Fabulous, amazing, astounding, delightful. I'll be re-reading some of these essays over and over and over again.

This book was a pleasant surprise; 37 essays by Ray Bradbury, all labours of love, and all very breezy to read through.

Despite the fact that they are essays, they are written in Bradbury's usual poetic, flowery style which some love and some are annoyed by. Those who are annoyed by it probably are the type of people who never look at anything beyond it's face value and can't stand to watch a film that doesn't include constant, unnecessary yapping, but I digress.

The topics Bradbury covers range from the origins of his books, his thoughts on his city (Los Angeles), movies, other writer's books, history, and his friendships (with Walt Disney and Gene Kelley of all people!), and hapiness.

It helps to be a dedicated Bradburian to read this, and dedicated Bradburians are probably the only ones who'd buy it, judging from the Amazon sales rank, but it's engaging no matter who you are.

I read this gem a few years ago. And I recall giving an ebullient review on Shelfari. A shame it got lost in the migration to Goodreads. So I was compelled to read it again, and try to recapture my exhilaration over it. And then some...

Ray Bradbury always writes with heart. And he banners his heart on his sleeve in every essay he's written here. He rants, he raves, he fanboys, and he brags (boy, does he brag, with false modesty--it took a very succinct, subtle dressing down from Mrs Bertrand Russell to drive that notion home--he's been smarting from that since). He also predicts the future, and definitely, he does as he does best in most of his short stories: he reminisces. Waxing philosophical, political, and sentimental on movies, scripts, books, trains, travel, his fear of flying, and celebrities, Bradbury delivers each story with the spontaneity, wit, and candidness of a well-read polymath and raconteur, it almost felt like we were conversing over heaping portions of sweet Dandelion wine.

To Ray Bradbury, SF and fantasy boy wonder. First man on Mars. All-around Mr Nice Guy: Thank you for the stories. And thank you for these essays.

Admiro tanto al viejo Ray... Más allá de que los ensayos publicados en este libro son un tanto repetitivos, me quedo con el capítulo "La ballena, el capricho y yo", en el que cuenta sus días en Irlanda cuando viajó con el director de cine John Huston para escribir el guión de la adaptación de Moby Dick. Bradbury estaba bloqueado y no podía avanzar hasta que en un rapto de inspiración, dijo en el medio de la habitación en calzonzillos "¡Hoy soy Herman Melville!" y escribió de un tirón el resto del guión hasta altas horas de la madrugada...

Wonderful. Made me miss Ray. His encounters with Mr. Disney and his empire are alone worth the price of admission.

Signed.

My track record with essay collections is not stellar. Normally one or two essays out of twenty may stand out for a brief time, but generally they leave my memory as soon as I turn the page. I picked this one up only because Ray Bradbury and my quest to read as much of his work as possible before I die. Sadly, not even my favorite author can wring much of an appreciation of this art form from me. Some articles resonate, some do not, and some were downright annoying.

Come to think of it, that's my track record with most blogs I follow, as well. And what is a blog entry but an essay? Next time I feel inclined to pick up an essay collection, I'll treat it as if I were reading blog entries, one a day for several days instead of binge-reading several days at once.

Ray Bradbury conoció a Walt Disney y a Bertrand Russell, eso es sólo una fracción de todas las aventuras por las que ha pasado a lo largo de su vida este autor norteamericano.

Visitar París en una hora, mojarse bajo la lluvia en Roma, viajar por tren atravesando los Estados Unidos; y todo eso si contar su amplia obra literaria que ha atraído la atención de generaciones a la lectura, con esa facilidad para hacer imaginar a lector con todo lo posible y ser contagiado del entusiasmo de Bradbury por la vida.

Estos aspectos de la vida de Bradbury se encuentran contenidos en esta colección de ensayos que originalmente fueron publicados en una amplia variedad de publicaciones, además de otro que son inéditos. El estilo de los ensayos de Bradbury es desenfadado, el autor escribe con familiaridad y al leerlo se siente como si fuera un viejo amigo que está platicando contigo sobre lo que piensa del mundo y de las cosas que hay en él.

Comparto el punto de vista de Bradbury en algunas cosas (la exploración del espacio), en otras estoy en desacuerdo con él (la validez de la teoría del Big Bang), y en otros soy más bien indiferente (el amor de Bradbury por Paris). Esto ejemplifica el carácter tan heterogéneo de esta colección, aunque es seguro que habrá al menos una pieza que sea del interés del lector, es igualmente probable que exista al menos otra que no le llame la atención en lo absoluto.

La colección tiene también el problema de ser repetitivo. Como los ensayos que contiene no estaban pensados para ser leídos todos juntos, en ocasiones Bradbury habla de las mismas cosas, en ocasiones usando las mismas expresiones. De allí que sea más que nada un libro para los fans de Bradbury que desean tener una colección lo más completa posible de todo su trabajo.

Inspired to read more essays after reading Bradbury's "The Ardent Blasphemers" (an Introduction to "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea") I enjoyed reading most of these essays. Some felt repetitive, on a whole the good outweighed the weaker.

I grew up mesmerized by Bradbury's stories. His essays in this book? Not so mesmerizing (with a few exceptions). There is a lot of bragging here (although I suppose that if it's true, it isn't bragging). Still, it comes across as one very healthy ego and that gets tiring. And entirely too many of these essays circle around one topic - Moby Dick and/or his writing the screenplay for the movie version in mid-century. If I come across any other books of Bradbury's essays, I think I'll stick to his fiction.

fantastically charming. Candid and a quick read. We learn about the man in his own words and that he is much deeper than some of his more didactic fiction would lead us o believe.

Bradbury's deft use of language and economy with words was unparalleled; that's not in dispute. But what surprised me was how much of his power also came from his skill as a storyteller - and how much my interest flagged when that talent's not employed, regardless of how well-written the essay. Anecdotes and small stories of various kinds fortunately pepper this collection, more than making up for lengthy essays on the similarities between Moby Dick and 20,000 Leagues, or a half-dozen articles on why L.A. is such a great town, or one extolling the apparently breathtaking talents of an architectural firm. And let's be honest: Even those are well-written. It did make the collection rather hit-or-miss for me ... but even half a book of great essays from the master is half a book worth reading.