Bradbury Beyond Apollo (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780252043413)

Celebrated storyteller, cultural commentator, friend of astronauts, prophet of the Space Age--by the end of the 1960s, Ray Bradbury had attained a level of fame and success rarely achieved by authors, let alone authors of science fiction and fantasy. He had also embarked on a phase of his career that found him exploring new creative outlets while reinterpreting his classic tales for generations of new fans.

Drawing on numerous interviews with Bradbury and privileged access to personal papers and private collections, Jonathan R. Eller examines the often-overlooked second half of Bradbury's working life. As Bradbury's dreams took him into a wider range of nonfiction writing and public lectures, the diminishing time that remained for creative pursuits went toward Hollywood productions like the award-winning series Ray Bradbury Theater. Bradbury developed the Spaceship Earth narration at Disney's EPCOT Center; appeared everywhere from public television to NASA events to comic conventions; published poetry; and mined past triumphs for stage productions that enjoyed mixed success. Distracted from storytelling as he became more famous, Bradbury nonetheless published innovative experiments in autobiography masked as detective novels, the well-received fantasy The Halloween Tree and the masterful time travel story "The Toynbee Convector." Yet his embrace of celebrity was often at odds with his passion for writing, and the resulting tension continuously pulled at his sense of self.

The revelatory conclusion to the acclaimed three-part biography, Bradbury Beyond Apollo tells the story of an inexhaustible creative force seeking new frontiers.

Author: Jonathan R. Eller
ISBN-10: 0252043413
ISBN-13: 9780252043413
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Language: English
Published: 08/10/2020
Pages: 376
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.70lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.10w x 1.30d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 06/01/2020 pg. 86
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2020
Publishers Weekly 06/29/2020
Choice 06/01/2021