To Bradbury, the world of his boyhood in Waukegan, Ill., must seem sometimes like a pleasant memory of a half-forgotten dream. Despite its flaws, it was a world of quiet talks with friends and family members on the front porch in summertime, with dandelion wine for refreshment. How far we have come since then, though we walk toward the 21st century with a strong apprehension that something valuable has been lost in the interim. In one of his books, conservative man of letters Russell Kirk recounts the true story of a librarian's reaction to Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury's illustration of a future in which books are feared and burned. The librarian received a copy in a shipment of books by accident and was politically offended upon reading it.
Tomorrow is already here.
Not that we attuned moderns believe him for a moment, though, knowing as we do that every day and in every way, we're getting better and better. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, Bradbury deserves the nation's appreciation as one of its most accomplished and imaginative writers, a national treasure. Essays in Honor of Russell Kirk.