Ray Bradbury was long the most influential sci-fi writer in the world,
the poetic and visionary author of such classics as Fahrenheit 451,
The Martian Chronicles, and *The Illustrated Man
*
But he also lived a fascinating life outside the parameters of sci-fi,
and was a masterful raconteur of his own story, as he reveals in his
wide-ranging and in-depth final interview with his acclaimed biographer,
Sam Weller. After moving to Los Angeles, he became an inveterate fanboy
of movie stars, spending hours waiting at studio gates to get
autographs. He would later get to know many of Hollywood's most powerful
figures when he became a major screenwriter, and he details here what it
was like to work for legendary directors such as John Huston and Alfred
Hitchcock. And then there are all the celebrities--from heads of state
like Mikhail Gorbachev to rock stars like David Bowie and the members of
Kiss--who went out of their way to arrange encounters with Bradbury.
But throughout that last talk, as well as the interviews collected here
from earlier in his career, Bradbury constantly twists the elements of
his life into a discussion of the influences and creative processes
behind his remarkable developments and inventions for the literary form
he mastered. Mixed with cheerful gossiping about his travels and the
characters of his life, it makes for a rich reading experience and a
revealing collection of interviews.
