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The Man and the Happiness Machine
After the arrival on a friendly planet, the crew of a visiting spaceship is expecting a joyous reception, but there is no one there to greet them because everyboy wants t meet "The Man". If The Happiness Machine makes you happier than you have ever been, then why does everybody become sad? These stories represent some of Ray Bradbury's best, each story having been painstakingly adapted and produced in super-stereo with original music and "bigger-than-life" sound effects. You have never heard anything like it before.
- GenresScience Fiction
Audio Cassette
First published July 1, 1994
1 person is currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Ray Bradbury
2,560 books25.3k followersRay Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 10, 2018
A ubiquitous theme in Ray Bradbury’s long list of short stories is the importance of imagination.
In this short work, first published in the September 1957 edition of the Saturday Evening Post, we meet imaginative inventor Leo Auffman, who has finally completed his Happiness Machine much to the chagrin of his family, and especially Mrs. Auffman.
Ray Bradbury describes this scene of domestic chaos with all the charm and warmth his considerable talent is capable. Lena Auffman’s wise rebukes and spot on observations about what is wrong with the machine are also quintessential Bradbury. Finally, Bradbury’s emphasis on simple pleasures and his homey explanation of how you cannot have good without the counterweight of bad are as good as any of his Green Town stories.
In this short work, first published in the September 1957 edition of the Saturday Evening Post, we meet imaginative inventor Leo Auffman, who has finally completed his Happiness Machine much to the chagrin of his family, and especially Mrs. Auffman.
Ray Bradbury describes this scene of domestic chaos with all the charm and warmth his considerable talent is capable. Lena Auffman’s wise rebukes and spot on observations about what is wrong with the machine are also quintessential Bradbury. Finally, Bradbury’s emphasis on simple pleasures and his homey explanation of how you cannot have good without the counterweight of bad are as good as any of his Green Town stories.
December 5, 2025
Audiobook production is fun.
October 3, 2022
The Happiness Machine is a miss by Bradburry. It's an interesting and quirky concept but just not very interesting after it's all said and done.
October 13, 2022
Adaptations are not such a good thing...in my humble opinion. I'll stick with reading the books and stories.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews