York Times
“A master... Bradbury has a style all his own, much imitated but never matched.” —Portland Oregonian
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : 1451678185
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (April 17, 2012)
- Language : English
- Mass Market Paperback : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781451678185
- ISBN-13 : 978-1451678185
- Lexile measure : 680L
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 4.13 x 0.9 x 6.75 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #12,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #44 in Science Fiction Short Stories
- #325 in Short Stories (Books)
- #554 in Classic Literature & Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

In a career spanning more than seventy years, Ray Bradbury, who died on June 5, 2012, at the age of 91, inspired generations of readers to dream, think, and create. A prolific author of hundreds of short stories and close to fifty books, as well as numerous poems, essays, operas, plays, teleplays, and screenplays, Bradbury was one of the most celebrated writers of our time. His groundbreaking works include Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. He wrote the screen play for John Huston's classic film adaptation of Moby Dick, and was nominated for an Academy Award. He adapted sixty-five of his stories for television's The Ray Bradbury Theater, and won an Emmy for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree. He was the recipient of the 2000 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2004 National Medal of Arts, and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, among many honors.
Throughout his life, Bradbury liked to recount the story of meeting a carnival magician, Mr. Electrico, in 1932. At the end of his performance Electrico reached out to the twelve-year-old Bradbury, touched the boy with his sword, and commanded, "Live forever!" Bradbury later said, "I decided that was the greatest idea I had ever heard. I started writing every day. I never stopped."
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Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book engaging and enjoyable. They praise the captivating stories, descriptive writing, and thought-provoking themes. The cover art is praised as gorgeous and beautiful. Overall, customers describe the collection as great and classic Bradbury works.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find the stories engaging, witty, and humorous. Many consider it a solid read, though some readers find it uneven.
"...read is "Fahrenheit 451", which was also really thought provoking and good...." Read more
"Outstanding book that I've read a few times before. But as usual with Amazon, the book was damaged in delivery...." Read more
"...I really found this book intriguing. Each and every story left me thinking about something. It was very thought provoking." Read more
"i absolutely love this novel. it is SPECTACULAR!! worth the read. however, the book immediately fell apart...." Read more
Customers find the stories captivating and engaging. They say the stories introduce a unique science fiction genre. Some of their favorite sections are the prologue, The Veldt, and Marionettes, Inc. Readers mention the book has 18 individual stories.
"...The book has 18 individual stories, the prologue, the very last story in the book, which is titled "The Illustrated Man" and the epilogue are only..." Read more
"...Each story is unique and teaches a lesson about the human spirit - some of these lessons are a brutal reflection of the negative and other stories..." Read more
"...Something wicked this way comes was an exciting film and had super natural suspense...." Read more
"...I do appreciate the style of writing, and some of the short stories were interesting and stirring, but alas, this book was not for me." Read more
Customers enjoy the engaging writing quality of the book. They find the author's storytelling bold and vulnerable. The writing style is described as descriptive and easy to read, though some aspects feel dated. The book is considered a clever way to tell several short stories.
"...The stories are all individuals, they don't run together to make one final story or anything...." Read more
"This book was an easy read that left me contemplating at the end of each story...." Read more
"...It lets you into the mind of the writer, it brings you a glimpse of characters, you can love and hate, whilst drinking a coffee (I prefer tea), or..." Read more
"...Ray Bradbury, and this collection of stories is a great start to his short fiction...." Read more
Customers find the book thought-provoking and meaningful. They appreciate Bradbury's insights into future life and the human mind. The book touches on many subjects and incorporates stories that leave readers with a good way of looking at life.
"...Bradbury book I have read is "Fahrenheit 451", which was also really thought provoking and good...." Read more
"...Each story is unique and teaches a lesson about the human spirit - some of these lessons are a brutal reflection of the negative and other stories..." Read more
"What an odd compilation of futuristic, dystopian tales...." Read more
"...The collection of stories shows that although our scientific progress is happening fast, evolution of our human is following behind at extremely..." Read more
Customers enjoy the cover art of the book. They find it gorgeous and beautiful, with fabulous imagery. The themes are timeless and the writing style is brilliant.
"...These short stories really show the art of Bradbury's style and how he developed as a writer...." Read more
"...the product: pretty cover, as expected but a few pages started to fall out like halfway after reading the first time" Read more
"...The world as he paints it is a theophany, achingly beautiful, even when it isn’t friendly...." Read more
"...The cover art is gorgeous and I was so happy that it arrived within a couple days of ordering it. Would use this seller again!" Read more
Customers enjoy the collection's quality. They find it a great compilation of Bradbury's classic stories in an anthology format. The stories are unique and unpredictable, with nice turns and different worlds. Readers appreciate the extensive selection of titles.
"...What a stupendous collection. It's hard to say which one is best because most of them are standouts." Read more
"...This is a great compilation; the only reason for four stars is that some of it seemed dated, but in a charming way...." Read more
"Of course it is five star. It is one of the classic Bradbury collections...." Read more
"It's a hit and miss collection of short stories. I enjoyed the anthology format, allowing me to read at whatever pace I felt like...." Read more
Customers appreciate the influence of Ray Bradbury. They find his prose wonderful and mention he had a great impact on science fiction. The stories are chilling and Hitchcock-like, a genre in which Bradbury excelled.
"...Some of the stories are chilling and Alfred Hitchcock like...." Read more
"Love this book...love Bradbury in general. I'm not sure why the Kindle edition is missing The Fire Balloons...." Read more
"...It made me realize what a great influence Ray Bradbury had on future science fiction (the TV program Heroes, the movie Gravity for two examples)." Read more
"Love Ray Bradbury. His prose is wonderful. I started reading him at age 11 and still revisit his stories every few years." Read more
Customers have different views on the poetry. Some find it witty, humorous, and amusing, while others find it pedantic in parts and boring. The short stories are also praised for their quality, but some readers feel the book lacks a sense of wonder and complexity.
"...Forty years later, I am a bit more critical. Somewhat pedantic in parts. Some short stories are clearly better written than others...." Read more
"...They are brilliant, witty and humorous. It is hard to pinpoint a favorite but a must read classic for any science fiction fan...." Read more
"The stories are sometimes funny and engaging but overall I found the book boring. I had to force myself to finish it...." Read more
"I've always loved the way Bradbury wrote, poetic and meaningful. The stories in this book were ahead of their time in some ways, timeless in others...." Read more
Reviews with images
This is my 7th copy of this book….
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2009"The Illustrated Man" is one book that I have been wanting to read for quite awhile. If you've ever heard anyone talk about Ray Bradbury's books like their "amazing", don't judge it, until you have read his stuff. The guy IS "amazing"!
The fact that all these stories were written before 1952 is really "amazing"!
Ray Bradbury's obession with space, astronauts, Mars, peoples overall greed, laziness & reliance on computers/technology in the future were rampant throughout all the stories, but he makes it work well, as usual.
Personally I'm not a big fan of science fiction or space stories, but these stories draw in you easily.
The book has 18 individual stories, the prologue, the very last story in the book, which is titled "The Illustrated Man" and the epilogue are only three times the (illustrated man) is mentioned.
The stories are all individuals, they don't run together to make one final story or anything.
A few of the stories are so, so, but there were several that after reading them, I was left thinking, WOW!, they are:
Kaleidoscope
The Other Foot (5 star quality)
The Man (5 star quality)
The Long Rain
The Fox and the Forest
Marionettes, Inc.
The City (5 star quality)
Zero Hour
I really don't know how Ray Bradbury slept peacefully with all these stories and all the other stuff he wrote swirling around in his mind.
The only other Bradbury book I have read is "Fahrenheit 451", which was also really thought provoking and good.
Looking forward to reading more of Ray Bradbury's novels when I get the chance......
- Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2024Outstanding book that I've read a few times before. But as usual with Amazon, the book was damaged in delivery. Will return and buy at a brick and mortar bookstore.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2015This book was an easy read that left me contemplating at the end of each story. This is compilation of short stories involving the future and all tied together by being written in moving picture form across the flesh of the Illustrated Man. Each story is unique and teaches a lesson about the human spirit - some of these lessons are a brutal reflection of the negative and other stories show that hope can prevail. There were very few happy endings in the stories, but the sad stories still had a great lesson to teach about what lies inside a person. It really was quite intriguing.
These stories were written in the late 1940s and early 1950s and it's very interesting that the majority of the stories about the future involved rockets, space travel, and life on other planets. It's funny how the future back then all focused on the discovery of what is out there in space, yet current books about the future more involve the collapse of current social systems and reconstruction of society. Maybe I don't read very much Sci-Fi, but it seems to me that the outlook of the future has changed since the 1950s. I really found this book intriguing. Each and every story left me thinking about something. It was very thought provoking.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2011A sad, decorated wandering man stumbles into the life of another drifter.
The tattooed wandering man is a terrifying canvas of brillant skin art and darkened dreams. A hated circus performer "condemmed to be free" as a morbid living gallery- each tatoo moves and glows animately; this anthology treats us to the best of the pulp Bradbury of the fifties. As Rod Serling told us in his TWILIGHT ZONE introduction we are transported from the depth of our fears to the heights of our imagination. Rocketing from the past to the future to the subconscious we are invited to a world where...
A holographic Africa is so consuming that it...well... consumes.
Time travellers from the totalitarian future must travel to 1938 for vacation only to find that they can never escape the future.
An explosion rocks a spaceship... disgorging astronauts- making its crew satellites left to face their personal angst and collective end.
An artifical sun provides respite from the grey rain world of Venus, but only if the spacewreck survivors are willing to pay a price finding it.
A used rocket never travels to space but reveals the heart of a poor kind father,not the solar system,to his long suffering wife.
A man heals and performs miracles in world after world, yet can only be met through faith not a rocket trip.
A playground becomes a portal to the hell of childhood.
A couple go to sleep on the last night of the world and forget to set the alarm clock.
A man's robot duplicate has ideas of his own on where to vacation next.
Poe gets revenge against future thought police from a die hard fan who manages to make others die.
Long oppressed blacks find out that their former oppressors have nothing left to oppress.
A psycho find respite in the void of space...and meaning as well in a sci-fi replay of Sartre.
A city lives beyong the lives of its former inhabitants to exact revenge.
A highway in Mexico becomes a river of life at the death of the civilization to its north.
Are childhood imaginary friends always imagined? The earth finds a new nemesis in a suburban front yard.
This book is a rocket simmering in the red martian sun. A rocket that darts wildly between the height of man's imagination and the depths of his fears as we were warned by Rod Serling in his TWILIGHT ZONE monologue. A rocket which darts with zen efficiency between the inner life of the soul and the outer space of the future.
In the end the tattoo canvas moves...
- Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2024This book is like a security blanket for me. I got my first copy in my teenage years and read it cover to cover in a week and then read it over and over til it fell apart and I had to rebuy. Which I’ve continued to do through my life and will continue to do. This is the first copy I’ve had with this cover design, the others I’ve had were of the man sitting on a stool with his back to the page. I would like to get another of those and somehow get my hands on the one some people are getting here with the blue and white cover as well.
That said this came in perfect condition and I love it.
Shipping was delayed but that is on Amazon not the seller here.
This collection of stories will always be one of my favorites to read and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read it.
5.0 out of 5 stars This is my 7th copy of this book….This book is like a security blanket for me. I got my first copy in my teenage years and read it cover to cover in a week and then read it over and over til it fell apart and I had to rebuy. Which I’ve continued to do through my life and will continue to do. This is the first copy I’ve had with this cover design, the others I’ve had were of the man sitting on a stool with his back to the page. I would like to get another of those and somehow get my hands on the one some people are getting here with the blue and white cover as well.
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2024
That said this came in perfect condition and I love it.
Shipping was delayed but that is on Amazon not the seller here.
This collection of stories will always be one of my favorites to read and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read it.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Cliente AmazonReviewed in Brazil on December 13, 20245.0 out of 5 stars Engaging reading
An enjoyable and engaging read
Darren HennigReviewed in Canada on September 26, 20235.0 out of 5 stars Superb short story book by one of Sci-Fi's "masters"!
Great read - came quickly and new (condition). Great anthology of SF stories from one of the best SF writers of all time. Good thinking material too! :)
Oscar V.Reviewed in Mexico on June 17, 20235.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book
Just amazing, well written, it pulls you to it and makes you keep on reading.
Amazon CustomerReviewed in Germany on November 28, 20245.0 out of 5 stars Easy language, recommended for English learners.
As a non native speaker, sometimes older english books made it difficult for me to immerse myself in the story due to the outdated language used. But that was not the case with this book. This was my favorite book in my early twenties.
DreamerReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 20225.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant stories
Each story was different in tone and theme, yes a little dated in tech etc but this is a book written many years before the first man in the moon!!! Brilliantly written, my first and not my last Ray Bradbury book




