In "The Martian Chronicles, "Ray Bradbury, America's preeminent storyteller, imagines a place of hope, dreams, and metaphor-- of crystal pillars and fossil seas--where a fine dust settles on the great empty cities of a vanished, devastated civilization. Earthmen conquer Mars and then are conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race. In this classic work of fiction, Bradbury exposes our ambitions, weaknesses, and ignorance in a strange and breathtaking world where man does not belong.