GOOD LUCK GREG!! BEST WISHES AND BLESSINGS!!! And Skipper, I agree about the racial remarks. There are the obvious examples, of course, of stories about blacks, hispanics, and Asians, but there are also a number of stories set in future times in which the people could be of nonwhite or mixed race, as physical descriptions of characters appear in only some of the stories and race is not made an issue.

Good Job defending our beloved Mr. Bradbury, everyone!
This criticism was partially uninformed, partially under-researched, and completly and stiflingly under the influence of the false dogma that everything that communicates as art should be cutting-edge or nothing at all. Bradbury isn't Beckett, nor should he try to be.
My own ideals aside, the comments about Politics were a distraction, and a pointless one at that. "only occasionally souped up with sociopolitical additives."? This critic obviously hasn't read very much Bradbury-
Yes, in some ways, we could say that the idealization in Dandelion Wine is unrealistic- but it isn't white-washing! As Americans and as Humans, we have a great deal of ugliness in our past. To endlessly limit our focus to this, though, is leaving ourselves purposefully empty to the joy that we can and should glean from treasured memories of childhood.

and... in NO way has it ever struck me that the ideals in Dandelion Wine, my favorite book, have ANYTHING to do with the Reagan Era idealization of the American Life!

ARG!

Mark Jonas is an idiot and would not know good quality entertainment if it were to rear up and bite him on his arrogant and close-minded behind. Ray Bradbury is number ONE! Not only is Ray the hippest and the coolest, he is better than William Gibson when it comes to writing science fiction, fantasy, and other excellent forms of literature. I'd like to know what this Jonas character was thinking when he made those negative remarks. He wasn't thinking, obviously....

I was wondering if any of you who e-mailed the critic had gotten a response. I know I didn't. I would be very surprised if he responded to anyone!

Per Mark Jonas::::
Theater Critic UNextraodinaire

Probably we should have been e-mailing Mr. Jonas

e-mail address that I have is:
Jonas@theater2K.com

Hope this one works....