Though I’ve never been partial to the literary style or underlying themes of Ray Bradbury’s writing, I can still appreciate and respect the cultural and historical significance of his body of work. And, from what I know “about” him, he was a genuinely kind human being, quite willing to bestow time and advice to budding authors. In that regard, the foremost qualities that emerge from his interview by Charles Platt (in Dream Makers – The Uncommon People Who Write Science Fiction) are a sense of integrity, and, a deep dedication to his craft.
You can’t ignore somebody like that.
So, here’s Bantam’s 1954 anthology of twenty-two of his stories, entitled (by virtue of the last listed title) The Golden Apples of the Sun. For the story “Embroidery”, originally published in the November, 1951 issue of Marvel Science Fiction, I’ve included the magazine’s cover (by Hannes Bok), while for “The Golden Apples of The Sun”, which first appeared in the November, 1953 issue of Planet Stories, I’ve added the issue’s cover (by Frank Kelly Freas). Both images were downloaded from Archive.org, and Photoshopified just a little bit.
Contents
The Fog Horn, from The Saturday Evening Post, June 23, 1951
The Pedestrian, from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February, 1952
The April Witch (from “The Elliott Family” series), from The Saturday Evening Post, April 5, 1952
The Wilderness (from “The Martian Chronicles” series) from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November, 1952
The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl, from Detective Book Magazine, Winter, 1948
Invisible Boy, from Mademoiselle, Winter, 1945
The Flying Machine
The Murderer
The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind
I See You Never, from The New Yorker, November 8, 1947
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Embroidery, from Marvel Science Fiction, November, 1951
“This month’s 4-color cover by well-known cover and interior artist, HANNES BOK. Using a mixed technique of dyes, color pencil, water-color, and ink.”
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The Big Black and White Game, from The American Mercury, August, 1945
A Sound of Thunder, from Colliers, June 28, 1952
The Great Wide World Over There
Powerhouse (1948?)
En la Noche, from Cavalier, November, 1952
Sun and Shadow, The Reporter, 1953
The Meadow, World Security Workshop (ABC Radio Network radio program), 1947
The Garbage Collector
The Great Fire (“Green Town”?) (1949?)
Hail and Farewell
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The Golden Apples of the Sun, Planet Stories, November, 1953
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References
Platt, Charles, Dream Makers – The Uncommon People Who Write Science Fiction, Berkley Books, New York, N.Y., November, 1980
The Golden Apples of the Sun, at Internet Speculative Fiction Database
The Golden Apples of the Sun, at Wikipedia
Ray Bradbury, at RayBradbury.com