The narrator met a man covered in tattos, tattos that moved to tell stories, eighteen of which are told in this volume. The stories, many of which have been published separately, are:
THE VELDT - overindulgence is bad for both parents and children
KALEIDOSCOPE - doomed astronauts floating in space
THE OTHER FOOT - reverse discrimination with a vengence
THE HIGHWAY - sometimes life passes you by and sometimes it doesn't
THE MAN - is it the journey or the destination that matters?
THE LONG RAIN - sometimes madness is the answer
THE ROCKET MAN - career vs. family
THE FIRE BALLOONS - is religion the answer or the question?
THE LAST NIGHT OF THE WORLD - the end with a whimper not a bang
THE EXILES - do people live for art or does art live for people?
NO PARTICULAR NIGHT OR MORNING - again the answer could be madness
THE FOX AND THE FOREST - you can run but you cannot hide
THE VISITOR - sometimes you don't know what you've got 'til its gone
THE CONCRETE MIXER - Mars invades
MARIONETTES, INC. - machines can be asked to do too much
THE CITY - revenge can be served very cold
ZERO HOUR - parents need to parent
THE ROCKET - Desire, envy and the triumph of the human spirit

Although these tales are hauntingly disturbing and many contain rather gruesome images Bradbury writes with a gentleness that takes material that could be shocking in another writer's hand and instead makes it poignant. He allows the more subtle message of the stories to come through by taking the edge off the sensationalism.

It is particularly interesting to read these stories and rember (or discover) what life was like in the fifties and then reflect (investigate) what changes took place in the subsequent fifty year.

For those who have read this and didn't like it try it again in a few years.


ZzZzZ...   April 10, 2000
 3 out of 17 found this review helpful

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.


Microscopic/Telescopic Chills   July 11, 2005
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Bradbury, like Jules Verne, uses his fiction as a telescope to look far into the future. Then, to remind us of the human element, his words become a microscope, looking deep into our minds and souls. "The Illustrated Man" combines these tools with chilling effectiveness.

Although Bradbury penned these tales over fifty years ago, they still ring with cautionary truth. The prologue and epilogue work as bookends, holding in eighteen stories of apocalyptic and visionary wisdom. Through the moving and shifting tattoos on the illustrated man's back, we see glimpses of the future, full of technology, greed, strife, and the human propensity for selfishness. Collectively, these tales remind us that our relationships will always supercede our computers and rockets. When these elements lose perspective, danger lurks in every corner.

Although some of the stories seem dated, "The Illustrated Man" educates while it entertains. Bradbury is a master of his craft, and this is a masterpiece of science fiction.


An Illustrated Tale . . .   August 21, 2006
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This book is simply amazing! I needed to read this book as a summer reading project, and as soon as I read the first story, I found out that the book was based on Science Fiction. It's a topic that I really hate it! However, as I read further and further into the book, I decided that I loved it! Each story bases itself around science, like people living on the moon or on Mars. Also, there are some controversial goings-on in this novel. In one short story titled "The Man", it seems as though a traveler would stop by towns and heal people. The man in this story almost sounds as though he is Jesus. Anyway, this book is still amazing. If you love Sci Fi, then buy it now!!


The Illustrated Man By:Ray Bradbury   March 28, 2000
 2 out of 5 found this review helpful

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.