The Illustrated Man

A strange man's magical tattooes weave stories while he sleeps, stories that amaze, excite, and horrify. And when the moon is risen and the tales are told, the dark marks may tell the most horrifying story of all.

Bradbury isn't for everyone, and several of his stories aren't for the squeamish. This collection of short stories is mostly tame, and as uneven in quality as most short-story collections. "The Veldt" and "Zero Hour" are brilliantly-stirred blends of sci-fi and gothic horror, while "The Man" and "The Fire Balloons" are dull and meandering improvisations on religious themes. Among Bradbury's most intriguing stories are the psychological dramas of "Kaleidoscope" and "The Last Night of the World," balanced by the tedious moralizing of "The Other Foot" (a story which probably had much greater punch in the years before desegregation).

"The Illustrated Man" is a product of its time, and is streaked through with the dialogue, assumptions, fears, and expectations of the mid-20th century. Some of the themes Bradbury explores still resonate, but he never rises to the timeless transcendence of a Dickens, a Hugo, or an Austen. However, as one of the most popular and devilishly clever American novelists of the 20th century, his short stories here collected deserve a look. But don't look too closely...the picture may begin to move, and you may see yourself...

If you liked Bradbury's Martian Chronicles, you will love The Illustrated Man. This book is actually a collection of short stories, and while there's a main story (the actual illustrated man) it adds little value to the book and can be ignored. The short stories however are phenomenal.
-The Rocket is a tale of father's determination to give his family a chance at once-in-a-lifetime adventure, brought a tear to my eyes.
-Kaleidoscope and the Long Rain are great stories of human nature and loneliness.
- Veldt is an interesting look at virtual reality and how we let the children be raised by tehcnology

Bradbury brings to life new and original ideas - a planet waiting for ages to extract revenge on a race that was in war with its inhabitants, an alien conquest of earth via childrens' games, a man building a duplicate to deal with wife's nagging finds himself replaced...

These will be fun for fans of sci-fi and classic fiction alike. Great stories for kids and adults, and excellent ideas to discuss in your book club or with kids.

A collection that is again basically science fiction, at least of Bradbury's particular Martian variety, among others. The most entertaining of which is 'The Exiles'. Again, all very old-fashioned.

There's an old prologue introducing 'The Illustrated Man' who sets out to recount the stories. Not sure there's a lot of point to doing that in such limited fashion.

Basically a 3.25 book, but rounding down in this case.

Illustrated Man : The Veldt - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : Kaleidoscope - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Other Foot - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Highway - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Man - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Long Rain - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Rocket Man - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Fire Balloons - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Last Night of the World - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Exiles - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : No Particular Night or Morning - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Fox and the Forest - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Visitor - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Concrete Mixer - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : Marionettes, Inc. - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The City - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : Zero Hour - Ray Bradbury
Illustrated Man : The Rocket - Ray Bradbury

Why did we come here again?

3 out of 5

Mean ship space end falling star.

3 out of 5

White man arrival decisions.

3.5 out of 5

Atomic war dispersal.

3.5 out of 5

Locals not too impressed by space travellers.

3.5 out of 5

Venus very wet.

3.5 out of 5

Planetary road trip father.

3.5 out of 5

Earth sin Mars.

2.5 out of 5

What to do at the end.

3 out of 5

Scary little dude.

4 out of 5

Clemens-Hitchcock space meteor mash.

3 out of 5

Time travel holiday.

3 out of 5

Hypnotist victim of Martian isolated projectile overenthusiasm.

3.5 out of 5

Earth invasion advice witchy pulp reinforcement problem.

3.5 out of 5

Stuck puppets.

2 out of 5

Long wait war trap release.

3.5 out of 5

Time To Burn.

3.5 out of 5

Nifty ride for the kids.

3 out of 5

This is a very good selection of short stories that between themselves are unrelated. Bradbury came up with the theme of linking them through the Illustrated Man idea, which is very imaginative but doesn't quite tie them together closely enough. Still, there is real magic in the stories, perfect gems of sci-fi that stand on their own and can enthrall a child's mind and even an adult's. I remember reading with the greatest excitement 40 years ago and the stories stand today, though I have since moved on to more mature sci-fi writers, such as Octavia Butler and Frank Herbert.

Warmly recommended.

This is the sort of direction I like to see the genre going, relatively simple story line exploring the the inner workings of humans in a futuristic setting. The events that occur in Bradbury's stories, although fiction, seem more real because such things could happen in a future where technology has advanced so much.
I generally enjoyed all of 18 of the short stories. All of them unique and slightly morbid. Personally, I love stories with a bit of morbidness and depression, it gives it more of a gritty realism of how life really is. I found that "Marionettes Inc." was my favorite story. This is the kind of story I like, where humans start becoming dependent on human-like cyborgs or "dolls" because they are convenient, obedient, and life-like. Then everything seems to fall apart as the AI wants to be human itself or it has become too human for it to be of any help to the owner.

My favorite quote from one of the stories, "Fire Balloons," is "Can't you recognize the human in the inhuman?" and then "I'd much rahter recognize the inhuman in the human." Personally, I believe it sums up what the novel is all about. The Illustrated Man deals with human relations with one another, technology, and other forms of being; how they can help one another, but most of the time destroy.

I most highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of science fiction and even if you are not. Its extraordinarily well written and provides compelling short stories making you wish there was more then just a few pages. I wouldn't say it was depressing, but some may find it not too their liking because of the untimely end of most of the characters. Nonetheless, it is highly recommendable and broadens horizons because that's what true science fiction does. I am most definitely checking out Ray Bradbury's other works and The Illustrated Man movie!

I first read this book when I was 13, and it inflamed my imagination and ignited my curiosity of things not understood in the world around me. The best book I've ever read, period. If you've never read this book, please do so. I'm 57 years old, and this is my favorite novel/collection of short stories. I still remember the chills I got from many of the short stories ("The Veldt" is my favorite) as I read this book for the first time. R.I.P. Mr. Bradbury, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your brilliant writings.

I think there are two types of people in the world--those who appreciate Ray Bradbury and those who don't.
Granted, this is a short story collection, and, as is the case with any collection, some stories will be stronger than others. Every one of these stories is powerful and haunting in its own right, however, and I don't know of one single story that is the 'standout' in this collection...
for me, 'The Veldt' is one of the top short stories of the past century--but 'the long rain' and 'fire balloons' are other favorites.
others might say that 'kaleidoscope', 'zero hour', 'no paticular night or morning', or 'the last night of the world' are even more thoughtful, haunting or thought-provoking. and they'd be right, too. That's what makes the framing device of the 'illustrated man' and his tattooes so effective in this collection.... the darkness and unreality of these tales, their stylized nature, and yet, the way they stay with you.
If someone doesn't like this book, they probably won't like Bradbury. For the rest of us, it's a classic.

A couple spoilers here, but only when needed to explain why I rated the way I did.

The stories in this book are not related at all. In the beginning Ray Bradbury tries to make you think all the tattoos on some guy are all inter-related. After about the 3rd story, Ray Bradbury apparently forgets about the Illustrated Man and makes no mention of him again and it's just story after story until the very end when he's given a few more sentences. That doesn't take away from the book though. I like short story collections. I don't know why he felt the need to half-@$$ an attempt at making a cohesive novel out of a collection of previously published short stories. Anyway...

The first story really caught me and set my expectations too high. The first story is the best and it's really downhill from there. Most of the stories are so bad I wanted to give the book a 1 star rating, but there are a few gems that kept me from doing so.

"The Veldt" - Set in a future world where a family has a 3D nursery that will fully immerse their children in a world of their choosing. The parents begin to worry when the children begin spending too much time on the African Veldt. 5/5

"Kaleidoscope" - A ship malfunction sends astronauts hurling through space. 4/5

"The Other Foot" - Total Crock. Mars is solely inhabited by black people. White astronauts land and the blacks think about doing their own version of reverse-Jim Crow laws but decide to live in total peace and harmony and rainbows and unicorns and glurg and everyone gets along and things are wonderful because they are so much better people than white people. Total crock and blantantly polical. Shame on you Ray Bradbury. This story almost made me throw the book away. 0/5

"The Highway" - Another political story about the industrialization of native lands. This one was better than the last, but still a bad story. 1/5

"The Man" - Astronauts land on a planet in perfect peace and harmony. Because Jesus lives there. Seriously. 0/5

"The Long Rain" - Astronauts stranded on Venus and it's constant rain. They are searching for "Sun Domes" to get out of the rain and into some artifical sunlight. Very good. 4/5

"The Rocket Man" - An astronaut fights with the desire to maintain his career (and be gone for months at a time) or have a normal family life. Great story. 5/5

"The Fire Balloons" - Priests take a missionary trip to Mars. Seriously. 1/5

"The Last Night of the World" - The world is going to end tomorrow. With this knowledge a couple goes through their normal daily routine. 3/5

"The Exiles" - Books are being burned on Earth. The characters of those books live on Mars. Seriously, Ray Bradbury is hung up on astronauts and Mars. 2/5

"No Particular Night or Morning" - Two astronauts. One of them going insane. 2/5

"The Fox and the Forest" - A couple travel back to 1938 Mexico to avoid the post-apocolyptic world in which they live. A nice break from all the astronaut and Mars stories. 3/5

"The Visitor" - And back to astronauts and Mars. Mars is used as a colony for diseased people. One day a man arrives with the ability to transfer thoughts and provide the illusion of being in another much more comfortable place. 4/5

"The Concrete Mixer" - The Martian army is preparing to invade Earth but are welcomed by movie directors who want them to act. What? 1/5

"Marionettes, Inc." - A man buys a robot wife because he is tired of his own. Pretty interesting. 3/5

"The City" - Astronauts land on a seemingly uninhabited planet. I won't ruin it. I'll let the story ruin itself. 1/5

"Zero Hour" - Children are playing a game called "Invasion". But it's real and they are helping Aliens take over Earth. Seriously. 1/5

"The Rocket" - A poor man has finally saved up enough money to send only one member of his family into space. 3/5

This work from the greatest writer of science fiction's golden age contains legendary stories end to end. Set on the earth of the past, present and future, as well on a host of foreign worlds in the most distant reaches of space, Bradbury offers up a full range of tales from scary musings about mortality and human destiny, to fantastic glimpses into the reality that might lie ahead. Bradbury's imagination caresses the written word and gives his creations a power that won't be found anyplace else. The Illustrated Man is a life-affirming vote of confidence that (for good or for ill) other ages of man are yet to come.

I'm no editor or publisher. Ilustrated Man was the first Bradbury I read over half a lifetime ago, so I wanted to take another look at it. I remember the stories catching me up and carrying me off, seeing in ways I never had. Now after for or so decades, I deeply appreciate Bradbury's style of writing and I get carried away by his prose. These stories are a time capsule; they reveal the mindset of wesern civilization in the 1950s and 60s. The preoccupation with the space race and all the imaginings of that era along with the underlying fear of the cold war and the knowledge that we have the power to destroy ourselves with atomic weapons. Wow, it took me back.
As for the five star rating, well, I can't possibly give Bradbury less.

This was my introduction to Science Fiction although some of the stories are perhaps more horror/fantasy than science fiction. And yes, there is a lot of unevenness in the quality of the stories - some are really exceptional and haunting and some are over before ever getting started. Truth is, even those are good but they require much more participation on the part of the reader! My only real complaint is that this edition (like most!) does not include, "The Playground" which is a very powerful story on an aspect of childhood. Why this story does not appear in most editions is beyond me but it's a great read.

I highly recommend this book to any fan of Ray Bradbury's work, or to anyone who wishes to introduce his classic works into their library. He is a passionate visionary that writes not only about sci-fi, but his colorful writing style encapsulates the sometimes ineffable feelings that each and every one of us have had about every possible situation in life, and dare I say, in death. I always feel like a kid again when I read his books, I am taken away to warm, sunny Saturdays when I was still in awe of the newness of life. I can hardly force myself to read the works of others as I am convinced that no one can do with words the magic that Ray Bradbury has done.

I was introduced to this book in middle school and have loved it and recommended it to many people since then, mainly because of the rich storytelling and beautifully crafted imagery that only Ray Bradbury could create. Admittedly, it can be just a little confusing in some places, but there are very few classics that can be read in one sitting and completely understood. One of the best stories, and my personal favorite, is "The Veldt" because virtual reality is no longer the sci-fi topic it was when this story was written. This makes the story all the more chilling, especially considering all the time kids spend in front of the computer and tv! All in all, this is one of the best books I have ever read, and I would recommend it to just about anyone over the age of 12 or 13.

This is a marvelous collection of stories in which Bradbury offers glmipses of human nature as only he can. His style and prose are at the highest level and the characters stay with you. This book is not quite as strong as "Martian Chronicles" in my opinion, but is still better than anything most other authors could produce. Bradbury fans and newcomers alike will devour this volume. It is worth the price of the book just to read "Kaleidoscope," a remarkable story that has been acted out by countless high school literature and drama classes across the nation. Highly recommended reading.

These stories range from bizarre (The Exiles, The Fire Balloons) to thought-provoking (The Veldt, The Man, Marionettes, Inc., The Last Night of the World) to downright depressing (The Highway, The Long Rain, The Rocket Man, The City, Zero Hour). There is a common whimsical element in all the stories that I found enjoyable, even if most of the stories don't have happy endings. When I read a story, I had no idea where Bradbury is leading to until the last page or so. I always felt a "gotcha" feeling behind each tale. High recommendations for science fiction readers who want to read stories that don't take a lot of time but that are unforgettable (at least most of them endure in me in some form).

The most obvious feature that sets this short story collection apart is the morbidity and darkness of it. Almost every story is about something gone horribly wrong. You don't see that too often, I think authors are afraid to write that kind of story, but Bradbury does it well, and has a good way to present the stories (via the illustrated man) that explains why they're morbid.

I think two or three were feel good stories. Many revolve around rockets and invaders from Mars, which is completely representative of that wonderful time before the Russians became our big enemy.

These are stories that go beyond "science fiction." The technology aspects are part of the canvas, but these stories are powerful because Bradbury paints with emotion and metaphor. He builds more empathy with characters in a few short words than other authors do in an entire novel, and his descriptions return us to a time when we were young, and simple objects filled us with awe and wonder.
There is something here for everyone. Read them for yourself. Read them for your children. This short book is a celebration of the art of storytelling.

Amazing how the writers from over 50 years ago are spot on about what the future would be like. Maybe not in the flying cars or space elevator but how the society of humans will change and how things will be. Just read the first short story "The Veldt" and you will see that its happening today! Read this book a long time ago and rereading it now.

This is the first collection of short stories I have ever read and I was not in the least bit disappointed.I really love that it wasn't just a dumping of stories, Bradbury actually took the time to connect them with the illustrated man.

Some of the stories have the ability to remain with you past your initial reading. For me those stories were "Zero Hour," "The Fox and the Forest" and "The Rocket." Beautifully crafted and really just a fantastic read.

This collection of short stories had darker themes than previous Bradbury collections I've read. Despite the great elements of '50s sci-fi, namely the heavy use of rockets and misconceptions about other planets, I can really only think of two tales that I enjoyed. Most of the stories were depressing or downright psychotic!

Bradbury is one of great masters of the genre. Before anyone else did it, he probably did it. He set the standards by which all else is still judged. And The Illustrated Man is supposed to be among his best works.

Only I didn't like it. I liked the set up-- the man covered in tattoos that come to life (so to speak), with each one a short story in the book. But too many (the vast majority) were too depressing without any offer of hope. Granted, Bradbury was writing these stories in the wake of World War II, so he had good cause to be pessimistic. But every story seems to be a case of meeting a character we like/dislike, something really bad happens to them, the end. No hope for even a positive outcome.

"The Veldt" starts it off. And it is one of the great classics. And I like the story, despite the horror of it. But it's followed by story after story where things end just as badly.

One very interesting exception (and there are a few exceptions in the book), is "The Other Foot." Written before most people were even thinking about Civil Rights, it's about a thriving community on Mars comprised of black people who escaped oppression on Earth. Now, rockets with white people are set to arrive, and everyone is determined to treat them exactly as they themselves were treated on Earth-- separate drinking fountains, back of the bus, and interestingly, a minimum wage-- while others are already making nooses... only, it doesn't end up in bloodshed, and it is the rare bit of hope in the book.

One hot summer day, our narrator meets the Illustrated Man. When the man strips off his stifling long sleeves, he reveals the Illustrations, which decorate every inch of his bare skin. But, as he warns the narrator, they are more than Illustrations: at night, they come to life, change, and spell out stories. That night, the narrator watches these stories--and each becomes a short story in Bradbury's collection. From living houses to ever-raining Venus to the Martian invasion of the commercialized Earth, these often-harrowing science fiction stories range on all topics and all skill levels. Some of the stories are incredible and haunting; others are bulky or uninspired. It is a mixed bag and not as good as some of Bradbury's other collections, but the framing of the Illustrated Man and the golden nuggets sprinkled within make it an imaginative and worthwhile read. Tentatively recommended.

It is particularly difficult to review short story collections because quality can and does vary from story to story, making it hard to summarize and judge the book as a whole. The median quality of this book is not exceptional, and it is not my favorite of Bradbury's short story collections (that would be The Machineries of Joy and The Martian Chronicles, which is not quite a short story collection but is close). The reason for this is simple: some of the stories are uninspiring--neither harrowing or scientific, they're vaguely satirical but without cutting witticism, making them instead simply bland. These uninspiring short stories drag down the overall quality of the book.

Some of the other stories, however, and the framing of the Illustrated Man, are simply brilliant. For me, these include The Veldt, The Man, The Long Rain, The Rocket Man, and Zero Hour, and make up about half of the stories in the book. They range from incredible concepts to haunting ideas to wistful, more personal stories, and are all written in Bradbury's clear, precise, honest prose.

I recommend The Illustrated Man on the basis of these outstanding stories. As a whole, the collection is a bit wanting, but taken individually, there are definitely some stories worth reading. Fans of Bradbury's writing will especially enjoy this book, and the short-story format makes it accessible to all readers. And when it is good--it is very, very good.

I've read Illustrated Man for sophomore Honor summer project. I've taken too much time finished this book. As for me it was not that interesting book because I thought it has more logical and imagination involves. And I realize myself that I didn't get used to imagine and free mind. This book made me tough to understand fully. I mean some portion of story is totally touchable, but other few parts are just screw me to concentrated and understand as well. Actually before I've enjoyed this book deals with rocket is not my line. Because I didn't really care about the happen occur way far from earth. But on my second thought, rocket ship and space are totally cool and attractive even though everything consists of imagination.

Mainly, there's really engrossing chapter from the book which is "The Rocket Man". I select it for best touchable and agreeable part, because it describes dedicate love of family. Also it tells readers that how family worth to their life is. Each single person in family means infinite much. The thing they spent time together and sharing their precious thought randomly depend weather their life is happy or lonesome. I've remembered the last page of this book says that "And, for along while, the only days we ever went out to walk we're the days when it was raining and there was no sun."(Ray 111). Every peaces of words they talk totally sorrow and all the action they express how much the family deeply love dad therefore they choose not to go outside when the sun is shining. The reason they dislike to contact with sun is dad passed away from the sun and it reminds them for dad.

Lastly I decide to recommend this book should be requiring read from my point. Because I think it is such a special and critical book. Even I had hard time to understand this book for somewhat, however it's worth while to read. For example the reader should get emotional feeling because they never seen engrossing happen from real life. There's different people have variety opinion of this book. But they've experienced how can they bring up their imagination and variation.

The Illustrated Man is a below average piece of dull 50's writing from an overrated writer. Ray Bradbury includes in all his short stories, his hidden sanctimonious Christian ethics. He spreads his tedious message in little spurts here and there. I was expecting science fiction but found nothing of the sort.

"The Veldt" -- Two parents use an artificial "nursery" to keep their children happy. The children use the high-tech simulation nursery to create the predatorial environment of the African veldt. When the parents threaten to take it away, the children lock their parents inside where they are mauled and killed by the "harmless" machine-generated lions of the nursery.
"Kaleidoscope" -- A bitter astronaut feels he has accomplished nothing worthwhile in his life as he and the rest of his crew fall irrevocably to their demise in outer space because of a malfunction in their ship. The story illustrates the collapse of the sanity and logic of the crew members as they face their death. Ultimately, the lamenting narrator is incinerated in the atmosphere of the Earth and appears as a shooting star to a child after wishing that his life would at least be worth something for someone else.
"The Other Foot" -- Mars has been colonized solely by black people. When they learn that a rocket is coming from Earth with white travelers, they institute a Jim Crow system of racial segregation in which white people are to be considered second-class citizens, in retaliation for the history of wrongs perpetrated on their race by white people. When the rocket lands, the traveler tells them that most of the Earth has been destroyed in a war and asks for their help. The people realize that discrimination is harmful in all its forms, and reverse their planned segregation.
"The Highway" -- A simple-minded family living by a highway in rural Mexico go on living their normal, idyllic lives as the highway fills with people fleeing a nuclear war. The story ends with some travellers they help telling them about the nuclear war, and how the world is ending. After the travelers leave, the confused resident briefly wonders what "the world" is, and then continues with his life.
"The Man" -- A group of space explorers land on a planet to find the population living in a healthy state of bliss. Upon investigation, they discover that an enigmatic visitor came to them. Further description leads the two spacemen to believe that this man is Jesus (though he is never named, leaving room for other religious personas). One decides to spend the rest of his days on the planet, living and rejoicing in the wake of the man's glory. The other continues in his spaceship, "chasing 'him' always a step behind, never fast enough to catch up to him, constantly trying to achieve the unachievable." Other members of the crew decide to stay on the planet to learn from the contented citizens, and are rewarded by the discovery that "he" is still on the planet.
"The Long Rain" -- A group of astronauts are stranded on Venus, where it rains continually and heavily. The travelers make their way across the Venusian landscape to find a "sun dome", a shelter with a large artificial light source. However, the first sun dome they find has been destroyed by the Venusians. Searching for another sun dome, the characters, one by one, are driven to madness and suicide by the unrelenting rhythm of the rain. At the end of the story, only one sane astronaut remains, and manages to find a functional sun dome.
"The Rocket Man" -- An astronaut's job keeps him away from home for long stretches of time, so he has little time with his wife and son, only visiting them for a period of three days at a time. The story is told from the perspective of the son, who holds an interest in becoming an astronaut too. However, his father explains to him that while the stars are beautiful, what he really wants is to be with his family. Sensing that his wife is unhappy with him being at home so little, the father makes a promise to the son that he will be quitting his job after his next mission to spend more time with them. At the end of the story, the son and his mother learn that his ship fell into the sun, and from then on, they do not venture outside during the day in remembrance of him.
"The Fire Balloons" -- A priest travels to Mars to act as a missionary to Martians. Once there, he discovers that the natives are actually entities of pure energy. Since they lack corporeal form, they are unable to commit sin, and thus do not need redemption. Another message Bradbury conveys through this short story is that the vision of God is the same as that of his worshippers.
"The Last Night of the World" -- In this story, the entire planet awakens to the knowledge that the world is going to end that very evening. Nonetheless, they go through their normal routines of going to work, eating, brushing their teeth, and falling asleep, knowing and accepting the fact that they will not wake up. This is in strong contrast to the looting and riots typically expected in this situation.
"The Exiles" -- Numerous works of literature are banned and burned on Earth. The fictional characters of these books are portrayed as real-life entities who live in a refuge on Mars. However, they are vulnerable, as when all the books on a character are destroyed, the character itself vanishes permanently. When the group of characters learn that some people are coming for them, they stage a counterattack, but are foiled by the astronauts who burn the last remaining books from Earth, unknowingly annihilating the entire colony.
"No Particular Night or Morning" -- Two men in a spaceship are having a discussion about how empty and cold space is. The first man is a little bit insane and keeps asking questions about how there is nothing sure in space and there is no night or morning. He refuses to believe anything about reality without sufficient evidence and soon becomes skeptical of everything he cannot directly experience. He said that he doesn't believe in stars because they are too far away. The second man is wandering about the ship when he learns that someone has left the ship, and it is the first man. The first man is still talking to himself and has killed himself by letting himself fly freely through space.
"The Fox and the Forest" -- A couple from the future tires of the war in their modern lives, so they go on a vacation to the more serene past in an attempt to escape with the help of a company called "Travel in Time, Inc." They go to Mexico in 1938, but are pursued by a government agent who forces them to come back to 2155.
"The Visitor" -- This story takes place on Mars, which is used as a quarantine for people with deadly illnesses. One day, the planet is visited by a young man of eighteen who has the ability to perform thought transference and telepathy. The exiles on the planet are thrilled with his ability and a violent fight breaks out over who will get to spend the most time with their visitor. In the struggle, the young man is killed and the escape he provided is lost forever. Because of the man's abilities, it is possible that he caused the men to hallucinate his injury, or even the entire struggle, and escaped when they believed him to be dead. The facts that he encouraged the fighting and seemed calm and amused throughout the story points to this outcome. Regardless, he is dead to the people of Mars.
"The Concrete Mixer" - A reluctant Martian soldier is forced to join the army as they prepare to invade Earth. However, when they arrive, they are welcomed by a world at peace, full of people who are curious rather than aggressive. The protagonist meets a movie director, and it becomes clear that the people of Earth have planned to exploit the Martians for financial gain. He tries to escape back to Mars, but is run over by a car and killed.
"Marionettes, Inc."-A man attempts to escape his marriage by replacing himself with a robot to fool his wife into thinking he hasn't left and tells a friend about it. The man comes back and tells the robot to go back into the box, and the robot disobeys him saying he has fallen in love with the wife. The robot then proceeds to put the man in the box and goes to visit the wife. Later, the friend discovers that his wife has left and that he has been living with a robot version of her.
"The City" -- A rocket expedition from Earth lands on an uncharted planet to be greeted by a seemingly empty City. As the humans begin to explore, they realize that the City is not as empty as it seems. The City was waiting for the arrival of humans; the contingency plan of a long dead civilization, put in place to take revenge upon Humanity after their culture was wiped out with biological weapons by humans long before recorded history. Once the City captures and kills the human astronauts, the humans' corpses are used as automatons to finalize The City's creators' revenge; a biological attack on the Earth.
"Zero Hour" -- Children across the country are deeply involved in an exciting game they call 'Invasion'. Their parents think it's cute until it turns out that the invasion is real and aliens are using the children to help them get control of Earth.
"The Rocket" -- Fiorello Bodoni, a poor junkyard owner, has managed to save $3,000 to fulfill his lifelong dream of sending one member of his family on a trip to outer space. The family, however, finds it impossible to choose who will go because those left behind will inevitably envy the chosen one for the rest of their lives. Bodoni instead uses the money to build a replica rocket from an old mock-up, and sets up a 3D theater inside the cabin and convinces the children they are actually going through space.

I believe this book is a really great book because not only did i find the stories interesting, but they taught me lessons as well. I could relate to some of the stories in this book and reading this gave me a chance to reflect upon myself. There were stories filled with mystery, suspense, adventure, hardship, romance, and thrills. There were also heart warming stories and stories that would make you think. When I began reading the book, I thought it would be boring and dull just like some other books I read and would fall asleep reading it. The more stories I read, the more interested I became and was drawn to the book. I didn't want to put it down and that is why I finished the book in only one day.

My favorite quote in the story was "There were differences between memories and dreams.He had only dreams of what he wanted to do, while Lespere had memories of things done and accomplished. And this knowledge began to pull Hollis apart, with a slow quivering precision." This was my favorite quote because it tells you that you should live life to the fullest so that in the end you can die happy knowing what you have accomplished than die dreaming like you have been doing for all the years you lived, unsatisfied with your life.

The Illustrated Man is a book that I would highly recommend everyone to read. This book consists of many stories each with its own theme and own moral. Though the whole book revolves around fantasy and science fiction, the overall meaning of each story can strongly relate to what we had to go through in the pass, what we're going through now, and what we may go through in the future. For example, the story Kaleidoscope showed us that the decisions you made in the past can greatly affect the way you think and act towards others, and that in the end all you will have are either dreams of what you wished you did or memories of what you actually accomplished doing. The story The Long Rain showed us that you have to stay strong during tough situations and never give up in order to reach what you truly desire. This is why I believe this book is a great book to read and is why I would recommend it to other people young and old.

If your into science ficton books, then The Illustrated Man is the perfect book for you. Ray Bradbury did an excellent job in creating visual scenes and bringing characters and creatures to life. I personally enjoyed this book through and through and it was an interesting ride from the beginning to end. This book actually surprised me. You know the saying, dont judge a book by it`s cover? Well that is exactly what I did with this book. From the cover to the introduction, it did not seem to be the type of book that I would be interested in and want to keep reading, but I was wrong. It turned out to be intriguing and it captivated my mind and made me wanting to come back for more.

My personal favorite story of the entire book was the first chapter, The Veldt. In the beginning I did not understand the whole story, but after finishing it, I realized it caught my eye and made me wonder. It made me think on a whole differnet level than I was used to and opened my mind to various thoughts. I also have a favorite quote from The Concrete Mixer;"War is a bad thing, but peace can be a living horror." I particularly liked this quote because it summed up the whole idea of war that the author was trying to portray throughout the entire book.

I do recommend that this book be a required reading based on the fact that most of my friends that have read this book found it interesting and fun to read. Now how many books can you say that about? This was a fun book to read and I am sure others will feel the same way.

I must start off by saying that I don't usually read science fiction books because they are too unreal for me to believe. Reading "The Illustrated Man" helped me to change my perspective. At first, I thought that I wouldn't enjoy reading a book that was around fifty years old, but as I began to read the first short story, that all changed. The beginning of this book proved to me that it wasn't as unrealistic as I thought it would be. I could visualize the characters and the location of the story by all of the well-written descriptions. I was also glad to know that this wasn't a novel like most books are these days, but a series of short stories instead. If I don't happen to be enjoying one of the short stories, it helps me to know that if I finish it, there is a whole new story to be read that will interest me later on.

My overall opinion on this book is that it really makes you think and ask questions. For example, "The Highway" has a very confusing ending that makes you wonder what the author of the book is trying to say. Nonetheless, I enjoyed getting the opportunity to read a book that has so many short stories taking place in the future or in space on different planets other than Earth. It makes you realize how people in the 1950's thought what the future would be like in forty years. Some of the short stories even take place one hundred years from now! All of the diffenent stories and locations make this book one of the most interesting books I have ever read.

In conclusion, I feel that this book should be required reading because it is a type of book that most kids these days don't read. It is also a great way to open up your imagination. It is not only a great piece of literature, but it is also a great educational experience. By not reading this book, you would be missing out on amazing adventures. It is a wonderful series of short stories and it is one of those books that you start out being forced to read, but as you go along, you want to read.

I usually do not enjoy fiction stories, mostly because fiction authors I did not enjoy were tossed down my throat every day of my undergrad, with professors shouting "THIS IS GOOD WRITING!!!". However, when a professor suggested I read this book, I really enjoyed it, and remember reading a few selections during high school. This is a collection of science fiction short stories, connected through this idea of an illustrated man. Again, the only reason I did not give this five stars, is because fiction/science fiction isn't my favorite.

If you like stories about space, about the future, or about faith, then i suggest that you read this novel. This novel is a recollection of 18 stories that each have different characters, settings, and morals. Apparently, these stories are drawn on the illustrated man. After I finished reading, I liked it and i disliked it at the same time. However, I believe that this book should not be in our school's required reading.

I liked this book because some of the stories had morals that would help us in life. The story "The Other Foot," reminded us of a cliche saying about how we live our lives. "Treat others the way you want to be treated," is the quote that I was reminded of as I read this story. What I liked about this story is that compassion and kindness was shown in the end.I'm not going to spoil the ending of that story, so that's all im going to say. There was a quote in this story that made me believe that there will actually be peace without prejudice on earth one day. The following is the quote:

"The Lord's let us come through, a few here and a few there. And what happens next is up to all of us. The time for being fools is over. We got to be something else except fools. I knew that when he talked,=. I knew then that now the white man's as lonely as we've always been. He's got no home now, just like we didn't have one for so long. Now everything's even. We can start all over again, on the same level."

I disliked this book as well because some of the stories in the novel had made no effect on me. Basically what I'm trying to say is that when I read them, they made no sense what-so-ever. Like the story, "The Veldt." It had an eerie ending that had me baffled in what the story was trying to say. Depressing ending?yes. Well, for those who understood it.

I wish this book had a main plot and main characters, but if this novel did have just one story, then it would have lost its significance.

This Book has a really interesting and unique style to it telling 18 fascinating stories through the art work painted upon a man. The stories told deal with many things generally regarding science fiction. Many of his stories are very strange and memorable but they tend to lean toward a grim side. More then a few of his stories tend to be a little depressing.

Overall I have to say that Ray Bradbury did a great job bringing the stories to life and expressing each of the characters vividly to my mind. Also his vivid description of many of the settings could make imagine myself there and doing the things he described. Each one of his stories told of characters experiences and he told them in his own way. The stories pretained to many things many of which included Sci-Fi aspects. The stories dealt with many different things from the last minutes of a rockets crews life, the attempt of some clergymen to bring god to people who always had him or a destroyed civilizations final revenge upon it's destroyers.

There are a few stories I felt did not live up to his others but since his writing is so broad many people are likely to have enjoyed the few I didn't. Even though this is a fact it did little to lessen the overall experience this book presents to it's readers.

My Assessment is that this book is a good title to be required reading because it gives the reader a unique form of literature to experience and broaden their horizons. I say that this book is a great book especially for you Sci-Fi fans this is a great pick. The reason I only gave this a four was because although the book was great I can't help but compare it to other books particularly science fiction and I gave it a score accordingly. The score may not be a five but I would suggest to people who want to read an interesting book to pick this one up.

The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury, is a collection of eighteen short stories that are coalesced into a single, brilliant novel, which I deem as a classical thriller. The novel begins when a man encounters a mysterious stranger, whom he later discovers is "Illustrated." Woven onto the stranger's body are arcane designs that create magical stories which foretell the future. Although many of the stories are not affiliated in any way, they all brandish an underlying innuendo of an upcoming nuclear holocaust or some sort of world destruction.

Although I did not take pleasure in some of the stories in the novel because of its visionary fallacies of an Armageddon, I believe The Illustrated Man was one of the best, thought-provoking books that I have read, so far. "There's a Truth in [everything]. All parts of the Big Truth. On a certain day they'll all fit together like pieces of a jigsaw." As you can see, this novel by Ray Bradbury also conveys a sure regard to faith and all of its glory in the stories of "The Man" and "The Fire Balloons," leading us to believe that although the future brings anguish and devastation, there is a route to salvation.

Even though this novel was extremely awe-inspiring in my opinion, I think that The Illustrated Man should not be a required reading. Many students would not benefit from reading a novel that possesses such a sinister outlook on the future of the world. It may even corrupt a naive child's mind, spreading the cancer of infectious thoughts about world destruction and constant suspicion. However, I still regard Ray Bradbury as an eccentric, yet dignified genius who is genuinely unsurpassed in his title of the "greatest science fiction writer" and The Illustrated Man as a timeless classic.

this is a wonderful book. the stories are great too. i do have one complaint though. there is not a plain text edition available on kindle. what a great author passed away last night r.i.p. june 5th 2012. may his soul see the world from a more peaceful and less dystopian existence. the otherside really is more beautiful. best regards psycho headhunter number one fan dandelion wine is another favorite

The book, The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury, is one of the most interesting Sci-Fi books I have read. Bradbury truly had a vision, to send man into the far parts of space. And he helped us capture that image. Showing what it may be like on the planet Mars, or Venus. At the same time, he wrote a lot of fictional stuff. Like, robots doing our daily chores for us, or just doing stuff that we can normally do ourselves. He has captured life taken over by machines.

Who would have thought, that this book would have been such a life teacher. It has many quotes that we may hear in our everyday lives. One of my favorites in this book, talks about how we wish to be in places. When we are there, we want to be somewhere else. On page 71, the Rocket Man is talking to his son. He told his son not to become a rocket man. "I mean it," he said. "Because when you're out there you want to be here, and when you're here you want to be out there. Don't start that. Don't let it get hold of you." I love that line, because I tend to do that sometimes. Especially, if you're a Christian. We can get hooked to this world instead of heaven. That's why this line could fit me.

I think this is a good book to read. There are so many short stories, and many more quotations that could teach us about our own life. It's a good book for Sci-Fi fans, and for those who just like adventure with a moral in it. I recommend this book to everyone to pick up and read. I also gave the book a four out of five. Check it out at your local library, or better yet. Buy it here at the store.com, keep it and read it forever.

The Illustrated man I about a man who has tattoos all over his body and at night they come to life and tell stories. These stories are like a video that show what's going to happen in the future. Some of these events were horrific and some were quiet humorous but they all told of the events that were to come.

I didn't like the book much it was confusing and it was always changing settings and characters. I also disliked how every story left you in a cliffhanger. I also didn't like the fact that the book didn't have a definite climax which in my opinion is essential to a good book. I happen to like fiction books but the illustrated man was just bizarre. I don't really qualify this book as a novel. It's more like and anthology of fictional stories. I don't think it should be required reading because like I said before it's more of an anthology.

Even though I didn't like the book I do have to admit that it did have some outstanding features such as its extensive use of imadry and imagination. When I read the book I would get lost in it. It was as if I was rite there in the story and it was very good w/ the imagination.

My two favorite stories were "The Long Rain" and "Marionettes Inc."The reason I liked the long rain is because it has such a great sensory details that really actually made me feel I was on Venus with the crew. I liked Marionettes INC. because it was the only story that I found comical.

In conclusion I believe that The Illustrated Man should not be required reading. Nevertheless I still recommend it to people.

The book, The Illustrated Man is an exquisite and unique novel written by Ray Bradbury. It's about a man who has tattoos all over his body. There's a catch. The tattoos move at night to tell the future. There are eighteen stories in this book. Stories about death, war and the technology that there will be in the future.

Personally, I don't have a favorite story in the book. All of them had meaning and reached out to me. They talked about the future and I was skeptical about this at first because with all that technology it could make life so much easier and people wouldn't be able to experience the mistakes that they need in order to live their lives to the fullest. But towards the end of the story it creates war, hatred, and morality. Not that I'm for those things, but that's how the world actually goes.

"What would you do if you knew this was the last night of the world?", is my favorite quote from the book because it actually got me thinking about what I would do if I knew that the world was ending tomorrow. It got me thinking if I actually lived today to the fullest. There would be SO many things that I would not get to fulfill and so many things that I wasn't able to tell so many people. I think I liked it the most because it actually got me wondering.

I think that this book should be required reading because it contains alot of morals on life. I learned several lessons from this novel. It's hard to understand at times but definately a good read. I would reccomend this book to everyone.

The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury, is an astonishing novel that retains many meaningful messages. The novel is divided by eighteen short stories that each has totally different characters, conflicts, and solutions. I really enjoyed the way Bradbury creates each ending of the story with an ironic and unexpected idea. The stories are apparently different but throughout the reading, I discovered that these stories have one thing in common; it is a mystery. The most of the stories have a topic related to mystery, and I like most of them because they have mysterious flows and reasonable answers.

Among these amazing stories, I love "The Other Foot" and "Marionettes, Inc." In "The Other Foot," Willie Johnson once said, "The time for being fools is over. We got to be something else except fools." This quote teaches me that there is no better thing as a help to people who are desperate with our help. Helping others could be tiresome and annoying at first however that little help can be a big effect to people in desperate.

Although there are some stories that I don't agree, like "The Long Rain" and "The Exiles," The Illustrated Man should be required reading because after reading people will have an opportunity to come up with their new ideas based on their point of view. The science fiction could be a difficult reading, but I believe that most of people will agree with the novel.

Lydia (So Young) Choi

Gahr High School

I've read many of the 1 star reviews of this book. And I repeatedly told them that to enjoy any science fiction, you must suspend their disbelief. The reader must judge the truth of what happens within the scope of the world created by the author, not by the world as we know it.
Sure there are always going to be opinions and I take that for granted.

Keeping in mind that Ray Bradbury has an uncanny way of introducing and writing his works, and his works bieng VERY odd. YOu find some brutal truth in this book, it's a difficult analogy to distinguish, but as you read the book, you see that he is showing us what we, humans, are really like, and not the side that we are exceptionally proud about.

Agreeing with the other reviews, it is one of he "must-have" books, though not really considered a classic, it should be. It is not one of those books that transports you places like high fantasy. It's one of those books that you have to read and accept what is happening, then think alot about it.

I thought it was an exceptional peice of work of Science Fiction i've ever read and I enjoyed it very much, even having to face the fact that there's a bad side to us, and you can't avoid it.

Can you believe this is coming from a 14 year old? Well you better!

The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury is a monopolizing novel about a man who got tattoos from this old woman who travels the years. The tattoos that the illustrated man has tell eighteen stories about war, death, and new technology the future will have.

In my opinion, every single story tells me a moral that I can use in my life. I never liked the idea of future technology because it may make people's life easier however, at the end; it creates hates, death, and war. I may be wrong; however, those events might happen for real.

There was this one amazing quote that made me think a little bit more than others. That quote is "Because when you're out there you want to be here, and when you're here you want to be out there. Do not start that. Don't let it get hold of you." from "The Rocket Man." It tells me that he does love his family and thinks they are very special to him but not as much as the rocket, he travels together. When he is with his rocket, he misses his family and when he is with his family, he misses his rocket, the air of the space. It is just like when you are with this one thing, you get tired of someday, and eventually you go to another thing and later on, you miss the old one, and maybe goes back and forth.

I strongly disliked this book because it is mostly about death, miserable life, and war however, I strongly recommend this book to others because by reading this book, they won't make mistakes in the future.

This book is the best book i have ever read. This book entails eighteen different stories. All of the stories are really good and i liked them a lot. Even though some of the stories were broing but most of them were good-i mean really good. My favorite quote is

"Round about the cauldron fo;

In the poison'd entarails throw. . . .

Double, double, toil and trouble

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!"

That is my favorite quote because it's from a Shakespeare play called Mac Beth. It is from on e of the staories from the ILlustrated Man called " The Exiles," which are also one of my favorite stories. However, i won't tell what it is about since it is up to you to find out that this is a good book.

If anyone says that this book is bad don't listen to him or her because this book is really good. The one other story i like the best is called, "Zero Hour" because it is about an invasion by alens so that's why i liked it. If you want to find out more about the future, rockets, planets, or space this is the book for you. The different stoies in here are mostly abou the future and outer space. If you're a teeanger, you should read this book it has the best eighteen stories adn it si really well written. If you want to find out more about this bok you should get up and hurry, get u and get this book and as i said it's a really good book. Well hope you enjoy this book when you get it.

Not that Bradbury's work needs any more reviewing, but this is one of my favorite short story collections. While the stories themselves are fantastic as always, the narrative which ties together the book is the most intriguing story of them all. The end of this book always makes me shiver, just a little, a power no other author has over his craft and readers.

Second only to Fahrenheit 451, this book should be in classrooms, libraries, and homes everywhere.

Are you interested in science fiction novels? Do you find yourself always wondering what the future will or could be like? If you answered yes to either of these questions The Illustrated Man is the book for you! The story starts off in a park in Wisconsin and we are first introduced to the “illustrated man”. His body is covered in beautifully detailed illustrations that we’re put on him by a witch. Because of the witch’s evil powers the man’s tattoos have the ability to see the future.

One of my favorite quotes from the book (which was actually a question) had to be: “What would you do if you knew that this was the last night of the world?” When I read that line I honestly stopped and thought, what would I do? There we’re many other things that happened throughout the book that made you stop and think as well, but you’ll just have to read the book and find them for yourself!

I definitely believe that this book should be required reading, especially for kids of my age. Why? Mainly because it gets us thinking about things we wouldn’t normally have thought about. Things like the quote I mentioned above. It’s not a pleasant thought for many people, but it’s interesting to wander outside your normal thoughts. This book should also be required reading because, well just because it’s a really good book. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it when I first got it, but the more I read the more interested I became.

The book The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury is about a man who has 18 different "illustrations" tattooed on his body. Each story is unique in its own way. Most of the stories deal with outer space, planets such as Mars and Venus. At night each illustration moves and displays its fascinating, interesting story about the future.

I don't have a favorite quote from the book, but I do have a favorite story. My favorite story was "Marionettes Inc". It was my favorite story because it kept you guessing throughout the whole story. The ending was unexpected and shocking. When I read the last page of the short story it made me want to know what would happen next! I was wishing Mr. Bradbury had done a "Marionettes Inc. 2"! I definitely enjoyed every second of the story. Personally I think it was one of the most attention grasping stories out of the 18 stories.

I do not think this book should be required to read for school because it is not a genre that everyone is interested in. At times the stories were interesting and made you want to turn the pages to find out what would happen next to the characters. But, honestly at times I felt like there was too much death. It seemed like all the stories would display negativity, gruesome deaths, and OUTER SPACE!! The majority of the short stories were about Mars and aliens. So, if you're science-fiction fan, then The Illustrated Man is the book for you!!!!! :)

I need to preface this review by stating that I love The Martian Chronicles - it's one of my favorite books. I was excited to read The Illustrated Man, because hey, more Bradbury.
I'm pretty disappointed. I can't generalize because there are exceptions, but it seems as if each story starts the same. Each seems to have the same characters - moody, thoughtful male leads, violent male or robotic villains, and two or three fat, clingy, ditsy women with too much makeup thrown in for good measure. Oh, yeah, the wise martian, the racist, and the sprockets and gears and springs and other robotic miscellanea that made Bradbury tick. Sound familiar? I've almost written a Bradbury short story here - I've covered all the main points. Just let me include the word "rocket" a few hundred times, and some beautifully crafted poetic imagery, and I'm done.
I wound up skipping stories because I've heard it all before. He even re-wrote a few stories that appear in other books.
Come on, man, you could write better than this.
Now I just need to end this review with me staring up at the stars wondering about something and we're good.

The Illustrated Man is an exemplary novel. It contains mixtures of everything-starting with irony to imaginations then to very descriptive and vivid scenes. Every tale expresses its own sense of character and reveals to me what the author depicted. I felt pure bliss when I read each and every anecdote because the descriptions were so enthralling and alluring. The novel was enchanting and I was able to paint every vision as keen and vibrant as the inks that permanently stained the body.

The entire novel held an immense amount of powerful passages. Out of those provocative quotations, my all-time favorite one was: '...the pungent odor of Jupiter on a returning father's clothing." Even though I read this phrase over numerous of times, I can never grow tired of reading it. Every time I read it, I experience a new sensation-each time the picture gets more vivid and vivid. Bradbury describes everything ardently and keenly; it gives the readers a yearning to read more.

In the world, there are plethora of breathtaking novels and books. Nevertheless, there is not a novel as exhilarating as The Illustrated man. As I mentioned above, each and e very part of the book is filled with endless descriptions that capture the readers' attention throughout the whole book. Once you commence to read this novel, you will incessantly thirst and crave for more. I recommend this invigorating novel to everyone.

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury is a book full of interesting short stories. Each story is a continuation into a new story, which keeps the reader wanting more. Ray Bradbury has a large variety of topics in which he covers in his short stories " The Other Foot" and "The Man" are short stories that talked about racism and hints around religion, respectively. "The Other Foot" talks about the inequality of black people and how the Lord saw to it that the other race suffered in the end. "The Man" talks about a higher being where the moral is there is always something or someone better than you.
The Illustrated Man should be required reading in schools because every story had a moral behind it. And people need to know what good morals really are. This book is good reading for schools because it carries different spectrums of the world, and it can also help kids with their imagination and thinking what can become of the world in the future. This book talks about religion, racism, the future, and etc. Children and teens should know, hear, and see different things of the world today. And all the stories are well set up where you can follow and you are able to learn something from it.

The Illustrated Man is a wonderful but slightly confusing novel. Ray Bradbury made the future seem so advanced, but then again very dangerous. In other words, human behavior has not changed very much according to this book. War is not a thing of the past. In fact, it's worse than ever. Our creations will end up getting the best of us and when it comes down to human life, there will be no such thing.

As I read some of these intriguing short stories, it reminded me of current and past events. Death, death, and a little more death can be seen everywhere. Whether it is from old age, disease, or in some cases, nuclear warheads: death will always be our shadow. Human nature is inevitable and nothing we build will ever change our ways of living. Some one will always get greedy, someone will always want a little more.

My honest opinion about whether or not this book should be required to read (this may sound childish) is no. When I think of summer vacation, I don't think of work. My sugarcoated opinion however slightly differs. I still do not think that it should be required to read because reading a book about mankind's tedious path to doom, to me, foreshadows upcoming events in my English class. Do not get me wrong, the book has its moments, but it's just not the thing I want to read during or before school.

Even though I am usually not the type to read sci-fi stories I can honestly say I enjoyed The Illustrated Man, it gave me a different perspective of what the future might turn out to be and what we might have to reconsider in order to sustains the human race. The author, Ray Bradbury combined eighteen various stories, which might had had a morbid conclusion but left a clear message to be learned and probably live up to. The eighteen stories focused on space travel and the changing human mentality aided by the growing technology. The stories played on a man whose skin served as a screen for the illustrations and their stories.

Out of the eighteen stories I read it would be hard to just pick one favorite story. "Zero Hour" and "The Fire Balloons" I found to be a little bit more realistic in some ways, while giving an enchanting spell of suspense. Ray Bradbury has an excellent way with words, leaving many phrases worth quoting. One of my favorite quotes was "And what happens next is up to all of us," from "The Other Foot."

Sometimes books are not really worth reading, but I personally believe that The Illustrated Man is not one of them. The book has many life lessons that some of us need to learn and shows us that being naïve may turn out to be a problem. It is also an excellent opportunity to try different genres that you are not accustomed to read.

I really liked The Illustrated Man. I thought it was a really interesting book full of surprises and suspense. I really liked how the author used irony in the chapters. Although I did enjoy reading the book, I felt that the author used many feelings of sadness or depression. For example, most of the stories ended with the characters dying or not having a happy ending. My favorite quotation from the book came from the chapter Marionettes Inc.. It was a quote that Smith stated from an old poem; "Love will fly if held too tightly, love will die if held too tightly." I really liked that quote because when I thought about it and how it related to the story, I realized how true it was.

I think that this book should be required reading for incoming Sophomores. This book is very unique and teaches some really good life lessons. It also keeps you interested and want to keep reading to find out what happens next. I really enjoyed this book because when it was getting towards the end of each chapter, I would think that I had the ending all figured out, but then the author surprises me with a totally different ending than what I expected. I especially liked that at the end of the book when the author talked about the Illustrated Man choking the other man to death. It was a very interesting book that should be required.

The Illustrated Man is a science fiction novel that I have currently read. It is one of the most unique and creative science fiction stories ever written. This novel contains eighteen different stories each filled with action and a world far beyond our own. It takes the reader into an outer space adventure, but has real characters that many of us can relate to. I found it very interestng and stimulating to read and I was on the verge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next more then once. I had five stories that I absolutely loved but all eighteen were amazing.

Now you may think summer is a time to relax and escape the tortures and stress of homework and school and I don't blame you. I was just like that and couldn't believe it when I was asked to read a story over my summer vacation. But, since this was an assigned and mandatory assignment I did it anyway. Now, after finishing the novel, I must say I am glad I pushed myself to read a book that really wasn't that long after all. It was something I enjoyed and would do again if I had to. So, I would agree that this should be a required piece of reading for all who are interested. After all, it's not a lot to read and you never know if you may like it or not. Taking a chance on a book doesn't hurt anyone so I encourage everyone to give this novel a try.

The Illustrated Man leads the reader into the premises of the past's perspective of the future. As expected, Ray Bradbury created a quilt of 18 dark and chilling yet delightful stories that leaves the reader astonished and wondering how close this forecast of the future really is to the present world. This novel begins with a man meeting an "illustrated" man. This "illustrated" man has magical future-telling stories woven into his body. Bradbury creates captivating and vivid images that leaves an imprint in the reader's mind and thoughts.

In the beginning, I was hesitant about reading this book because I do not find science-fiction stories to be enjoyable. Instead, I found a book that I deem to be engaging and pleasant to read. This book contained no particular quotes that stood out to me, but the ironic story "Marionettes Inc." made me think about the possible problems and situations that are able to appear with the increase of technology. Though The Illustrated Man was an overall enjoyable book, I do not look too fondly to the menacing outlook of the future created by Bradbury. I believe that the Illustrated Man should not be required to be read. Thought this book contains many lessons that are required to be learned, it may create thoughts of depression and uninterrupted distrust.

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury is by far the most interesting book I have been required to read in the scienece fiction department. At first I thought this novel would be boring and difficult to interpret but I was wrong. This novel was in fact alot more enjoyable and easier to read than I had expected. Although, I must admit, some of the short stories were indeed boring because it was either hard to understand what was going on or it just didn't hold my interest.

"What would you do if you knew this was the last night of the world?" Pg. 90 This was my favorite quote because when I read it, it made me stop and think. What would I do? There would be alot that I would want to do and alot of things I would want to tell others. I like this quote best because it held my interest the most.

When reading this novel, I highly suggest there be no distractions around because it is easy to get lost. Also I had to and suggest to really focus on what's happening because there may be some stories that may not hold your attention as much and cause your mind to drift. I think this book should be required to read because anyone could benefit from learining a few lessons that you get from this novel.Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel and the fact that it wasn't that long made me enjoy it even more.

'The Illustrated Man' is a collection of futuristic stories by Ray Bradbury. Although the stories stand by themselves, most are set in the near future when Mars is colonized by humans. The stories typically have a humanistic/social angle rather than much in the way of action, although a couple fit decidedly in the horror genre. It is these futuristic horror stories that were most enjoyable.

Bottom line: a hit and miss collection of early science fiction stories that, I suppose, might be best left to Ray Bradbury fans. Weak recommendation.

The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury is an intriguing novel about a man who has tattoos all over his body. The tattoos are not ordinary tattoos. These tattoos are unique. The tattoos have the ability to move. Not only do they move, they foretell the future as well. The novel contains eighteen short stories regarding what the future holds. These stories are flooded with war, death, and new technology the future will bring.

Each story is holds a moral or lesson that we could all use in our daily lives. Technology makes life easier but it also encourages wars, death, and evil behavior. My favorite quotation comes from "The Rocket Man." "Because when you're out there you want to be here, and when you're here you want to be out there. Don't start that. Don't let it get hold of you." I agree with this quotation because when I am at home, I want to be somewhere else. When I am somewhere else, I want to be at home.

I recommend this novel to people who like reading about science fiction and futuristic novels. The book is not always easy so you would have to read some stuff over. Once you get what you are reading, the book becomes really great and interesting. Not all the stories are as interesting as the others. Some stories are captivating while others could have been more exciting.

My first Bradbury book was "Something Wicked This Way Comes", which I read for English class as a sophomore. Upon finishing it, I immediately rushed out to the nearest Half-Price bookstore and bought a truckload of his books. After reading Dandelion Wine, Fahrenheit 451, and Death Is a Lonely Business (all of which I loved), I settled down to read this one. And although I read it cover to cover in one afternoon, I felt as though I had been enlightened.
Granted, this is Bradbury in his so-called "Forties Period", in which most of his stories dealt with killer babies, end-of-the-world scenarios, and general all-around nihilism. But, boy, is it fun! Personal favorites are "The Man", "The Highway", "The Other Foot", and "The Long Rain". I don't happen to like "The Veldt" all that much, but that's just me. But my favorite of all of these is "The Last Night On Earth", which actually made me smile and say, "aww...". My least favorite is "The Exiles", which for some reason didn't sit well with me at all, which I think is just because I'm a booklover (just in case I haven't already made that clear). And I happen to love the framing story, although I could see the end coming.
Overall, 5/5

Perhaps one of the most interesting books I have ever read, The Illustrated Man is the captivating story describing eighteen illustrations inhibited on a man's body. Each of these eighteen tales are so interesting that you won't want to put the book down, and that is an honest opinion. I was hesitant at first about enjoying this book, mainly because I have never read a science fiction novel before, but the use of science is almost unnoticeable. To explain, a lesson seems to be just as easily and commonly learned on unknown Mars as it is on our familiar Earth. For those science-shy readers like myself, the first tale might seem odd since it involves futuristic machines; but as the story progresses, a living city on Venus is nothing new or weird to read about.

You would not have to ask twice if I recommend this book. I definitely believe The Illustrated Man should be required reading as well for the reason that it opens your eyes to distinct styles of writing. Many books have become classics due to their captivating storylines, lovable characters, suspenseful climaxes, and breath-taking endings, but this book should be considered a classic for its uniqueness alone.

In conclusion, reading can take you anywhere, and Ray Bradbury definitely proves it.

"The Illustrated Man" consists of some of Ray Bradbury's many short-science-fiction-stories. While the first couple of stories may interest you, you will later find yourself bored by repeated subjects, settings, and characters.
Ray Bradbury tends to write excessively about space, so if you are a space fanatic, this is the book for you. Otherwise, you will soon realize Bradbury's style, and constantly you will find yourself knowing what will happen on the next page.
Bradbury's imagination and vivid descriptions are at times interesting, however. At times his writing style can get to be irritating. True potential, but not a thoughtfully put-together collection of Bradbury's works.

The Illustrated Man is about man with illustrations all over his body that move and each one tells a story which make up the eighteen chapters in the book. Every story is different some more interesting than the others. I thought stories like "The Veldt", "The Highway", "The Other Foot", and "The Rocket Man" had interesting plots and conflicts. The character developments were captivating and so were the conflicts.

I thought that this novel is one of the most intriguing science fiction books I have read. Although I didn't like or agree with some stories like "the Last Night of The World" because who would actually not panic and have a normal day with their family knowing that they are going to die with in 24 hours. "The Fire Balloons" was ridiculous because that the priests thought they have to preach Christianity to Martians but what if they don't believe in it and what if they have their own religions and the priests should not have the right convert the Martians. The Martians should have the right to choose to believe Christianity.

Although I am a huge fan of science fiction I honestly think that this book should not be on the required reading list because I found this book mundane and I felt Bradbury had to many stories about Martians.

This book definitely had some interesting ideas about space and the future. Some of the ideas were really futuristic and I wondered if they could really happen, but the stories had main points that were obvious through the storyline. I loved how Bradbury used these futuristic stories to bring out important issues like racism and greed. In "The Other Foot" he showed how carried away people can get with technology; they started killing the other and basically destroyed Earth. He also showed that we can always get over our differences when the blacks showed compassion to the white man.

My favorite story would probably be "The Fire Balloons" because the aliens turned out to be good and the Fathers had planned to minister to them, but had an important lesson taught to them instead. I wonder if that's really what aliens look like, or if they exist. If they did exist,would we look like them when we landed on their planet? Would they be violent or nice?

I liked the way Bradbury wrote the book with individual stories, because he made you think about the meaning of each story. If he had used chapters that related to each other, we would think less about different ideas and think more about the same idea. This book made me want to read his other books. I highly recommend it.

I think this book was great for me because I'm interested on science fiction and some fantasy; and i think this book is great for that genre. I rated this book with four stars because of my personal opinions. I think this book is great to be required reading because you get to learn more about the short story structures and the styles that the author used. For example, using multiple points of view and changing narrators to give impact on the whole story. The way that the author described his ideas through the illustrations or tattoo in this book was great and fascinating. To me, it was fun to read all different kinds of short stories which mainly focuses on similar topic and that you get to learn great lessons, which relates to your life.
But there were some parts that I really disliked about. Because the book was written in short stories, it was difficult to find the turning points or the actual conflict of the book, but it was still noticeable about the main idea of the book, which the author wanted the readers to find out. The book has a lot of unique stories that teaches you a lot of lessons.
This book is great and I recommend this book to be required reading.

This fine collection of short stories is my favorite by Bradbury. Bradbury writes humanistic stories with a poet's heart, using the sci-fi genre to place people into circumstances not otherwise possible in the here and now. By putting people into alien surroundings, Bradbury can render the human essence - sometimes noble and other times ignoble. Each of the stories comes alive in turn and exhibits a different aspect of humanity.

I thought that the illistrated man was a very unique book and i don't necessarely mean that in a good way either. It was too much science fiction, and that's not my preference when it comes to books. One thing this book did have that i liked a lot was that it had some very good morrals, that we could all learn from. My favorite quote from the book was in the epilogue,"I stood there in the moonlight,afraid that the windor the stars might move and wake the monstrous gallary at my feet." That quote was my favorite because it shows suspence and fear.Which I kind of liked.

I wouln't reacommend this book to any of my friends unless they were really into space, technology, and the future. Basically if they really weren't into science fiction like me it wouldn't be a good book for them. But i do kind of think that this book should be required for students to read because one thing this book shows is how much us humans rely on technology and how its become a big factor in about all of our lives. Which can have a bad outcome. Overall i think that The Illistrated Man was an okay book,nothing that great, but nothing that sucked either.

The Illustrated man by Ray Bradbury. The novel was a brilliant novel which focused on a man who got tattoos all over his back . The tattoos moved and told there own story, and each one had its own story to tell. It focused on technology , rockets, and the future.

The stories in the book that I enjoyed where The Veldt, The long rain , and Kaleidoscope. I enjoyed these stories because to me they had allot of adventure in them. These stories in particular, in my opinion , make you wonder about allot about things on different planets , and in different places.

A favorite quote of mine was "This is Christ, in all his glory" from "Fire balloons". I liked this quote because it gives out hope. It gave hope to the men in the story. This quote gave them the courage to expand there ideas to others. It could also give hope to us readers.

I believe that the book should be required for reading because it has many morals to the story. It is a science fiction book , and complicating to understand and times, but its worth the reading. Many lessons can be learned . I myself, enjoyed the book and do recommend it.

Overall The Illustrated Man was an interesting book. It kept me in with fantastic details of the setting. Such as in the story called "The Veldt" where Bradbury described the smells and colors of the environment. Also when i came to the end of a story i ended up thinking about it for long periods of time even after im done reading for the day. For example like in the story called "The Rocket Man". This story made me think, is space so amazing that a man would be somewhat addicted to it and basically leave his family behind for it.

Actually i do have a favorite quote. Its from the story called "Kaleidoscope" and it goes "Did all dying people feel this way, as if they had never lived?". It made realize what it would be like to drift in space all alone in space knowing that your going to die and only to be thinking about how complete your life was.

Well the book was good for summer reading but i think it would be even better if it was read during the school year because some parts of the book was very confusing and seems like it would be better if a teacher was there for help.

by Arnel R.

The Illustrated man is a book containing eighteen stories, which will completely change the way that you perceive things. This book is unlike any other book I have ever read. It combines problems that we face today and problems that we may face in the future. The book showed me that more people are losing faith in god everyday and are starting to lie, cheat, and steal more often. All eighteen stories contained vivid descriptions, which made the stories very easy to visualize.

Each story had its own unique perspective to how everything works, and left you asking questions like how do you know that something exists when you can't see it. Even though you know that it does, there is still no proof that you can keep with you.

The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury, was a spectacular book, especially for those interested in science fiction novels. This book truly was the greatest science fiction novel that I have ever read. I think this book should be recommended reading, not just because this book is truly awe-inspiring but also because it can help people all around the world think in new ways.

I thought this book was pretty good, since it was the first sci-fi book I actually read in my life.There were some chapters I liked because of the imagery that Ray Bradbury put into his book.For example I saw the parents getting eaten by the lions in the veldt. I also saw the men getting sliced and diced by "The City". A very detailed scene was in "The fox and the forest", where Mr. Simms was ran over by Williams's car.

My favorite quote came from the chapter "The fox and the forest", and it was " The rabbits may hide this forest, said a voice, but a fox can always find them". I like this qoute because the tone of the qoute being said give a mood that the person might be a serial killer. I would only require this book for reading in the summer, because it is not a book with a big plot to follow, which makes it easier for a kid to follow along. Something wierd went wrong with my book because I found a couple mistakes, or at least I thought they were mistakes. But other than that I thought it was a great book to follow along since it had mini stories that tied into a big story.

If you are into suspense and you are looking for a good thrill that will keep you reading, you should read, "The Illustrated Man". This novel consists of 18 amazing stories that capture your attention and keep you wondering what will happen next. It is a science fiction novel that I thought would be boring but came out to be really interesting. There were many stories that really captured my attention because I can relate my life to it.

As for a favorite quote I did not necessarily have one. But I did have 5 favorite stories, although all 18 were wonderful. I particularly liked the following 5 stories, "The Rocket Man", "The Rocket", "The Veldt", "The Fox and The Forest", and "Marionettes Inc."

This book is interesting and really captured my attention. I recommend everyone to read it. When I was first told i would have to do a project over summer i figured it would be some boring book. But once I started to read the book i really liked it and I did not want the book to end. So I hope all of you will give this book a chance and read it, I will guarantee you will enjoy it.

The Illustrated Man was a pretty good book. To me, I had to be in the mood to read it because im not into science fiction. This book is about a man with a whole bunch of tatoos all over him. These tattoos aren't the regular tattoos the ones you see on people. These ones move and have a story to tell. There were eighteen stories on his body that have morals to life.

My favorite quote in the book was from the story "The Last Night Of The World," "What would you do if you knew that this was the last night of the world?" This quote was my favorite because it made me excited of what the next story was going to be about. I also think about the end of the world on my own time, so this quote caught my interest. It also made me wonder what if i knew it was the last night of the world, making me want to answer the question and think about it.

I think this book should be required reading. This book isn't that bad if you give it a try. It also teaches students morals in the stories. When you read this book your mind also gets to exercise with the kinds of stories in it.

I think that the book The Illustrated Man is a fun book to read. It has many interesting short stories prognosticate things about the future. The author Ray Bradbury uses many descriptive words, that describe sorrow, happiness and suspense. By reading each story, the reader gets the sense that he/she is part of the story and not just a person reading a normal story book. The story begins with the narrator meeting the illustrated man. The illustrated man reveals to him the truth of his illustrated images, telling him that each colorful picture tells a story. Unable to hold his curiosity, the narrator watches it move.

Stories about the future were told on his back, they were stories that taught people to watch for their actions because it might lead them to a destructive future. Each story has it's unique meaning and significance. They are great lessons to be learn. The book is not only fun to read but it is also warnseveryone reading it to becareful for each step that we take in our life. Every little step can change not only your future but the future of others too.

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradburry was interesting. not near the quality of farenheit 451, but still not bad. another series of short stories, this one was displayed as predictions of the future. They were pretty good, and if you want to read short stories, i prefered them over one more for the road. very easy to read and understand. Most of them were a little chilling. They definitely gave a view of Bradbury's love of horror. Ranging from space travel to an african safari in your home, this book covered just about every futuristic thought.

The Illustrated Man is a book that is consisted of 18 different short science fiction stories. The 18 short stories are illustrated on a mans body. The stories become alive at night and tell the future. The stories mainly deal with hatred, death, and technology.

I didn't exactly have a favorite quote from this book, though there were some that got my attention that i liked. One quote that I liked was "Because when you're out there you want to be here, and when you're here you want to be out there. Don't start that. Don't let it get hold of you."(p.106) I liked that quote because I can relate to it.

Some of the stories that stood out to me that i liked were "The Veldt", "The Other Foot", and "The Rocket Man". Those stories had interesting conflicts and showed the nature of human kind. Even though the book was good it had a lot of stories about space and martians and the stories didn't exactly relate to one another but each story did have a good moral. Some stories were more interesting that others but I recommend this book to others.

If science fiction intrests you, then The Illustrted Man, by Ray Bradbury is the perfect book for you. It tells stories of space, rockets, and futursitic concepts. It makes you think "what if" and uses very detailed desrciptions. I felt that this was an excellent book. Not only did all 18 stories intrest me, but I also learned many life lessons. There is something to learn or remember in each of the stories, no matter how random, or how short.

I also feel that this should be a required book for the above reasons. This book is something that could help anyone that reads it. For instance, im not a science fiction person, at all. But to my surprise, I was able to learn a lot from this book. My favorite quote from the book would have to be "My word is my proof," said the mayor. I love this quote because it talks about God and how the people in one town had faith and believed in him and were able to get healed, while another man stood there looking for physical proof and because he couldnt find any, wasn't able to believe that he was there.

I had to read this book as a summer assignment in my upcoming English II Honors class. The book started when a man meets The Illustrated Man and they have a talk about the illustrations on his body. The man begins to watch as the illustrations come to life and 18 stories come to pass as well as the mans own future.

I found this book interesting but way too morbid. About 90% of the people in this book died horrible deaths. I was inclined to one particular story in "The Illustrated Man" called The Exiles, where my favorite quote "I find our situation amusing." by Mr. Bierce is found. Other than that I found it to be not of my particular taste. The basis of the book where almost every story had to deal somewhat with space was good. I would probably recommend this to people who find space travel very interesting or who are very interested in science fiction.

I don't believe that this book should be assigned to students to read because it's just a little bit too morbid and alot of people don't want to read about constant death.

Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man was a journey into the future. It gave us ideas on what the world would soon become. It dealt with real life issues such as, war, nuclear bombs, and death. It explained to us that the way we are living now will soon cause the world to be a far worse place then it should be.

Ray Bradbury brought its reader to places other than earth. He brought us to Venus, Mars, and put us in the middle of a meteor shower. His imagination reached new heights that many authors are not capable of reaching.

The Illustrated Man was a sensational read that encouraged your mind to think pass the boundaries of logic and into fantasies. Ray Bradbury wrote in a way that gave the illustrated man life. You could see the stories unfold and take place. You could see the parents die in "The Veldt" and feel the constant rain hit you on Venus in "The Long Rain". That is why The Illustrated Man should be required reading because it worked your mind in a way that was educational and interesting.

by: Jade Green

The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury is a novel broken up into eighteen miniature stories. The novel starts as "the illustrated man" is sleeping in a park. Throughout the night the illustrations on his body are creating stories. Although none of the stories are related, they all have a very cynical attitude towards humans and each with an interesting ending.

Ray Bradbury is a great writer. While reading The Illustrated Man, I could always visualize everything that was going on and the mood was always set. This is one of those books that will have you reading throughout the night. I was astounded how well Ray Bradbury was able to create a mood within very few pages. Not once throughout the book did I feel lost or unwilling to finish a certain story. Each one had their own atmosphere, and each kept me reading until I was finished. Although there were not direct quotes that stood out to me, I really liked the story "No Particular Night or Morning."

I believe that this novel should be on the required reading list. Besides the fact that it is one of the greatest Science Fiction novels I have ever read, it also helps the reader think in new ways. Many of the stories have the reader thinking about choices in life they have made. Questions such as what one would do if the world was going to end and what would happen if a different race was treated so bad that they just left. Besides this, The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury is a great book to read.

this was my first ray bradbury novel i have ever read and after reading a few of his others...I saw this is the one that makes the most sense..the others were just plain confusing. Anyways, this book is about man with tattoos that come to life and tell stories about the future...its a pretty good book and you should check it out. Don't stop reading after the first story; it's a little demented (to me) but it's still great and i loved it.

Although it's not his best work, it is certainly up there. This book is as twisted, thought provoking and ironic as any other of Bradbury's work. This book is an intricate entanglement of carefully concocted stories that range from creepy to depressing to simply wonderful. The only problem is that after awhile you start to guess the end and that's very unlike Bradbury. I recommend it for everyone...Not just adults.

The Illustrated Man is really unlike any book I have ever read. Because it is not just one continous story, the plot is always changing dramatically.At the end of each story you are usually left hanging as to what ends up happening exactly, leaving you with vague ideas and room to use your imagination, keep you thinking, and hungry for more.

As thrilling as the book was however, I found it increadably disconcerting. Many othe the stories were frightening, involving death in various ways, and people filled with such uncertainty to the point of doubting their own existence.Such as in the story 'No Particular Night or Morning' where the character Hitchcockthinks that if he can't see something then it can't exist.

Despite how the book made me feel it has some good morals that can be learned from and used in life. The Illustrated Man makes readers think and consider how life may be if we take things for granted, and don't take care of what we have. Therefore I think it should be required reading for school

Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, and I must say The Illustrated Man is one of the greatest books I have truly ever read. It is about an odd man, with tattoos all over his body, but there's a catch; each tattoo pertains to a tale forecasting the future. Ray Bradbury's creativity, imagination, and unique style of writing took me to a whole new realm. The suspense in this book leaves you hanging in thin air, pondering and allowing yourself to use your own imagination. Each story has its share of excitement, morals, and ethics portraying human nature & society. Though a science fiction, this book gives a new sense of realism. Bradbury's stories teach us that anything is possible to happen in the future, but we as human beings have greater control over it. This fascinating novel shows how we can bring destruction and death to the brighter side of life.

Some stories were better than others, but that's in my perspective. One of my favorite stories would have to be "Kaleidoscope." It makes you wonder, when you're faced with death eye to eye, what will you think of the life you lived then?

I highly recommend this book, especially for school. In comparison to other books we are assigned to read, this one is very different and can spark your interest very easily; it deals with the complexity of the human mind. This book will surely captivate you as it did to me.

The Illustrated Man is about a man who is cursed with tatoos that tell the story of the future. In this book, the super technological future is in the 1990's. Most of the stories have to do with space travel and science fiction.

The Illustrated Man is a terrific book. I am glad I read it this summer. There is a mix of action suspense and history in the book. I would give it a 9.5 out of 10. The only thing holding it back from a perfect 10 is that it wasn't consistent. There would be a very good, high-paced, action or suspense story followed by a story that was, sad to say, boring. None the less, the overall book was great and it showed a sense of imagination to let your mind travel.

Though The Illustrated Man was a good book, it wouldn't be necessary to read in schools. It isn't a classic and I wouldn't put in the ranks of To Kill a Moking Bird by Harper Lee or I know Why th Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angeleu. Plus, the book focuses on too many different subjects.

The Illustrated Man is filled with fascinating stories and morals that we all can learn from. Ray Bradbury has put much thought into his stories' themes such as love, hate, anger, regret, and most of all, hope. I was caught inside the author's descriptions as i read endlessly through the book. Even though the multiple stories are short, every character has personally bonded with me.

There are many quotes in the book which would move every reader personally. In my opinion, one quote stood out among the others. "Love will fly if held too lightly, love will die if held too tightly." At first, the quote was hard to believe, but as I read on in the story, I believed more and more in what the author wished to tell the readers.

As a person that has taken this book closely to heart, I highly suggest this book to be a required reading item in schools. The morals that are taught in this novel should be wide-spread across the globe and throughout time.

The book is a good read with the short stories and the relevance to today's world is striking is some of those stories. The stories are mainly from the late 40's and early 50's and show a haunting look at what could be. There are, however, some stories that do drag and really don't hold the readers attention, but, thankfully, these stories are few and far between.

Overall, the book is a great read and has excellent re-reading potential.

I think the Illustrated Man is a good book to read over the summer. I thought the stories were quite interesting but a little too childish, but as I kept reading on i thought it had good morals and good hooks to keep you reading. It could also could widen your imagination. You could also make a picture of what might happen in the future by reading this book. Most of the stories are taking place in the future and informs you about these great machines.

I think Ray Bradbury did a brilliant job on a unigue story format by taking a story and making the reader find out and keep reading. My favorite story was the "The Rocket Man" because i really enjoyed the story and I couldnt put it down. I definetly would recommend for you to read this book because you would enjoy like I did. First I thought this was an inappriopriate book to read for sophomore english but after I read the book I definelty think it is worth reading.

This book is fabulous! Never since my early childhood did a book influence my life. I enjoyed the wide variety of main characters, each with their own faults and virtues. It was very easy to link these characters to my own life and catch a glimpse of what obstacles may be in my future. Also, I like the fact that it was easy and imaginative. Most of the stories contain a twist that kept me in suspense until the very end. Those complaining about lenght have nothing to fear because the words are easy so reading long paragraphs can even take under a minute to complete.

I recommend this novel for required reading because this novel contains many purposeful themes. Unfortunately, I cannot put my favorite meaningful quote here because it spoils a story but it changed my life! I saw how miserable a man became and I realized that the way he led his life is almost like mine; I did not want to share his depressing fate.

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury was a very interesting science fiction book. When by ninth grade english teacher told me that I had to read a science fiction book, I thought that it was going to be boring. This book was very interesting and also very easy to understand. Bradbury taught me from this book that life is never easy and there is going to be many struggles, but you just have to get through them. I really enjoyed this book.

I think that this book should be required reading, because many students think that science fiction books are not interesting. But, many students never take the time to read a science fiction book. The Illustrated Man also teaches a lot of great points that could be used in life. Ray Bradbury taught me that there will be stuggles in life, but you just have to get through them. I think this book should be required reading and I that overall this book was really good.

I really really enjoyed this book, it is one of my favourites. The stories inside were very shocking and unique and thought provoking too. It is not your normal futuristic book about the future with its gadgets and high technology and robots that seem impossible, this is a creative but rather realistic book too. I especially enjoyed "Kaleidoscope" as it was rather touching and sad and after reading that, I highlighted a phrase inside about some people having only dreams when they die and they die unhappily, while others have real memories, so they are able to die without regrets.
All in all, I think this book is fantastic, a must-read!

To me this book was a really good book. I like how it had all kinds of different stories in it. It was really interesting because pne of the stories was about a tattoo artist and his tattoo were based one what the person life would be about. Ilike his style of writting to. He showed good tone and mood in all his stories.

One of my favorite quotes in the book is in the story called The Rocket Man and the fater says "Dont be a rocket man." I know its short but it mean a lot because he said when your out here you want to be out there and when your out there you want to be out here.

What i didn't like about the book was some of the stories were to confusing and to me and my opinion some were to boring. Like the last couple of stories were not all the intersting. I rally wasn't into them. Also my opinion is that it should not be mad for kids to readaround the nations.

The Illustrated Man is an exciting science fovction book, filled with many short stories, one of my favorite stories in the book is the "Rocket Man," a young boy named James finds out what it's like to be an astonaunt. A boy who never gets the chanced to see his father, but James heard about his fathers conflicts with his job and his family. Another story I have enjoyed is "Kaleidiscope," this is where Applegate, a young farm boy, is looking through a kaleidiscope. He eventually finds a shipgoing down in space. You have lto pay very close attention to the book because it does get a little confusing. I would just recommend this book to serious readers and who are atleast 13 years old. This book klis filled kwith conflicts, such as "Vedle," a daycare center goes bad, bytaking the lives of young babies, find out what happens yourself. I gave this book a four and a half stars, because it was very confusing, but fun. So if you get the chance to read a good book, read this book.I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

The book "The Illustrated Man", by Ray Bradbury is a book of many lessons and themes. "The Illustrated Man consists of many shorts stories, each having their own theme. Most of the stories take place in the future and shows the reader a glimpse of how the future can be. Yes I recommend this book because we can relate the book to our life.

"The Illustrated Man" does not just predict our future, but also shows what can happen because of human nature such as greediness and selfishness. It shows that these actions may lead to the death of loved ones or yourself. An example in the book is in the story, "The Veldt", when the two children Peter and Wendy do not want their parents to take away the nursery room so they tricked them to go inside and the parents were murdered by lions. Therefore, these are the reasons why I recommend this book.

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. A MUST READ BOOK! This book is filled with so much imagination, creative characters and unique plots, that you will find yourself in a whole new world.

The book consists of 18 short stories, each different, but tied together to form one amazing novel. The stories are told under a night sky by tattoos on the body of an Illustrated Man. These stories are so unique and interesting you will not be able to put the book down.

These stories in particular, The Veldt, Marionettes Inc, and Zero Hour make you wonder where technology and the world will be in the years to come. These stories made me wonder if there really is life on Mars, or if it really does rain on Venus.

This novel is one of the best science fiction novels I have ever read and should definitely be put on the must read list!

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury was a very unique novel. It is not like any other book. The short stories can relate to our life because it talks about selfishness, greed, and racism. I enjoyed reading this novel even though it was science fiction. This book contains a lot of imagery and scenery, which made this novel exciting. I liked this book because I read a lot of unexpected things, which made it more interesting.

My favorite quote was from the chapter, " The Veldt." "Children are carpets, they should be stepped on occasionally." This quote is true because parents who let their children get their own way, may become spoiled. If parents let their children take advantage of them, it will become a habit and they can get out of control. Children should be taught at a young age and should be raised properly.

I think this book should be required reading because there were many themes in the novel we all can learn from. Ray Bradbury's novel is filled with his imagination, which can take you on an adventure.

The Illustrated Man is an interesting book to say the least. Throughout the entire compilation of 18 short stories Ray Bradbury constantly shows the reader that we as people are capable of good and evil. As humans we have wants and needs, the way we express these emotions are what define us.

No matter what decade, past or present, Ray Bradbury continuously portrays individuals in the book as humans and nothing more. We are capable of chaos and destruction however, as long as we can hate we can love and care. These actions are shown in The Illustrated Man by gigantic wars or by an unselfish act to please the person or persons we love most.

Like a moth to the flame, I have repeatedly returned to The Illustrated Man for academic aide, as well as personal interest. As a student I would deem this book as memorable but not as material that is capable of being completely reread. Personally I think this book would make an excellent learning tool in school as a book that would be required to be read.

The Illustrated Man is a good book but it has its flaws. The Illustrated Man is a good book because of the creative and wonderous images described in the story. The plot is also interesting and mysterious. However, the book can sometimes be confusing because all characters in each of the 18 stories are not properly introduced but are described later on as the story progresses. The Illustrated Man also introduces many characters

that are hard to remember.

This book should be required reading for several reasons. First, the book is full of great imaginative descriptions. This book is also short so some students with short attention spans can easily complete the book within a few days. Finally, although this book introduces many characters, the 18 stories can easily be remembered by almost any student.

I thought that this book called the Illustrated Man was a pretty decent book to read through your summer. This book is a sci-fic book, with about 18 short stories in one novel.This book is about a man who has tattoos all over his body, which represents to a particular short story in the book. This novel basically is about a man thinking and imagining what is going to happen in the future.

Well in this entire book i had many quotes that i liked a lot, but one that caught my eye on the most was the short story called The Exiles, and the quote was "Death Real Death for all of us". I really liked this quote because it showed that not only one but all of us have an end to life.

I recommend this novel to those people who like mystery and exciting stories at the same time. I basically enjoyed reading this novel even though it was pretty much confusing at the beginning of the story, but as the story went on from one to another it all came to an actually and realistic conclusion at the end.

"Listen, Keep your ears clean, smell the smells of a rocket. Feel. Remember. So when you return you will talk of it all the rest of your lives." The Illustrated Man should be required reading. Author Bradbury, Ray well organized eighteen tales, fill with life questions and answers. Although most of the stories were not carrying a person along, however it gave an astonished notion to people. The way he forecasted the future was closely related to the present world. It was also startled that he had thought of this concept and idea before 55 years ago. After finishing the novel, it made me surprise of the prodigy idea and richness words of Bradbury.

I have an opinion that The Illustrated Man should be all state required books for all teens. I think it brings new views of teens about the coming generation.

This is Bradbury's best work. Many of these stories just knocked me off my feet. Especially the story about the hologram room. Chilling. He has a way of writing stories that do not evoke horror in the reader, but even better, shock. They don't put a chill in your spine with every line, but the readers know that by the end they will have the shock of their lives! I could easily read this entire collection again. Unbelievable!

PERSONALY i liked the book. The things that cought my interest was the storys iside of another story. Just from

the storysi read Bradbury has a unique originality to his

storys and that uniqueness is rare too come across.

In this particular book Bradbury was genous when he wrote this book. aech story had a moral to to it. Some of the morals where life lessons. How he contructed each scene and setting were

amazing.reading The Illustrated Man is greate way to vocabulay

and imagination. One of the quates that I liked the best was Sual walked along the shore of the dead sea. In other words it means Sual walked along a field of dead or dying bodies.

I would recomend this to others because of the format or way

the book was written.

I love this book. There are some who say that the writing is too simple, but I think that is a good thing. A reader shouldn't have to fight through a bunch of fluff to understand that it is raining outside. Each story in this book kept me entertained, and not once did I find myself wanting to skip the story to go on to the next one like I usually will do with short story collections. A lot of the descriptions of this sci-fi universe gets your imagination abuzz, and at the end of the story, you're left pondering life and death philosophies. Whenever I had to take a good poo, I could usually get through one of these stories. Once I was done, I'm was lightened, and enlightened.

The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury, really caught my attention. Being generated by 18 various stories, this science fiction novel marks the spot on my favorite book list. This book has everything to do with a man's illustrations. His illustrations turn into reality and bring a new meaning into life.

This imaginative book really gave me a different feeling on the future and how it will turn out to be. Some stories had astonishing endings which really surprised me. It was really hard to decide which one of the stories was my favorite one for I liked them all, but the one that really awakened me was "The Other Foot."

This book is full of surprises and suspense. Being an advocate of Ray Bradbury, I would not only recommend this book, but all of his piece of writing.

I really enjoyed reading The Illustrated Man. I especially liked reading The Veld. The way Ray Bradbury described the nursery was amazing. I could imagine myself in it, with the vulture's shadow on the floor while it flies above. I think that he should write another story like it. I also liked reading The Other Foot. It was interesting to read what a colored person would do if the shoe was on the other foot. I think it makes people see that there really isn't a difference in people of different races and colors. It also shows that when you hold a grudge, it hurts yourself more thn it hurts anyone else. I agree with Gandhi when he said "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind" Its true, because in the end, getting back at someone doesn't help you be a better person.

Ray Bradbury traz maravilha à vida. Para o autor, a maior força do universo é a natureza humana. Suas coletâneas de contos são, normalmente costuradas por um tema em comum.
Nos 18 contos desse livro, a tecnologia desperta os intintos mais primitivos e os sonhos tomam dimensões inimagináveis, num caleidoscópio de magia, imaginação e verdade: tatuagens que criam vida, uma chuva de milhões de anos, rituais da última noite do mundo...
Um homem é encontrado com tatuagens em seu corpo - cada uma respresentando um conto do futuro. 18 tatuagens, 18 contos, 18 visões do destino da humanidade.
Ele era um cenário de foguetes e pessoas, em tal detalhamento intrincado e colorido, que podia-se ouvir murmurando, as vozes das multidões que habitavam seu corpo.
Bradbury se apresenta como um narrador anônimo, que se encontra com o Homem Ilustrado - cujo corpo inteiro é coberto de tatuagens exóticas.
Cada ilustração apresenta um conto:
* crianças levam um jogo de realidade virtual às últimas conseqüências,
* astronautas entram em nossa atmosfera sem uma nave espacial,
* aliens invasores conseguem aliados improváveis em nossos próprios filhos,
* Marte é colonizado por negros fugidos dos preconceitos da Terra e esperam com apreensão a chegada de uma nave terrestre pilotada por um branco,
* guerreiros de outro planeta atacam a Terra e são surpreendidos e conquistados pelo sedentarismo e cultura rasa de nosso planeta,
* sacerdotes viajam para Marte para estudar os pecados marcianos e espalhar a palavra de Deus,
* uma cidade inteira é construída sobre pilares de vingança da mente de seus construtores,
* autores de contos de terror que foram banidos da Terra só conseguem se manter vivos pelas poucas páginas que restaram de seus livros censurados.
Apesar de ter sido escrito entre 1940 e 1950, as estórias estão atualíssimas.
As idéias de Bradbury sobre o lado melancólico da humanidade estão muito bem representadas com sua marca pessoal e poética. Os contos são apenas formas de apresentar estas idéias ao público leitor.
O pano de fundo de ficção científica é apenas um detalhe, para suas fantasias e sonhos.

This tale of adventure and scientific genre is a wonderful imaginative book for children and adults. Thisbook takes place in many times the past,future,and the present. The it goes a man with tattos is in the middle of nowhere and meats a nother dweller where the tatto man or in other words the illustrated man show him nis tattos and how they move and tale storys of the future and space.

I was completely satisfied of this book and how Ray Bradbury thought the future would be from his point of view of the 50's. This novel not only tells of one story but a varitey of 18 different storys that teach us 18 different lessons. This story ranges from different time periods ranging from 1975 to 2055 and on. I strongly recommend this book for scientific enthusiast.

I found the Illutrated Man to be a wonderful book with many stories that taught lessons and had its own theme and moral. Even though most of the book was science fiction it can really relate to what we have to go through in everyday life. It shows the nature of humans and how greed and selfishness can affect the way we act towards others.

What I really enjoyed most throughout my time of reading was that most events were unexpected. Also for those who really like to take pleasure in reading a wide variety of stories that have different morals, about different situations in life, should read this book. This book gave vivid ideas about what we may go through in the future. I believe that this was a great book and that it should be used for future reference.

I first read this book in high school and loved it. "The Long Rain" is probably my favorite story, followed closely by "The Veldt". Whether the stories are set in the farthest reaches of outer space or on Earth, the melancholy and often terrible side of humanity generally takes center stage.

I think it was first my 8th grade teacher Mrs. Forenza who introducted me to Ray Bradbury when we studied the story "The Veldt"... then it was my father who opened his bookshelves and gave me his entire collection of Ray Bradbury when I asked him if he ever heard of him.

The Illustrated Man is my favorite out of all of Ray Bradbury's books. I still cannot believe that this novel was written during the 1950's. He is quite prophetic in the stories... and my favorite one that I now committed to memory...The Veldt

Thank you dad, thank you Mrs. Forenza...

The book the illustrated man was a very interesting book. To me i felt like ill never get bored because it was so many different stories in one book and every one was about something else.Its also weird because none of the stories have anything to do with him. certain stories i did like and others i didnt care for that much.Overall i still think this was a good book. Also in some stories they were teaching you things whether it was history or something now. I dont think this book should be a requirment to read although it was a fair size chapter book i still think it was more likely for a elementery student.Most of the short stories were for kids anyway so i dont think this book should be a requirement for students at this age.

The Illustrated Man is one of the most intriging and wonderful books I have ever read. It reveals the many different aspects of humans, both good and bad. The book is pure imagination, but at the same time, there is much reality in the book. Although some stories are dark and pessimistic, one dominant theme throughout the book is human understanding. All of the stories were spectacular, but in my opinion "The Kaleidoscope" was the greatest story of all of them. Floating in space with nothing but your crew's voices, waiting for your death to come is an awesome background.

This book should be a required reading. It has so much material that could be used during discussions and many themes to choose for essay topics.

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury was a pretty good book. It was confusing at times, but as you read on you can see the story to unravel and begin piecing apart. There were many factors that made this novel a 4 star and possibly a 5 star.
There were a couple of stories that I did not like or i would have given this book a 5.
One of my favorite story was Marionettes, Inc. It had suspense, suprises, and a good storyline. Another of my favorite quote was "what would you do if it was the last night of the world?" Would you just go with the flow or run around like a mad man, pherhaps one day we will know. I reccomend this book to readers of all ages who enjoy reading sci-fi with a mixture of suspense

The Illustration Man was a very creative story. I really like the way the author brings thye stories to life from a man that is tattooed everywhere. It was very different from other novels, hiow the stories come off of a man that has illustrations on him.

My favorite quote in the book was," Eighteen Illustrations, eighteen tales. I counted them one by one. Primarily my eyes focused upon a scene, a large house with two people in it. I saw a flight of vultures on a blazing flesh sky. I saw yellow lions, and I heard voices. The illustrations quivered and came to life....." This is my favorite quote because it is in the prologue and captures you for the stories.

I think this book should be read because it is very creative. One story leads on to the other in some ways. The prologue and the epilogue are very good scenes.

This was my first Bradbury book and it made me a fan. I truly enjoyed the way this series of stories is presented through the tattoos of a stranger. All the stories are very creative and keep your interest throughout the book. A work of extreme greatness to say the least. It merits the title of a 'Classic'.

The Illustrated Man is essentially a collection of short stories that are strung together with a frame narrative. Many of the short stories are engaging and complex. That being said I really find the frame narrative boring and uninspired. I would rather this book just be a collection of short stories without the frame.

"The Illustrated Man" is the ultimate culmination of mystery, suspense, action, intrigue, and science fiction. The book grabbed me from the moment I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It was gripping and inventive at the same time, the fact that the novel was a collection of short stories tied together by one character gives sort of a fourth person perspective. There is a morbid, almost mean spirited side to the stories, but that only adds to the philosophical and intellectual value of the book. All science fiction readers would love this novel.

The Illustrated Man is a great book showing much of man's human experiences and struggles. Within this book are miniaturized stories showing either a lesson or a unique event that we could learn from. The author did well on explanining each conflict. He showed very imaginative struggles that would end in either a strange or calming manner.

I think this material is required reading since it's complex stories create very imaginative yet vivid stories. It's decription of time, space, and the future feel so real. It's many themes relate to human experiences, which makes it easy to understand. I would reccomend this book to be either bought or borrowed.

I really enjoyed reading The Illustrated Man. I especially liked reading The Veldt.The way Ray Bradbury described the nursery was amazing.I could imagine myself in it, with the vulture's shadow on the floor while it flies above.I think that he should write another story like it.I also liked reading The Other Foot.It was interesting to read what a colored person would do if the shoe was on the other foot. I think it makes people see that there really isn't a difference in people of different races and colors.It also shows that when you hold a grudge, it hurts yourself more then it hurts anyone else.I agree with Gandhi when he said "An eye only ends up making the whole world blind" Its true, because in they end, getting back at someone doesn't help you be a better person.

I can't believe I have never read Ray Bradbury before. "The Illustrated Man" is a collection of eighteen short stories tied together with a linking theme. The stories are linked by the actual Illustrated Man, who has designs scrawled all over his body that represent tales beyond your imagination. Although Bradbury is famous for his eerie ways of writing, many of these stories are thought-provoking and heartbreaking, but are still filled with science fiction wonder. The tales range from scary ("Marionettes Inc.") to downright depressing ("The Long Rain"). The book is amazingly addicting, and is perfect for science fiction and fantasy readers.

Ray Bradbury deserves more than a pat on the back for The Illustrated Man. This book has good suspense, intresting deaths, and human instinct put to the test in a complete futuristic setting. A setting so well put together we can see ourselves among the charactars. There's no doubt about it, The Illustrated Man is one of the best best books I've ever read.

I enjoyed this book from cover to cover and I think it was a great book to end the summer with. It is perfect school material for teens everywere. And the best part, it's only 186 pages long. People who can't deal with 500 page stories, this book is a must.

i read this book in 4 days! it's a truely moving book! it's honestly one of the best books i have ever read. ray bradbury really pinpoints the human condition in this masterful collection of short stories! i would read this book over and over again. i deffinatly reccomend it for anyone that is a fan of brabury's work or even a fan of science fiction. i have reccomended this book to everyone i know, and you would be seriously missing out if you never read it.

The story, Illustrated man was a very interesting book. Telling many tories in one story. Thamt makes the book very unique. I suggest taht everyone reads this book. This book inspired me to read more fiction books. Since I never read to read these kinds of books. This book is also good for all ages.

The book will be good for you fiction book lovers out there. He writes so much two word descriptions. Which enables you to picture the story as if you were there. It makes me feel like im making my own movie and my mind while I read this novel. Bradbury is now of of my all time favorite authors.

After reading the prologue I thought the book was going to be about the illustrated man and his journey to get a job and live a normal life. I was disappointed to find out that the book was about the drawings on his body. It turned out to be alright, because of Ray Bradbury's weird and great was of conveying messages through a futuristic setting. All of the stories had a unique way of teaching a lesson. My favorite part was when the farmer said, "What world?", after the man said the end of the world is coming.

I don't think this book should be required to be read for school. It is a good book to read on your own though if you wanted. The book is really random, and yet has a lot of important life lessons. If you were interested in human nature and the future it brings us, this is the book for you.

This book is one of those books that can not be put down. It takes you to those far away places (such as Venus) that you've always dreamed about. You always wonder "where next" and you don't want this book to end. Once this book is opened you believe that the television is on but the words are forming all the pictures. I love how Bradbury put all these wonderful short stories together and only wish that someone would make another collection of other short stories so that the worlds teenagers and adults would have literature that they accually want to read.

I like the story because it was very interesting and i like how they made the nursery look like they was in Africa. What I also like about this book is the way Ray Bradley put his imagination together and make a very funny and crazy book about these people life and how hard it was to live on mars and New York etc..What i dislike about the veldt is that the kids killed their parents because their parents felt that they was paying more attention to the technology and they respect it more then their parents so that is why they took it away but other then that the book was real fun to read.

In my opinion, The Illustrated Man is a fantastic book. The stories made me think about how life is today and how it could be tomorrow. Some of the stories had a meaning to them that was easier to comprehend than others, but I usually got the basic idea of what the story was trying to say. My favorite story, and the one that made me think the most was Kaleidescope.

It was my favorite because I like space and it made me think about what I wold do if i was in Hollis' position. I liked the ending the most because he got what he wanted, even though it was kind of sad. I dont have a favorite quote. But there were many that I liked.

The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury is an exceptionally well-written book in terms of his technique and extremely creative in terms of plot. However those were the only things that I felt were well done in this book. Although the novel was extremely descriptive, it was also quite dull, leading me to only be able to read about 10-15 pages at a time. Several of the stories seemed similar because of the setting and they had the same kind of pessimistic and dark feel to it. Most of the stories were saying such things like the world ending and that didn't make me warm up to the book too much.

I am not saying that all of the stories in the book were horrible, I did enjoy a couple of them, such as "The Veldt," and "The Long Rain," however the number of stories I liked versus the number of stories that I didn't are 1 out of 8.

As much as I did not enjoy this book, I would suggest that it be required reading, because of his amount of detail and description, and his technique. Also there are plenty of opportunities to demonstrate theme, plot, and vocabulary, because of the fact that there are so many short stories in the novel.

Well written as a collection of short stories (mainly apocalyptic themes, technology overtaking humanity, rockets in space, etc.) I personally have grown very fond of short stories after getting too involved with several epics.. There's enough excitement in the narrative to engage any reader while artfully threading in heavy philosophical undertones. There's a reality to the way Bradbury crafts his language and sets up each scene. All in all, a good read - a satisfying blend of magical and morbid

Bradbury, as I know, is the person who is on the spot of opposition of high technology we have today. He shows tragedic situation of influence that high technology can contain. For example, the story 'The Veldt' shows that children killing their parents because their parents didn't want their children to be with high technology. Also I felt that he is warning about the people who are trusting science so deeply. For instance, he is warning an atomic war, which he wrote in his book. It is shocking but interesting book because it shows big problem of science, but also he is warning to the people by writing the book.

The Illustrated Man is a great science fiction book. I like this book because it takes you away into stories that can relate to your own life. You can largely relate to this book even though it is sci-fi.

Brad Bury deeply describes the imagery and details of this book to make the stories connect with you in a way other books might not. I also like this book because it has a futuristic touch to it and it kinda foreshowdows our own future.

If you are into sci-fi books, i strongly recomend you reading this book.

Should this book be a book you need to be required reading.I think it should because it has a lot of technology.It is also talks about alot of our problems in the world and not alot of talk about that.I like this book for those reason that why I gave it four stars.

This book teaches us about problems in the world and if we read thiswe can learn from our problems.It also talks about what we can expect it the technology in the future.It tells that technology can be bad too and gow it can be bad.Thats why I think it should be required reading.

I gave the book 3 stars because I didn't really like hte book. It really didn't grab my interest. I also got lost a couple of times. I didn't know how to coprehend some of the thing that the novel was saying. The reason i didn't give the book 1 or 2 stars because i did like two chapter of the book. The veldt and the other foot I thought that the veldt was cool because the house did everything for the children and i thought that was cool. I also thought that the other foot was cool too because I liked how the blacks let the whites live with them on mars.

Ray Bradbury's book The Illustrated Man, was an intriguing and suspenseful book. Each short story was interesting in many ways. Although I didn't have a favorite quote, I did have 3 favorite short stories that I enjoyed reading. They were "The Veldt," "The Rocket Man," and "The Man."

What I enjoyed reading the most was the Prologue, because it gave you an idea of who this Illustrated Man is and since Ray Bradubury's writing style is very descriptive and detailed I could picture what this man looked like. It also gives you an explanation why The Illustrated Man's is called the Illustrated Man.

Wow! This book was inspiring, dazzling, brilliant, and all of the above. This was most definitely the best science fiction literature I've read in my memory. I enjoyed each of the different stories equally. It combines everything from astrophysics to imaginative fantasy. It shows how amazing the author Ray Bradbury truly is. I STRONGLY recommend this book to anyone.

One the five best sci-fi novels of the century (along with Martian Chronicles, of course!). Theire is so much imagination in this story that it is impossible for any lover of good stories not to be drawn into them. Probably one of the last great sci-fi writers. The last descent science-fiction book was probably in the mid-70s. Another shame: I can find about fifty diffrent Star Wars books and Star Trek manuals in my bookstore, but only one Bradbury book.

The Illustrated Man is a below average piece of dull 50's writing from an overrated writer. Ray Bradbury includes in all his short stories, his hidden sanctimonious Christian ethics. He spreads his tedious message in little spurts here and there. I was expecting science fiction but found nothing of the sort.

"The Veldt" -- Two parents use an artificial "nursery" to keep their children happy. The children use the high-tech simulation nursery to create the predatorial environment of the African veldt. When the parents threaten to take it away, the children lock their parents inside where they are mauled and killed by the "harmless" machine-generated lions of the nursery.
"Kaleidoscope" -- A bitter astronaut feels he has accomplished nothing worthwhile in his life as he and the rest of his crew fall irrevocably to their demise in outer space because of a malfunction in their ship. The story illustrates the collapse of the sanity and logic of the crew members as they face their death. Ultimately, the lamenting narrator is incinerated in the atmosphere of the Earth and appears as a shooting star to a child after wishing that his life would at least be worth something for someone else.
"The Other Foot" -- Mars has been colonized solely by black people. When they learn that a rocket is coming from Earth with white travelers, they institute a Jim Crow system of racial segregation in which white people are to be considered second-class citizens, in retaliation for the history of wrongs perpetrated on their race by white people. When the rocket lands, the traveler tells them that most of the Earth has been destroyed in a war and asks for their help. The people realize that discrimination is harmful in all its forms, and reverse their planned segregation.
"The Highway" -- A simple-minded family living by a highway in rural Mexico go on living their normal, idyllic lives as the highway fills with people fleeing a nuclear war. The story ends with some travellers they help telling them about the nuclear war, and how the world is ending. After the travelers leave, the confused resident briefly wonders what "the world" is, and then continues with his life.
"The Man" -- A group of space explorers land on a planet to find the population living in a healthy state of bliss. Upon investigation, they discover that an enigmatic visitor came to them. Further description leads the two spacemen to believe that this man is Jesus (though he is never named, leaving room for other religious personas). One decides to spend the rest of his days on the planet, living and rejoicing in the wake of the man's glory. The other continues in his spaceship, "chasing 'him' always a step behind, never fast enough to catch up to him, constantly trying to achieve the unachievable." Other members of the crew decide to stay on the planet to learn from the contented citizens, and are rewarded by the discovery that "he" is still on the planet.
"The Long Rain" -- A group of astronauts are stranded on Venus, where it rains continually and heavily. The travelers make their way across the Venusian landscape to find a "sun dome", a shelter with a large artificial light source. However, the first sun dome they find has been destroyed by the Venusians. Searching for another sun dome, the characters, one by one, are driven to madness and suicide by the unrelenting rhythm of the rain. At the end of the story, only one sane astronaut remains, and manages to find a functional sun dome.
"The Rocket Man" -- An astronaut's job keeps him away from home for long stretches of time, so he has little time with his wife and son, only visiting them for a period of three days at a time. The story is told from the perspective of the son, who holds an interest in becoming an astronaut too. However, his father explains to him that while the stars are beautiful, what he really wants is to be with his family. Sensing that his wife is unhappy with him being at home so little, the father makes a promise to the son that he will be quitting his job after his next mission to spend more time with them. At the end of the story, the son and his mother learn that his ship fell into the sun, and from then on, they do not venture outside during the day in remembrance of him.
"The Fire Balloons" -- A priest travels to Mars to act as a missionary to Martians. Once there, he discovers that the natives are actually entities of pure energy. Since they lack corporeal form, they are unable to commit sin, and thus do not need redemption. Another message Bradbury conveys through this short story is that the vision of God is the same as that of his worshippers.
"The Last Night of the World" -- In this story, the entire planet awakens to the knowledge that the world is going to end that very evening. Nonetheless, they go through their normal routines of going to work, eating, brushing their teeth, and falling asleep, knowing and accepting the fact that they will not wake up. This is in strong contrast to the looting and riots typically expected in this situation.
"The Exiles" -- Numerous works of literature are banned and burned on Earth. The fictional characters of these books are portrayed as real-life entities who live in a refuge on Mars. However, they are vulnerable, as when all the books on a character are destroyed, the character itself vanishes permanently. When the group of characters learn that some people are coming for them, they stage a counterattack, but are foiled by the astronauts who burn the last remaining books from Earth, unknowingly annihilating the entire colony.
"No Particular Night or Morning" -- Two men in a spaceship are having a discussion about how empty and cold space is. The first man is a little bit insane and keeps asking questions about how there is nothing sure in space and there is no night or morning. He refuses to believe anything about reality without sufficient evidence and soon becomes skeptical of everything he cannot directly experience. He said that he doesn't believe in stars because they are too far away. The second man is wandering about the ship when he learns that someone has left the ship, and it is the first man. The first man is still talking to himself and has killed himself by letting himself fly freely through space.
"The Fox and the Forest" -- A couple from the future tires of the war in their modern lives, so they go on a vacation to the more serene past in an attempt to escape with the help of a company called "Travel in Time, Inc." They go to Mexico in 1938, but are pursued by a government agent who forces them to come back to 2155.
"The Visitor" -- This story takes place on Mars, which is used as a quarantine for people with deadly illnesses. One day, the planet is visited by a young man of eighteen who has the ability to perform thought transference and telepathy. The exiles on the planet are thrilled with his ability and a violent fight breaks out over who will get to spend the most time with their visitor. In the struggle, the young man is killed and the escape he provided is lost forever. Because of the man's abilities, it is possible that he caused the men to hallucinate his injury, or even the entire struggle, and escaped when they believed him to be dead. The facts that he encouraged the fighting and seemed calm and amused throughout the story points to this outcome. Regardless, he is dead to the people of Mars.
"The Concrete Mixer" - A reluctant Martian soldier is forced to join the army as they prepare to invade Earth. However, when they arrive, they are welcomed by a world at peace, full of people who are curious rather than aggressive. The protagonist meets a movie director, and it becomes clear that the people of Earth have planned to exploit the Martians for financial gain. He tries to escape back to Mars, but is run over by a car and killed.
"Marionettes, Inc."-A man attempts to escape his marriage by replacing himself with a robot to fool his wife into thinking he hasn't left and tells a friend about it. The man comes back and tells the robot to go back into the box, and the robot disobeys him saying he has fallen in love with the wife. The robot then proceeds to put the man in the box and goes to visit the wife. Later, the friend discovers that his wife has left and that he has been living with a robot version of her.
"The City" -- A rocket expedition from Earth lands on an uncharted planet to be greeted by a seemingly empty City. As the humans begin to explore, they realize that the City is not as empty as it seems. The City was waiting for the arrival of humans; the contingency plan of a long dead civilization, put in place to take revenge upon Humanity after their culture was wiped out with biological weapons by humans long before recorded history. Once the City captures and kills the human astronauts, the humans' corpses are used as automatons to finalize The City's creators' revenge; a biological attack on the Earth.
"Zero Hour" -- Children across the country are deeply involved in an exciting game they call 'Invasion'. Their parents think it's cute until it turns out that the invasion is real and aliens are using the children to help them get control of Earth.
"The Rocket" -- Fiorello Bodoni, a poor junkyard owner, has managed to save $3,000 to fulfill his lifelong dream of sending one member of his family on a trip to outer space. The family, however, finds it impossible to choose who will go because those left behind will inevitably envy the chosen one for the rest of their lives. Bodoni instead uses the money to build a replica rocket from an old mock-up, and sets up a 3D theater inside the cabin and convinces the children they are actually going through space.

I have never been more bewildered or sadened or even happy all in one sitting of reading this great novel. You are put on a journey to Mars and then through the mind until the only other place to go is the heart. Bradbury keeps you guessing as to what the next story could possibly be and how could it end. Unbelievable!

I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the workings of the human mind. The vehicle - a man covered with illustrations - Bradbury uses to give us insight into the strengths and frailties of the human psyche is ingenious and as always his literary expertise provides for a spell-binding read.

I really enjoyed reading the Illustrated man. The 18 stories from the future were very enjoyable. Ray Bradburry processed his feelings for the future into one wonderful novel

I belive this book shold be reqired reading beause the stories are enjoyable and everyone can find thier favorite story from this book

This book is very interesting and many people will enjoy it. Overall this is a great book. Good job Ray Bradbury!

although i cannot get through most Ray Bradbury books, I can definitely get through this one. I've read this book probably around 4 times in 5 years and it truly is a masterpiece. It's one of those books where if you don't have anything else to read, you'll always have it to go back to. Most times I don't read it all the way through but it doesn't matter. It's really really really good. Don't pass it by. BUY IT. really

The Illustrated man had a lot of great stories that people would like, if they are intrested in stories that are helpful to people. My favirote story is the Long Rain it showed a lot about following your dreams as they follow you. He's trying to tell everybody how life is.

I gave this book a four because, it shows how humanity will change for the better worest. I would recommend this book to all the agges 11 and up.

The Illustrated Man was not a interesting book to read. It never appealed to me. Maybe I am biased because I never liked science-fiction, but not only that, this book was the pinnacle of confusion. I had to read a story from the book twice just to get the point of a story.

Even though i disliked this book, I did like quotes from the book. My favorite quote of this book is, "More than food or a woman or amything, I just want Earth." This quote shows that people need Earth. Living on Earth is blessing and people don't know that.

Despite me not liking the book, this book should be read. You learn many things from the book. It had many points and can be used to teach many things in life. Although this book had good points, it did not have thing that captivates you to read a book. It took be a month to read this because the book was not interesting.

This book, personally, I think, is very interesting, to say the least. I would recommend it to anyone who loves Sci-fi because thats basically what it is. Every chapter contains a new story, so it reads more like a collection of short stories that have nothing to do with each other, when if fact they all do, because they are all on the Illustrated man.
Though I found some stories to be a bit confusing, and slightly frustrating, (since some I still didn't understand when finished.)All in all though the book was very catching, i.e. I couldn't put it down because the plot lines were very original and you never knew what to expect.

This book is simply a must read for anyone who loves sci-fi. The book is divided up into smaller chapters--"stories" that are represented in each tatoo on the illustrated man. It is one of Bradbury's best books as is a classic.

This book, like most of Bradbury's, was great, but when I rented the movie version it almost made me forget about everything. If you ever come across the film adaptation of this book, avoid it at all costs! It contained some of the worst acting and special effects I've ever seen, even considering that it was made back in the 1960s.

Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite authors, has a definitive flair for writing short stories like nobody else can. They are colorful and imaginative, with a certain spookyness flecking many of them. The Illustrated Man is my favorite collection of his stories. Each one is brilliantly written and unique.

The Illustrated Man was a great book, and shouldnt be disgraced by other reviewers. I was always at the edge of my seat compelled what would happen next. Also for people who haven't read this book, this is a book of SHORT STORIES! I think other reviewers might have understood this book more if they looked at the cover.

I was first introduced to Ray Bradbury when i had to read Farenheit 451 for a summer assignment in my freshman accelerated english class. I enjoyed the book and decided to give his other works a try. I have read this book about 3 times now because it is so great!

This book was great. I liked it because it was so detailed. The book is so detailed that it makes it feel like you are in the place that is being described. This book combines horror, suspense, and comedy into one book. You have to read it, to believe it.

I'd read the book first in Russian translation and then in original edition. I found it Bradbury's best short story collection and I remember not very many books worth reading half a century after their firs publication.

The Illustraded was a good book, and reminded me of Farenheit 451. Which was also a good book that Ray Bradbury wrote. The book is mostly about space, time-travel and robots. It was exciting and also boring at times. Overall I think he could have made some of the stories a bit more excitng.

I first read this when i was in the 7th grade and saw the movie as part of a lesson in middle school. I was so impressed by this book that I have read it over and over and over again since. Now im 28 and I finally ordered my own copy and I love it. Everyone should read Bradbury and The Illustrated Man is a must read.

If you are not a die-hard Bradbury fan do not waste your time with this book. It is pretty much a campy (ie. rockets, space, mars, etc.) collection of space stories. There are a few stories here with interesting views and/or concepts, but for the most part it's a poorly written, redundant, and slow paced book.

If you are going to read Bradbury for the first time or are new to his writing I would recommend "Fahrenheit 451".

I don't mean to offend Ray Bradbury, but I didn't understand half of this book. I mean, some of the stories are quite unique, but once I read on and on about the other stories, I got so confused and bored. I didn't like this book much.

I recently read The Illustrated Man and found that Ray Bradbury talked compulsively about space. The book contains nothing more than Martians, rockets, comets, space ships, invasions, blood, and dieing. I would not reccomend this book if you do not like space stories of any kind!

This is possibly the worst book that has ever been written. There is no plot, and no aparent theme unless you count death, misery, space, and martians. I have heard kindergardeners come up with stories much better than this, in fact i dont know how this book was ever published. This is a book that inspires you to write a book becuase it shows that basically it can be as crappy as you want becuase obviosly publishers cant tell good literature from bad. This big is terrible! dont buy it!!!

I admit that I am not a fan of science fiction. Bradbury has written some good stories but this book is not one of them. It is essentially 19 short stories put together by the idea that a man's tattoos come to life.But most of the stories are simply boring or silly. One or two might be worth reading but that is it. I say skip this book and read his other work, especially if you are a science fiction fan.