Becoming Ray Bradbury (University of Illinois Press), by Jonathan R. Eller

Ray Bradbury was one of the most significant writers to find his way from science-fiction subculture to mainstream literature. Becoming Ray Bradbury is a detailed, readable account of Bradbury's early years, starting with the sci-fi fanzines whose scope became too small for his talent and ambition, and concluding as the author completed his most influential masterpiece, Fahrenheit 451. Much attention is paid to the inspiration Bradbury received from his childhood memories in Waukegan, Ill. As co-founder of Indiana University's Center for Ray Bradbury Studies, Jonathan Eller interviewed the author and had access to his private papers. Eller locates the source of Bradbury's creative life in “a passion for wonderment,” a voracious appetite for reading and a search for meaning in a world wobbling precariously near the abyss.