The Conservative Legacy of Bradbury

American Thinker ^ | Bruce Walker

[Perdogg]

Ray Bradbury is dead. His literary career spanned an incredible 73 years, and his influence was felt across the broad spectrum of American thought. Bradbury was very conscious of the fact that he grew up in almost a pre-technological society; "[w]hen I was born in 1920," he told The New York Times Magazine in 2000, "the auto was only 20 years old. Radio didn't exist. TV didn't exist. I was born at just the right time to write about all of these things."

[Perdogg]

ping

[freedumb2003]

Other than maybe Clarke, this is the last of the giants.

[muir_redwoods]

We all die and the worst part of getting old is getting used to those around us dying. I will miss living in a world with Ray Bradbury in it. I won’t get used to this loss. He was an amazing writer; it seems almost that English was invented for his use.

[Steely Tom]

His story Dandelion Wine will always stay with me as a description of what it was like to grow up free in Middle America. It contained this phrase (I may not be getting it word-for-word right): "the future stretched before him like a six-lane highway". I read it nearly 50 years ago.

[jboot]

Clarke died in 2008.

Bradbury was the last of the greats (usually reported as Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke and Heinlein).

We've still got Fred Pohl, Niven, Pournelle, Harry Harrison and a few others. But the list grows thin. Not many folks are writing hard sci-fi anymore.

[FreedomPoster]

The Big Four are gone - Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, Heinlein. Clarke died in 2008.

High praise for Bradbury from Jerry Pournelle: “Ray affected writing more than he intended to: he made short stories look much easier than they are.”

[Bon of Babble]

I love these two quotes from Bradbury about writing:

1. “You don’t need anything but a pad and a pencil, for Christ’s sake!”

2. “Make a list of the things you hate, and the people you hate, and write about them.”

Yes, sic transit gloria mundi

I’d like to know Freepers’ favorite Bradbury short stories or novels:

For me: Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man

Short Stories: The Veldt, And There Will Come Soft Rains, Zero Hour (absolute best AFAIC), The Emissary.

Bon

[Sudetenland]

Most of the folks I know that read sci-fi would describe Bradbury as the English Teacher's (or Librarian's) concept of what a science fiction writer was. He was never considered "real sci-fi."

I liked some of his work, but I found most of his work to be pretentious.

To be certain, his writing was not sci-fi in the same vein as his peers. The fiction of van Vogt, Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Doc Smith, Russell, Piper, Laumer, and most of those Campbell featured in his magazines tended to be more focused on the "science" portion of science fiction. Bradbury was more about the "fiction" than about the science--much like Ellison.

Probably not explaining the difference very well, but that has always been the general perception. There have always been sci-fi authors that teachers like and those that sci-fi readers like--they are rarely the same.

All that being said, he did have a profound effect on the genre's becoming accepted as "legitimate." Sad to see him leave us.

[iceskater]

Thanks for posting this.

Bradbury’s books are now moved to the top of my reading list - just like they were when I was in high school.

[I still care]

Yes, unlike “The Lottery”, you easily know the ending but still a great read:

http://www.veddma.com/veddma/Veldt.htm

I remember when I read this in high school my first thought was, why are they stupid enough to turn the thing back on?

Answer: Because they are libs that have bought into current parenting methods.

[Bon of Babble]

My 10th grade English teacher read “The Martian Chronicles” out loud to us in class — this was an AP English class!!

You could have heard a pin drop in that room, not one of us fell asleep.

I think kids would still love it.

Bon

[iceskater]

You got to read “The Martian Chronicles”??? - lucky you. I got to read “Beowulf”.

[Bon of Babble]

LOL, he was a frustrated television writer and an “old school” English teacher — he knew how to keep kids’ attention.

I didn’t read Beowulf until the 12th grade, and, of course, in college — believe it or not, I LIKE Beowulf!!

Bon

[Bshaw]

“His story Dandelion Wine will always stay with me...]

I went to Amazon to order the book based on your comments, and ended up buying a dozen of his books! Can’t wait to cozy up with the kiddos with Bradbury’s nighttime stories!!

[squarebarb]

Short stories -— The Long Rain is just incredible. Novels -— Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 541 especially one of the last lines. ‘and the leaves of the tree were the healing of the nations’.

[Bon of Babble]

I’m glad you mentioned Ellison, I was waiting for his name to appear.

My dad LOVE science fiction — but he was also a physicist and despised when writers would break the laws of physics— that would be the last thing he’d EVER read by that author. He’d grumble and say “That guy needs to get educated!!”

(never heard this about Asimov, BTW).

Bon

[Cowman]

Bradbury was more about the "fiction" than about the science--much like Ellison

Bradbury himself said that he didn't write science fiction but science fantasy. I do think he used fiction better than most. You may even be able to equate the carnival in Something Wicked This Way Comes as the Progressive movement promising all sorts of things and pulling people into their trap.

[Sudetenland]

A better way of describing Bradbury—again from my point of view—would be to say that he was a “writer” as opposed to a “storyteller.” That aligns with his being more popular with the educator/Saturday Evening Post/modern fiction critics—he was more accessible to the non-sci-fi reader.

[Steely Tom]

went to Amazon to order the book based on your comments, and ended up buying a dozen of his books!

What a wonderful complement to Mr. Bradbury.

In trying to find the name of a favorite Bradbury short story, I came across this fact, amazing to me: Bradbury wrote The Circus of Dr. Lao, from which the strange and charming movie The Seven Circuses of Dr. Lao was made. It's a very obscure movie, starring Tony Randal and Barbara Eden. Netflix has it, if you're interested.

I wasn't able to find the "favorite Bradbury short story," unfortunately. Too obscure.