Ray Bradbury has died at the age of 91. He wrote such classics as The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451. Futuristic tales from a man who never used a computer, or even drove a car.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Some sad news this morning, the world has lost a literary giant. Author Ray Bradbury died last night, after a long illness. He was 91 years old. He wrote such classics as "The Martian Chronicles" and "Fahrenheit 451" - futuristic tales from a man who never used a computer or even drove a car. NPR's Arnie Seipel has more on Bradbury and his curious life.

ARNIE SEIPEL, BYLINE: Ray Bradbury grew up during the Great Depression. He said it was a time when people couldn't imagine the future and Bradbury's active imagination made him stand out. He once told WHYY's FRESH AIR about exaggerating basic childhood fears, like monsters at the top of the stairs.

RAY BRADBURY: As soon as I looked up, there it was, and it was horrible. And I would scream and fall back down the stairs. And my mother and father would get up and sigh and say, oh my God, here we go again.

SEIPEL: He dove into books as a child. Wild tales from authors Jules VerneBradbury dove into books as a child. Wild tales from authors Jules Verne and H.G. Wells captivated Bradbury - and made him dream of becoming a great author. So he started writing, churning out a short story every week during his teens. After his family moved to Southern California, he would escape to the basement of the UCLA library. There, he'd focus on his craft.

BRADBURY: For 10 cents a half-hour you could rent a typewriter. And I thought, my gosh, this is terrific! I can be here for a couple hours a day. It'll cost me 30, 40 cents, and get my work done.

SEIPEL: Bradbury made his mark in the literary world with "The Martian Chronicles," a collection of short stories released in 1950. During the height of the Red Scare, he set off a warning flare about censorship with his signature work, "Fahrenheit 451" - and he did so in a controversial new magazine: Playboy. The story was later printed as a novel, and in 1966 director Francois Truffaut introduced movie audiences to this bizarre society Bradbury created: one in which firemen burned books to keep the masses completely ignorant but couldn't extinguish their curiosity.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FAHRENHEIT 451")

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The Curious Life Of Futurist Author Ray Bradbury