“When I was a boy my grandfather died, and he was a sculptor. He was also a very kind man who had a lot of love to give the world, and he helped clean up the slum in our town; and he made toys for us and he did a million things in his lifetime; he was always busy with his hands. And when he died, I suddenly realized I wasn't crying for him at all, but for all the things he did. I cried because he would never do them again, he would never carve another piece of wood or help us raise doves and pigeons in the backyard or play the violin the way he did, or tell us jokes the way he did. He was part of us and when he died, all the actions stopped dead and there was no one to do them just the way he did. He was individual. He was an important man. I've never gotten over his death. Often I think what wonderful carvings never came to birth because he died. How many jokes are missing from the world, and how many homing pigeons untouched by his hands. He shaped the world. He DID things to the world. The world was bankrupted of ten million fine actions the night he passed on.”

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About Ray Bradbury

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.

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Books by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451

2008

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The Martian Chronicles

1999

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The Illustrated Man

2011

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Something Wicked This Way Comes

1963

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Dandelion Wine

1999

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