That The Illustrated Man has remained in print since being published in '51 is fair testimony to the universal appeal of Bradbury's work. Only his 2nd collection (the 1st was Dark Carnival, later reworked into The October Country), it's a marvelous, if mostly dark, quilt of science fiction, fantasy & horror. In an ingenious framework to open & close the book, Bradbury presents himself as a nameless narrator who meets the Illustrated Man--a wanderer whose entire body is a living canvas of exotic tattoos. What's even more remarkable, & increasingly disturbing, is that the illustrations are themselves magically alive, & each proceeds to unfold its own story, such as "The Veldt," wherein rowdy children take a game of virtual reality way over the edge. Or "Kaleidoscope," a heartbreaking portrait of stranded astronauts about to reenter our atmosphere--without the benefit of a spaceship. Or "Zero Hour," in which invading aliens have discovered a most logical ally--our own children. Even tho most were written in the '40s & '50s, these 18 classic stories will be just as chillingly effective 50 years from now.--Stanley Wiater