Book excerpt: He is an American treasure; a clear-eyed fantasist without peer; a literary icon who has created wonder for the better part of seven decades. He has a moon crater named after him and a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame. He has been honored with prizes galore. He has inspired generations of readers to dream, think, invent, believe, and fly. Collected between these covers are memories, ruminations, opinions, prophecies, and philosophies from one of the most influential and admired writers of our time: boyhood experiences that molded the man, as well as his eye-opening, sometimes hilarious true adventures in the realm of the famous and adored; insightful, piquant reflections on humankind's past and future, and where we stand in the universe today; provocative and deeply affecting musings on the present state of art and the unparalleled glory of creation.--From publisher description.