Fahrenheit 451

Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this timeless classic with a special edition featuring a new introduction by the author and a message that is more relevant today than when it was first published. Since the late 1940s, Ray Bradbury has been revered for his works of science fiction and fantasy. With more than five million copies in print, Fahrenheit 451 -- originally published in 1953 -- remains his most acclaimed work.

Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which book paper burns. Fahrenheit 451 is a novel set in the (perhaps near) future when "firemen" burn books forbidden by a totalitarian "brave new world" regime. The hero, according to Mr. Bradbury, is "a book burner who suddenly discovers that books are flesh-and-blood ideas and cry out silently when put to the torch." Today, when libraries and schools in this country and all over the world are still "burning" certain books, Fahrenheit 451 remains a brilliantly readable and suspenseful work of even greater impact and timeliness.

Here is another book that I've always wanted to read but never got around to it. I guess I needed a little push towards picking Fahrenheit 451 up and actually reading it. And that little came through joining a challenge of the same name, 451 Challenge.

Imagine a world where you wouldn't be able to read books. Imagine it also being a world that had an ability to suck your brain cells dry by watching TV. It controls you, mind, body and soul. There are a few that do not live according to the rules, and those are the people that the "firemen" pursue, they invade their homes and torch it.

I was surprise on how interested and how quickly I read this book. I instantly fell in love with Montag, his curiosity and confusing was so tangible that I felt like I was experiencing it along with him. I do have two complaints: I didn't like that Clarisse was killed off and I wanted more of the book. I want to know happens next...

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (4.5/5) Science Fiction; Published: Ballantine Books (1953); New Author; 451 Challenge (1); Books 2010 (43)