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A review by mcsnide
Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales by Ray Bradbury
4.0
I've been a fan of Ray Bradbury since reading Fahrenheit 451 in high school. His highly skeptical, nearly dystopian, view of technological progress informed my own for many years. While I've gradually grown to a comfort level with modern technology that Mr. Bradbury never achieved, I understand his concerns at their heart. Every technological leap requires new ethical thinking that sometimes our species blunders past. His warnings that progress does not change the basic nature of humanity are well-placed, and we would do well to sometimes move at a more considered pace.
Still, his best stories often have little or nothing to do with science fiction. Rather, they are portraits of human beings struggling with what it means to be human, what it means to be kind, and where to draw boundaries. His writing can often be fantastical, but under every flight of fancy there is a real human urge. In a book of 100 stories, there are bound to be some that don't speak to every reader. But I can't imagine the person who could read this book without at least once or twice recognizing his own fears or hopes on the page.
Still, his best stories often have little or nothing to do with science fiction. Rather, they are portraits of human beings struggling with what it means to be human, what it means to be kind, and where to draw boundaries. His writing can often be fantastical, but under every flight of fancy there is a real human urge. In a book of 100 stories, there are bound to be some that don't speak to every reader. But I can't imagine the person who could read this book without at least once or twice recognizing his own fears or hopes on the page.