Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books. Welcome to the future, where houses are fireproof and books are banned...and burned. [ At this point I must cofess to plagiarism. Those first two sentences are 'borrowed' from every other review of Fahrenheit 451 there's ever been, but it's such a good line I had to use it. ] Fahrenheit 451 was the synthesis of five short stories Ray Bradbury wrote in the early 1950's. Including "Bonfire" - about one man's thoughts on the night of the end of the world; "Bright Phoenix" about a small-town bigot whose book-burning activities are thwarted by people memorizing them; ...  Read the complete review

FAHRENHEIT 451 Guy Montag enjoyed his job as a fireman. He enjoyed burning houses. He enjoyed burning the books inside them. The kerosene smell that he wore like aftershave and the flicker of flames as they licked over the pages of a multitude of books he was instructed to burn was a universal delight. But for a chance encounter with Clarisse McClellan things would probably have remained this way. Yet there was something quite liberating about her oddball fascination with the natural beauty of the world, her questioning of why rather than how and actually investing time in having conversations with people, which sparked a neuron or two to awake in Guy's mind. ...  Read the complete review

First published in 1953, Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451' originally started life as a 25,000-word novella called 'The Fireman'. It was renamed Fahrenheit 451 (the temperature at which book-paper catches fire and burns) after the text was expanded by a further 25,000 words and became a novel. An interesting fact I didn't know before I read this book, was that Bradbury had difficulty getting anyone to publish his work until a young editor bought his manuscript and used it in issues two, three and four of his new magazine, that man was Hugh Hefner and that magazine was Playboy! So it seems that there may be some truth to the 'I only buy Playboy for the articles' ...  Read the complete review

Fahrenheit 451 is a look into a future where books are condemned as dangerous and are therefore burnt. Montag is the central character in the book and is a fireman, but not in the sense we understand. Montag is paid to burn books not to stop fires, there is no need to stop house fires now anyway as all houses are fireproof. Even after you have finished reading the book, Bradbury?s horrifying version of the future hovers in the mind, to be contemplated over and over again. The story plays on fears that most people have and works them effectively. Teenagers running riot in hideously overpowered cars and pedestrians are frowned upon (as is driving at 40mph). ...  Read the complete review

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The clever title refers to the temperature at which paper will burn. And why is this relevant...? This 'futuristic' book is set in an often cruel, hedonistic society, in which certain free-thought is not permitted through the reading of books. If anyone is found to be hoarding books, the book burners, or 'firemen' come round and make sure your hoard is well and truly incinerated "for the good of humanity". The hoarder is of course arrested and suitably dealt with. This text revolves around one such fireman, Guy Montag. Guy Montag, has some experiences, which include stealing ...  Read the complete review