R.I.P. Ray Bradbury, Author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles

[Ian David]

6. He picked a fight with Michael Moore over the title Fahrenheit 9/11.

"Fahrenheit 451" author wants title back
Ray Bradbury claims Michael Moore stole movie title

Legendary science fiction writer Ray Bradbury is the author of more than 500 published works, including the 1953 classic “Fahrenheit 451” and “The Martian Chronicles.” In early 2000, he was awarded the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. His novel, “Fahrenheit 451” sold over 4 million copies. It is a tale of censorship in a future world where totalitarian leaders forbid the written word. In efforts to preserve their history and culture, inhabitants of the state start memorizing all types of books.

Bradbury discussED “Fahrenheit 451” with Hardball’s guest host Andrea Mitchell, and talked about his displeasure with Michael Moore's documentary of a similar title. Bradbury says Moore mimicked the title without asking his permission.

More:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5324876/ns/msnbc_tv-hardball_with_chris_matthews/t/fahrenheit-author-wants-title-back/



Ray Bradbury May Not Be Who You Think He Is

Jan 18, 2012

It’s probably not an exaggeration to say that Ray Bradbury is our most famous living science fiction writer, one of the last of the first wave of great masters who created the golden age of SF. Except, not only is he not really a science fiction writer, he’s apparently a world class Luddite who doesn’t want anything to do with computers or cell phones or tablets or…anything. Come to think of it, his most famous works tend not to be filled with space ships and aliens but instead dipped in nostalgia for a long-ago vision of small-town America. Dandelion Wine? Something Wicked This Way Comes? Not only that, this paradigm of liberal intellectualism, the guy who wrote Farenheit 451 and was an early vocal opponent of Joe McCarthy, turns out to have aged into a classic Reagan Republican.

In other words, Ray Bradbury is a mess of contradictions. That’s what makes him so interesting.

Daniel J. Flynn’s article on Bradbury in The American Conservative is a real eye-opener. All those contradictions, and all the ebb and flow of Bradbury’s career, are probably not what you expect, even if you’re a fan. Except, perhaps, for the author’s underlying humanity:

“Ray Bradbury loves human beings, and his hatred of the digital devices that divide us from us stems from their dehumanizing influence. Sure, they make us more passive and corrode our mental circuits. But of greatest importance, technology, amidst a million obvious benefits, has the overlooked drawback of making human life less human… Bradbury’s vision of the future germinated from what he saw in the postwar present: gadgeted distractions, screens separating humans from humans, televisions raising children, the vicarious life replacing life itself, leisure time becoming a waste of time. He sensed in which direction the world spun, and he didn’t want to go there.”

Get reacquainted with Ray Bradbury. Read Revenge of the Nerd. http://www.theamericanconservative.com/blog/revenge-of-the-nerd/

More:
http://www.rd.com/books-entertainment/ray-bradbury-may-not-be-who-you-think-he-is/