i can't believe no one has reviewed this book. i imagine the reason is that no one has read it! otherwise, this thing would be overflowing with reviews. this collection of short stories is simply incredible. so well done. the title says it all, and every story is just that: a medicine for melancholy. i was lucky to run across a copy.

Ray Bradbury is one of the most distinctive and talented writers that the sci-fi pulps of the 40's and 50's spawned. He's got a really unique voice, and his stories, usually very short and very readable, are certainly a example of sci-fi at its finest. Some really great stories in this collection. However, I guess it's kind of silly to call this a sci-fi collection. There's horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and a lot of plain old good short story in this collection. If you like to read short stories, I highly recommend any of his collections, because they seem consistently good to me.

Wow- this book is a creative, intelligent, easy-to-understand treasure! Each story is about 5-25 pages, some are shorter than others. They are not all alike, so you are guaranteed to like at least a few, but it is hard to believe that someone might not like most of them. ray bradbury writes very well and i am sure you will enjoy this book. try it!!

Anyone who is a fan of fiction should read this book- it is incredible! You won't want to put it down!

Well, what shall i say about Ray Bradbury's 'October Country'? Imaginative. Nostalgic. Sad. Happy. Thoughtful. Provocative. hindsight Laden. Very, very very well written. At the momment, i'm reading LOTR:The Two Towers, a very good book as it is, but here and there, i couldn't help ducking into 'October Country' I have tried to restrain myself from reading too much of it before i'm done reading the Tolkien collection, but i have failed, at least three stories so far. I've read 'The Dwarf','The Lake' and 'The Emmisary'. All very very good stories, all very very thoughtprovocking. The one thing i like above all else when reading Mr' Bradbury's tales is the fact that he never tries to get above what your understanding might be. He allows you to think what you may about his story up to a point, then, he helps you to understand what you might've only thought you understood beforehand. But though this is so, he is never condescending or a lorder of intellect over your head. The tales are simple, yet complicated. Very very layered, yet simple enough for even the most basic of understanding readers to get. I went out and bought all four of his short story collections, and so far, i've read from two of these. Like nothing i have ever read. For God's sake, Bradbury makes me nostalgic for childhood, and i am but 23 yrs old! I can't say too much more about these collections, or October Country in particualr withoput giving anything away, but i will say this.....Mr. Bradbury has long been one of my absolute number one inspirations...for i am a novice writer, who one day hopes to meet the man, he and Stephen King, and Grant Morrison...I would'e liked to meet Ralp Ellison, but he's gone now. Anyone who sees this collection on the stands, pick it up. You won't regret it.
Hawksmoor...From The Bleed

Well, what shall i say about Ray Bradbury's 'October Country'? Imaginative. Nostalgic. Sad. Happy. Thoughtful. Provocative. hindsight Laden. Very, very very well written. At the momment, i'm reading LOTR:The Two Towers, a very good book as it is, but here and there, i couldn't help ducking into 'October Country' I have tried to restrain myself from reading too much of it before i'm done reading the Tolkien collection, but i have failed, at least three stories so far. I've read 'The Dwarf','The Lake' and 'The Emmisary'. All very very good stories, all very very thoughtprovocking. The one thing i like above all else when reading Mr' Bradbury's tales is the fact that he never tries to get above what your understanding might be. He allows you to think what you may about his story up to a point, then, he helps you to understand what you might've only thought you understood beforehand. But though this is so, he is never condescending or a lorder of intellect over your head. The tales are simple, yet complicated. Very very layered, yet simple enough for even the most basic of understanding readers to get. I went out and bought all four of his short story collections, and so far, i've read from two of these. Like nothing i have ever read. For God's sake, Bradbury makes me nostalgic for childhood, and i am but 23 yrs old!!! I can't say too much more about these collections, or October Country in particualr withoput giving anything away, but i will say this.....Mr. Bradbury has long been one of my absolute number one inspirations...for i am a novice writer, who one day hopes to meet the man, he and Stephen King, and Grant Morrison...I would'e liked to meet Ralp Ellison, but he's gone now. Anyone who sees this collection on the stands, pick it up. You won't regret it.
Hawksmoor...From The Bleed

This story is not a part of the famous "Martian Chronicles", but it is very close - a family from comes to colonize Mars and slowly turns into a Martian family forgetting where they came from. It's not the usual cheap sci-fi about monsters and aliens, though - it's very smart and emotional, like all of Bradbury's work.

This is one of the lesser known books by Bradbury, yet is just as good as Martian Chronicles or Farenheit 451. It is a quick, fascinating must read!

This book was awsome.Sospensful yet scarry. I could not put the book down!!!!!!!!!!11

Well, it was a very interesting book from what i have read. Yet, I have an exam tomorrow and i need the summarization for it. So frankly i dont care about the book.

This book is great. Great book to read for the mellenium

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz The Kansas Centennial Edition By L. Frank Baum Illustrations by Michael McCurdy Foreword by Ray Bradbury ISBN 0-7006-0985-7, 600 Words

Dorothy and Toto are home again thanks to the University Press of Kansas' publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Kansas Centennial Edition. The wizards at the Press conceived of the edition after discovering that L. Frank Baum's book, first published in 1900, was in the public domain. The original print story about a little girl and her dog may be a surprise to Kansans familiar only with the classic 1939 film version of the Wizard of Oz. Even Judy Garland might be shocked by the new edition's black-and-white drawings by acclaimed children's book illustrator Michael McCurdy.

As a child during the 1960s, I remember watching the annual television broadcast of the Wizard of Oz. The scenes when the Wicked Witch sent the Winged Monkeys against Dorothy and her friends were so frightening that I would hide behind a chair. Now as an adult, I find some of McCurdy's illustrations equally unsettling, but rather than hide from them, the drawings compel me to examine and reflect upon Dorothy's journey, a journey that may be interpreted as one from innocence to knowledge.

The most provocative of McCurdy's twenty-five scratch board illustrations is the one in which Dorothy confronts the Witch. The witch has the pointed chin and bony fingers we expect from fairy tale witches, but her eye patch makes McCurdy's witch especially sinister. The Witch tricks Dorothy into giving her one of her Silver Shoes, (they are ruby slippers in the film version). With one foot bare, the angry Dorothy grabs the nearest object, a bucket of water, and throws it on the Witch. "...I never thought a little girl like you would ever be able to melt me and end my wicked deeds," wails the Witch.

W.W. Denslow illustrated the first Wizard of Oz book and his illustrations have remained popular. While Denslow's illustrations are charming and whimsical, they have none of the psychological interest of McCurdy's. As unusual as McCurdy's artwork, is the new edition's forward by science fiction and fantasy author Ray Bradbury. Bradbury contrasts the Wonderful Wizard of Oz with Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland.

Bradbury writes, "...Lewis Carroll's cast of characters would have died here of saccharine or run back to hide behind the cold Glass. Baum settled in, delighted with bright nothings. If the Wicked Witch is truly dead it is because L. Frank Baum landed on her with his Boy's-Life-Forever-Sunkist philosophy. No witch could survive Baum, even today when witches beam themselves up."

A criterion for literature to be considered classic is its ability to be reinterpreted over time. In 1964, Henry Littlefield wrote an article in the American Quarterly entitled, "The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism." Littlefield suggests Baum's book is an allegory for the Populist politics of the 1890s in which "led by naïve innocence and goodwill, the farmer, laborer and the politician approach the mystic holder of national power and ask for personal fulfillment."

Baum was aware that a story holds different meanings for different ages. In the forward to the original Oz, Baum notes that most horrible characters and disagreeable incidents have been eliminated from modern fairy tales. "Having this thought in mind, the story... was written solely to please children of today. It aspires to be a modernized fairy tale, in which wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out."

One-hundred years after its initial publication, the children's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum remains worthy of reading by every Kansan regardless of age. However, in Michael McCurdy's illustrations, adults may find new meaning for an old children's story.

Paul Hawkins is regional librarian for the South Central Kansas Library System.

I enjoyed this book very much. It takes one on an exciting journey through magical lands that come alive in this fantasy book. The characters in this book make it a delight. This book is a treasure, and anyone of any age would enjoy it.

Of all of the Bradbury Durkin-Hayes audiobooks, this is the weakest. "Kaleidoscope" is a good story, with the hopelessness being evident quickly, and it keeps well until the bitter end. "There Was an Old Woman" is hard to follow at first (it starts out as a one-woman perspective at first, but changes later). It's a good story too, but not as good as the others in the series. Both are definitely worth listening to though.

Kaleidoscope and There Was an Old Woman are both well acted and well told stories that you have to visualize in your mind what the characters and situation looks like. It is better then just a plain audio book where someone is just reading and even better then a TV show where there is little left to imagine. I do take issue with the commentary by Ray Bradbury at the end of the stories. He seems to say we should be afraid of time and death, which is something I don't believe. The fact that life in this universe is limited is what makes it precious and we don't know what lies beyond this life that also makes the journey that much greater. I also take issue with the notion that certain people that are "genetically endowed" should be given preferential treatment by not being put in harms way because of the creative contribution they will give to our society. Who is to say who will be a greater contributor to society because of there genes? And further more it is by not given anyone special consideration and watching there work struggle by themselves is what brings about creative genius.

"They fell..." "They fell like pebbles fall down wells... "

With this inauspicious beginning, the Mind's Eye Theatre does something that I never thought possible... They improved upon a master.

Ray Bradbury's original story "Kaleidoscope", of the last moments of a group of astronauts, is a truly poignant examination of humanity in freeze frame... A meteor destroys the rocket that the astronauts were travelling in before they could abandon ship with booster packs, thereby scattering them to the far reaches of the universe. The reactions of each man to imminent death is a true portrait of the variation of humanity.

The dramatic rendering of this story creates a sometimes clausterphobic, sometimes expansive feel, depending upon the reaction of each man. Hearing their final transmissions, their inner voices, their memories, and even their expectations of their very short futures makes one agonize and rejoice at each turn. This is voyeurism of humanity long before "Survivor" and "Big Brother". In this case, all of them have been voted off the island by something out of their control.

The superb acting, sound effects, and tight script turns an excellent story into a thrilling, poignant, emotionally taut masterwork. If you like Ray Bradbury, or if you just like good theater, buy this and all of the dramatic versions of his works. "There Was An Old Woman" is very enjoyable, if in a different vein...

When I saw 19 stories on tape, read by Ray Bradbury, written by Bradbury, I rushed to get my copy. Do not get me wrong--I love the tapes. However, there is something lacking in his tone of voice that can cause one to possibly fall asleep or simply drift away when one should be paying absolute attention to the story. I suppose part of my dissapointment comes from the fact that we all read a story a certain way, and sometimes it is dissapointing to see how the author meant for it to be read. It is also enlightening, however, to be able to find new meaning in his words as he originally intended. I will definitely keep these tapes for a lifetime, and cannot wait to use them in the classroom.

Back in the late 1970s, Ray Bradbury performed several short stories on record. This collection is comprised of four tapes, two of which feature stories from The Martian Chronicles and two feature short stories which were released in the 70s under the title The Illustrated Man, although the stories came from a variety of sources.

Of course, all the stories have been published before, so if you are familiar with Bradbury's work, there is a good chance you have already read most of the stories contained on these tapes. In fact, reading The Martian Chronicles will give you eleven of the stories. "There Will Come Soft Rains," included on The Illustrated Man tapes, is actually a late chapter of The Martian Chronicles.

However, listening to a story on tape is different than reading a story, and many of these stories are short enough that you can practically listen to an entire story while driving to the corner story. What you gain from hearing these stories on tape is the sound of Bradbury's voice reciting his own stories and giving them the inflections and patterns in which he conceived the stories. Bradbury's voice is good for reading, without an annoying accent. Furthermore, the technicians set the sound levels properly.

The stories, of course, are vintage Bradbury. Although usually labelled a science fiction author, Bradbury's writings tend more towards the horrific. The terror inherent in "The Illustrated Man," "The Crowd" or "The Third Expedition" ranks with anything traditionally labelled "horror." The unthinking cruelty shown in "The Dwarf" is as applicable in the 1990s as it was when Bradbury published the story in 1953.

In fact, many of these stories by Bradbury have aged quite well and read better in the 1990s than many of the stories published in his most recent collection, Driving Blind.

Although a minority of The Martian Chronicles stories are represented on these tapes, they were chosen well enough that there is still a narrative quality running through those tapes. While The Illustrated Man tapes don't have the same narrative coherence, the stories form a sort of "Best of Ray Bradbury" collection.

The only thing better than reading a Ray Bradbury story is having that story read to you by Ray Bradbury, himself. In this collection of nineteen stories from The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man, this "grand master of inner and outer space" (as the cover of this collection dubs him) comes home with his readers to tell his tales of Mars and the Earth, of the future and the present, of human behavior and human nature.

The passion and honesty of Bradbury's work has found its perfect medium in the audio recording; in no other way could the reader's imagination interact as actively and imaginatively with Bradbury's stories than by listening to him. Every one of his stories is more than just something to be passively experienced by reading. Bradbury would not be the successful writer that he is if it was not for the imaginations which his readers bring with them to his work. These nineteen stories read by Bradbury himself epitomize the accessiblity and the liveliness of his writing style. His written words, coupled with his own voice, take his stories into a new dimension of experience for his readers.

Few authors can create the magical and believable worlds that Bradbury can. This collection of tapes enables the reader to experience these worlds through the compassionate guidance and infintite wisdom of Ray Bradbury. This collection's appeal is not limited only to his die-hard fans; anyone who can appreciate an original tale which is creatively narrated will find these stories entertaining as well as thought-provoking. Whether the story is about Martians or the active imaginations of children, Ray Bradbury's enchanted voice draws his readers into the story, asks them to participate by imagining along with him, and gives them a new perspective on life and on themselves.

When I was told that I had to read this book for school, I was overly upset. I have never enjoyed anything science fiction in my life; not movies, not books, nothing. First, we read Farenheit 451: one of the best books ever written. Then the Martian Chronicles. At first, I couldn't stand the book, but then I got into it. It really isn't about martians and it really isn't science fiction. It is one man's satrical view of our future world. And the picture he paints is not a positive one. I think that both of these Bradbury books should be required reading for all. Not because they are science fiction classics but because of the fabulous lesson that is portrayed in both. I wouldn't consider it a self help book, but it did put many things in perspective. It will make you want to be a better person and it will make you want to live in a better world. It was an eye-opener.

This is one of the most fascinating explorations of man-alien contact, and even man-man contact, ever, if a bit dated.

When reading the Martian Chronicles (or, in my case, listening to the excellently read book on tape), the key is to keep in mind the context of the time in which it was written. In the post-war 1940s, the prospect of nuclear holocaust was all too real. More than 50 years later, the book is far too pessimistic about humanity and its future, while at the same time far too optimistic about the ease of travel to Mars.

Regardless, this is not the kind of science fiction that most are used to reading. For starters, it's a very literary book. The language is beautifully crafted; we're not talking pulp fiction here. Also, it's not a book about the rockets, or even Mars, per se. Bradbury spends no time explaining how the rockets are able to easily traverse the millions of miles to and from Earth, for example. It merely uses those conventions to tell incredibly poignant stories about man's paranoia and selfishness. One of the stories echoes the censorship-mad society in Fahrenheit 451, for instance. It just happens to occur on Mars.

The end result is somewhat depressing, yet profound. Think of the Martian Chronicles as the opposite of Star Trek's touchy feely Hollywoody SciFi.

I was originally inspired to read Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles mainly because of the critical acclaim and praise it has received; it isn't very often a science fiction novel is accepted and enjoyed so widely. The most unsettling thing about this novel (or, this collection of short stories) is the fact that there are not any characters or events which Bradbury centers upon. The first chapter, "Ylla," grabs the readers attention very well, though I found myself a bit disappointed when the dynamique characters of that chapter did not return. As a whole, however, the overall message and talent bound within the pages of The Martian Chronicles is too important to miss due to something as insignificant as characters. The vast majority of novels out there contain central characters, and many of those very same novels are character-driven. That said, The Martian Chronicles is completely plot-driven. This makes the book not only extremely refreshing, but one need not go through the utter pain of seeing one's favorite character die, because it is very unlikely you would have a favorite character!

A word to the optimistic: this novel paints a pretty unhappy portrait of the future of mankind. A pessimist myself, this was not at all disturbing to me, but quite realistic. Bradbury predicts for Earth's future recurring atom wars, the rising of censorship, and the complete meltdown of society. These themes are prevalent in his most popular novel, Fahrenheit 451. These reasons are the motivations behind the humans' migrations to Mars. Bradbury uses his novel as a conduit to warn us against "political correctness" and asks whether or not we have a control on weapons technology.

My personal favorite idiosyncracies of The Martian Chronicles were the chapters "Usher II," "There Will Come Soft Rains," and "The Green Morning." As is with most Bradbury works, the author tips his hat to his favorite authors with excerpts from poems, songs, and even the fabulous parallel to Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado in "Usher II." Bradbury's use of language and description of fantastic settings and creatures was impressive, to say the least. The descriptions of the Martian race were so intricate and unique each time that one could certainly picture the fictitious peoples, as well as their "chemical baths" and "sand ships," the levitating pirate ships with sails of blue mist. The wonderful aspect of science fiction is the new and refreshing imagery introduced, and Bradbury used this to his advantage.

In a nutshell, The Martian Chronicles is not only though-provoking, but a real fun book to read. The reading level is adequate for any student, and is neither slow or complicated in the beginning or abrupt at the end. Any science fiction fan who enjoyed the messages behind the film The Matrix will thoroughly enjoy Bradbury's Chronicles.

Firemen no longer save lives. Instead they burn books and the people who harbor them. Censorship is the way of life in the science fiction world of Fahrenheit 451. Conforming with government, destroying individuality, and asking no questions are the rules of Guy Montag's world. Set in the twenty-first century, Ray Bradbury's novel tells the tale of the fireman who begins to question the rights and wrongs of his life. In this world books promote thinking and wondering and acting. Compliance is necessary for the government to ignore its people and watch over its "thirty-second" wars. The government wants assimilation and ignorance of differences. So modern technology produces television that is interactive and family rooms are replaced with television parlors - four walls of larger than life TV screens. The firemen hunt out owners of books and burn them, their homes and their books to the ground. "It was a pleasure to burn," is the opening line of the story. In the beginning burning books is a source of joy, an excitement programmed into Montag by his world. Then he meets a girl whose family raised her with an encouragement of challenging what she is told. Montag is amazed, almost scared of the idea of questioning life. She begins to question him too. "'Do you ever read any of the books you burn?' 'Is it true that long ago firemen put out fires instead of going to start them?' and the worst of all, 'Are you happy?'" And there begins Montag's conflict with the government and with himself. When he reads a line of a book he realizes that there is no turning back. He can't be who he was before. And maybe he doesn't want to be. The book is set up as a narrative of one man's experience in trying to rebel against a world that has almost complete control. It is written partly as a typical novel and partly as a sequence of Montag's thoughts. The plot is hard to follow in places and often confusing but the idea behind the story is important enough to make reading the book worthwhile. Bradbury attempts to warn us of what the future may hold that we might prevent the beginning of a world of tyranny. He tells us to remember and cherish the attributes that make us who we are. He teaches us to be an individual and challenge the world around us. Although I did not enjoy the novel, because of the confusion, its message is very important if I want a world where what I think and say is important. A world in where I am a person with rights and opinions that are as valued as any other person's. I do want that world.

Sure the story of a nightmare world in which free speech is forbidden, as a parable for the directions our real-life society is going, has been done a million times - both before and after "Fahrenheit 451." So why is Bradbury's book a classic? The key is his superior writing skills and offbeat social subversion. In Bradbury's world, free speech has not been suppressed through a fascist exercise in social control and forced conformity, as in Huxley's similar "Brave New World." Instead, in this book free speech has been eliminated indirectly through what would now be called rampant political correctness. Every single piece of free speech might be offensive to someone somewhere, so all books and entertainment are eliminated so the masses can waste away in feel-good conformity. Ignorance is bliss in this world. This is a groundbreaking concept for a book written way back in the 50's. Bradbury must have been terrified by the PC hordes that broke out 30 or 40 years later. The one major problem with this book is the characters. The protagonist Montag is ultimately narrow and undefined, even though most of the story concerns his inner struggles. The other main characters - Beatty, Faber, and Granger - exist only as longwinded speechifiers for Bradbury's ideas. But the book is saved by the real sense of creeping dread and social agony lurking in the background, all highlighted by Bradbury's intriguing prose and curveball plot techniques.

Be sure to read an edition of this book published after around 1980. Prior to that, editors had abridged the book without Bradbury's consent, removing some troubling passages for the sake of helpless schoolkids (or more likely, their holier-than-thou educators). This is the ultimate irony - censorship of a book about censorship! Be on the lookout for an edition containing Bradbury's "Coda" (or epilogue) - a blistering indictment of this issue in which Bradbury essentially tells all opponents to kiss his you-know-what, in a quite scathing way.

This novel by Ray Bradbury is a very interesting book. Fahrenheit 451 is one of those books that you just can't put down. It's hard to say why, but you pick it up saying to yourself, "I'll just read a few pages," and you end up reading for an hor or two because of the way it puls you in. The conflict starts imddediately, solving the problem of a slow beginning that some novels have. The very first few paragraphs show Guy Montag's love for fire that eventually becomes his personal struggle as well as the struggle of the world throughout the novel. There is alot of foreshadowing that you don't really recognize until you see what it's lead to, such as how Beatty doesn't run out of the kerosene-filled house as the others, but walks slowly almost delaying when the old lady pulls out a match. In leads into something very strange later on, but I don't want to give it away. This novel plays off the old concept of how you never really know how valuable something is until its taken away, playing on something as important as making books not only rare but illegal in the future. It also shows how destructive the world has and will become, with wars lasting technically 48 hours, and are decided in less time than it takes to blink. All and all it is a very interesting and entertaining book, and I would recommend Fahrenheith 451 to anyone, whehter they are heavy readers or not so heavy readers, such as myself.

I enjoy the comfort of rituals. Every Spring, I am sure to appreciate the rebirth of the world by wearing flowers in my hair and reading Dandelion Wine in the warmth of the sun. Every reading brings me new lessons and insights into this mystery we call life. I savor each poetic gem, starting with Bradbury's Introduction which says, "If your boy is a poet, horse manure can only mean flowers to him; which is, of course what horse manure has always been about" to Douglas and Tom marveling at "all of the summer shelved and glimmering there in the motionless streams, the bottles of dandelion wine." Dandelion Wine feeds the poetic soul. I believe that there are some people "who get it" and some who just don't and never will. This amazing book is for those "who get it" and who are romantics, however deep down inside. I consider this book an optimistic version of Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Bradbury recognizes the same exceptional souls that "bruise easier, tire faster, remember longer and, as I say, get sadder younger than anyone else in the world" but Dandelion Wine fosters the purity in Douglas instead of smothering it out of him. Dandelion Wine is a collage of lives interrelated in Green Town. The candid snapshots of people's lives include a man who makes a Happiness Machine that brings despair, a human time machine, and a couple of soul mates whose lives "interlaced too late." All of these lives are being taken in by Doug Spalding, who is finding a new world through his twelve-year old eyes. I believe that everyone who knows what it is like to be different and to feel things more deeply than the majority does will relish in this book's unique sincerity.

Dandelion Wine is a spellbinding novel from the magical imagination of Ray Bradbury. Once you start reading this exquisite story, you will have a hard time putting it down. Bradbury takes you away to the summer of 1928 with a young twelve year old boy by the name of David Spaulding. The imagery will take you to dew-dropped mornings, flittering fireflies at night, and the smells of musty fields, ponds, and humid meadows. This is a perfect story, and when it comes to novels, there is no other. If you have not read this book, you must get yourself a copy. If you have read it, read it again!

This is a wonderful book. Poetic and a brilliant read. What touched me most about this book was the part about John Huff. The reason is it was so very real. The emotion Doug felt was heartfelt. I know because I read it just as one of my best friends was moving away. It nearly moved me to tears not an easy task. Then there is the Lonely One. A chilling character that you never actually know. Yet the fear of the mother is felt by you. The question is this. What did everyone find so confusing? It is obvious that they either have never read Bradbury, or are incredibly daft. Yes it tells different stories, such as the middle aged man and the old woman, with lime-vanilla ice. But confusing? Never. Were one story stopped another picked up rather easy to understand. My recommendation, if you don't wished to be touched by Bradbury's jawcraker and poetic masterpiece, and never want to feel, then ovoid the book. If you want to go back in time and feel the joy's and sorrows of what most of us have left behind then buy it. In the words of Bradbury himself in the beginning of the book. "The wine still waits in the cellars below. My beloved family still sits on the porch in the dark. The fire balloon still drifts and burns in the night sky of an as yet unburied summer. Why and how? Because I say it is so."