“I memorized all of “John Carter” and “Tarzan,” and sat on my grandparents’ front lawn repeating the stories to anyone who would sit and listen. I would go out to that lawn on summer nights and reach up to the red light of Mars and say, “Take me home!” I yearned to fly away and land there in the strange dusts that blew over dead-sea bottoms toward the ancient cities.”

American author and screenwriter

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. He became one of the most celebrated American writers of the 20th century, and his work ranged across fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction. Bradbury wrote in several genres, but he is especially associated with imaginative fiction that blends wonder, fear, and social observation. His writing moved easily between the fantastic and the ordinary, which helped make his voice distinctive and widely recognized.