Dandelion Wine [Hardcover]

World-renowned fantasist Ray Bradbury has on several occasions stepped outside the arenas of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. An unabashed romantic, his first novel in 1957 was basically a love letter to his childhood. (For those who want to undertake an even more evocative look at the dark side of youth, five years later the author would write the chilling classic Something Wicked This Way Comes.)

Dandelion Wine takes us into the summer of 1928, and to all the wondrous and magical events in the life of a 12-year-old Midwestern boy named Douglas Spaulding. This tender, openly affectionate story of a young man's voyage of discovery is certainly more mainstream than exotic. No walking dead or spaceships to Mars here. Yet those who wish to experience the unique magic of early Bradbury as a prose stylist should find Dandelion Wine most refreshing. --Stanley Wiater --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

This 1957 gem is the latest in Avon's ongoing series of Bradbury reprints. This sweet little hardcover features the full text of the novel?the story of one magical summer in the life of 12-year-old Douglas Spaulding?along with an introduction by the author. Without flash or best-sellerdom, Bradbury has emerged as one of this country's great writers, and libraries lacking a quality hardcover of his beloved novel should jump on this.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"Bradbury is an authentic original."—Time


From the Paperback edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

An endearing classic of childhood fancies andmemories of an idyllic Midwestern summer from America's most beloved storyteller.

Dandelion Wine

Ray Bradbury's moving recollection of a vanished golden era remains one of his most enchanting novels. DANDELION WINE stands out in the Bradbury literary canon as the author's most deeply personal work, a semi-autobiographical recollection of a magical small town summer in 1928.

Twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding knows Green Town, Illinois, is as vast and deep as the whole wide world that lies beyond the city limits. It is a pair of brand-new tennis shoes, the first harvest of dandelions for Grandfather's renowned intoxicant, the distant clang of the trolley's bell on a hazy afternoon. It is yesteryear and tomorrow blended into an unforgettable always. But as young Douglas is about to discover, summer can be more than the repetition of established rituals whose mystical power holds time at bay. It can be a best friend moving away, a human time machine who can transport you back to the Civil War, or a sideshow automaton able to glimpse the bittersweet future.

Come and savor Ray Bradbury's priceless distillation of all that is eternal about boyhood and summer.

Twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding knows Green town, Illinois, is as vast and deep as the whole wide world that lies beyond the city limits.It is a pair of brand-new tennis shoes, the first harvest of dandelions for Grandfather's renowned intoxicant, the distant clang of the trolley's bell on a hazy afternoon.It is yesteryear and tomorrow blended into an unforgettable always.But as young Douglas is about to discover, summer can be more than the repetition of established rituals whose mystical power holds time at bay.It can be a best friend moving away, a human time machine who can transport you back to the Civil War, or a sideshow automaton able to glimpse the bittersweet future.

The summer of '28 was a vintag season for a growing boy. A summer of green apple trees, mowed lawns, and new sneakers. Of half-burnt firecrackers, of gathering dandelions, of Grandma's belly-busting dinner. It was a summer of sorrows and marvels and gold-fuzzed bees. A magical, timeless summer in the life of a twelve-year-old boy named Douglas Spaulding--remembered forever by the incomparable Ray Bradbury.

"Bradbury is an authentic original." -- Time --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

"Bradbury is an authentic original." -- Time --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

The recipient of a National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and a National Medal of Arts, Ray Bradbury is one of the most celebrated fi ction writers of our time. Among his best-known works are Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Mr. Bradbury lives in Los Angeles.