The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury (P.S.) (ISBN 0060545844)

Something Adulatory This way Comes:
Reading THE BRADBURY CHRONICLES I was struck repeatedly by Sam Weller's insistence that at least part of the reason for Bradbury's success is that he never really hrew up and in some ways always kept the boy inside him alive, so that his reactions are frequently childlike and simple. Weller's book is best when it illustrates this tendency in Bradbury and also shows how Los Angeles itself remains a child's toy city, filled with wonder and perhaps lacking in shadow. The story of Ray Bradbury is the story of Los Angeles, and the growth of both writer and city have many incisive parallels. No wonder Bradbury found himself drawn into the world of Hollywood and screenwriting. Perhaps no one but him would have the remarkable naivete to even attempt to write a screenplay out of MOBY DICK. Weller is sort of over the top when it comes to praising Bradbury, who really hadn't written anything all that good in thirty years or more, and yet oddly emough he fails to give proper credit to his last really great project, the screenplay for PICASSO SUMMER, one of the most underrated Hollywood movies of the 1960s. When the film is finally re-released I think its time will come, and it will be recognized as a provocative, adult love story in the mode of TWO FOR THE ROAD or, more recently, Wong Kar Wai's IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. Odd--paradoxical even--that one of the screen's most adult achievememets was the brainchild of Weller's eternal "puer." Weller himself is very much like the Sam Weller of THE PICKWICK PAPERS, always optimistic, energetic, a little over his own head, but likable and funny. Could he be using a pseudonym--or did Charles Dickens predict his coming way back when in the 1830s? Ray Bradbury, perhaps, can let us know. "A Sound of Pickwick Thunder," perhaps?

A very human perspective on a legendary figure:
For decades, Ray Bradbury has inspired a vast array of creative minds --- from writer Stephen King to film director Steven Spielberg, from rock guitarist Ace Frehley to astronaut Buzz Aldrin --- and now we get a very intimate look into the story behind the man. Sam Weller was given incredible access to Bradbury, his wife Marguerite, and many of his friends and family in an effort to compile this amazing look at the moments that built the framework of Bradbury's creativity. Born in 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois, Ray Bradbury was a child of a father touched by wanderlust and big dreams at a time when the Great Depression had a stranglehold on the country. From Illinois to Arizona to Hollywood, Bradbury's family searched for work. Moving to various areas of the country, he never lost his simple midwest roots, which can be seen in many of his stories as he returns time and again to simpler times in Illinois autumns. As a young boy, Bradbury was inspired by the adventures of Buck Rogers, Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, and a multitude of other fantastical wonders in print and on film. Weller shows us a young man who devoured books and always found the means, even in the hardest of times, to make his way into the movie theater. From these creations he felt the pull toward his own imagination, the results of which has entertained generations of readers. In 1932, Bradbury had an unexpected encounter with sideshow attraction Mr. Electrico. The magician confronted him during his performance and shouted to him "Live forever!" Though Bradbury will no doubt have to leave us (hopefully none too soon), in the end he will have left behind a literary legacy that will ensure Mr. Electrico's bold command holds true. As a young man whose youth was touched by hardships and tragedies, including the deaths of two siblings, Bradbury persevered and showed millions of readers the beauty and mystery of things on Mars and beyond, as well as the great discoveries to be found right in front of their very eyes. His work is a beautiful blend of the fantastic and the real, and they have a common humanity that touches all who read them. Sam Weller's biography of this fantastic man makes him all the more human, and the reader is able to see that the most outstanding and astonishing fantasies have their roots in the simplest moments of everyday life.

Well done!:
Sam Weller effectively tells the story of Ray Bradbury, the sensitive child-man behind all the wonderful stories; the man who wrote about space travellers, but who wouldn't get on a jet plane until he was many decades into his own life; the man who worked with directors and writers who didn't understand him or who took advantage of him; the man who worked with so many--some famous, some not so--who appreciated Bradbury's tremendous gifts, who became his friends and business partners, and who gave as much as they got. Weller isn't quite star struck--he presents Bradbury warts and all--his affairs, his bouts of drinking, his depressions, his want, at times, to be more of a child than a husband. But so much the better for all of his fans to know the true story. This is a well-written, honest book, and a must have for Bradbury fans.

Enthusiastic, Excellent Biography:
Sam Weller's The Bradbury Chronicles is a well researched, upbeat biography of Ray Bradbury. Weller's enthusiasm is both his strength, and, at times, his weakness. If you're looking for a general overview of Ray Bradbury's life and the things that led him to be a writer, this is an excellent starting place. The strongest part of the biography is the description of Ray's family history and his early life in Waukegan, Illinois. Weller describes Ray's grandfather's history as a printer and his Aunt Neva's artistic interests as strong influences towards Ray's decision to become a writer. Equally detailed are Ray's teen years when his family moved back and forth from Illinois to Arizona, before finally settling in Los Angeles, California. L.A. and Hollywood played a huge role in influencing Ray's decision to become a writer. During his teen years, he befriended George Burns and actress Ida Lupino, and he often hung out outside the gates of major studios like Paramount and MGM in order to get autographs from the stars. He was a fan of films and longed to be accepted into the film community. Of particular interest to me were the years in Ray's life between high school and his early thirties. Weller does an excellent job of describing Ray's early connections in the local sci-fi community in Los Angeles, as well as Ray's trips to the World Science Fiction Convention. We learn how he got an agent and published his first few books. Where the biography slips a little are the years following Ray's triumphant (though difficult) work with John Huston on the film version of Moby Dick. Weller gives us a general overview of the years between 1955-70, but he flashes forward and back whole decades at a time and the details are not at thorough as in the early part of the book. It makes understanding the sequence of how Ray went from selling a thousand books in 1953 to selling over a million by the early 1970s somewhat difficult to follow. Weller briefly mentions Ray's two affairs in the 1970s, but always from a fan's perspective. I would have liked to have known a little bit more about Ray in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly as his associations and his reputation grew to international stature, and I wonder if a somewhat critical eye toward his work and life would have served the biography better. At any rate, this is an excellent introduction to the life of Ray Bradbury. Particular attention was paid to detailing Ray's early life, teen years, and formative years in the business, and I highly recommend The Bradbury Chronicles to anyone interested in a general overview of Ray Bradbury's life and the paths he took to become a great American writer. And, as always, I hope this review is helpful to you! Stacey

Weller = Medium For the Living:
This is everything a true Scion of Bradbury could ever seek in a biography. Weller's writings reminded me of childhood curiosities, idle musings on the nature of my favorite author, and just as he incites such queries, he anticipates and satisfies them within paragraphs. The layout is such to explain the development of Bradbury's indidivual works without disrupting the chronological explanation of a truly unique and significant life. Want to know why Bradbury considers himself a fantasy writer instead of sci/fi, and how he differentiates the two? Curious as to the nature of the police encounter which inspired Fahrenheit 451 (or indeed where Bradbury found the specific temperature?) Whether you grew up on Bradbury or came to know him later in life, this book will enlighten your mind as to the inner workings of one of the greatest authors alive today.