Publication Date:August 12, 1987 Shipping:Eligible for Super Saver Shipping Promotion:Buy 4 eligible items in the 4-for-3 promotion offered by Amazon.com and get 1 of them free.Terms and Conditions Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours
Amazon.com In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires--they start them in order to burn books. Bradbury's vividly painted society holds up the appearance of happiness as the highest goal--a place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are bad. Fire Captain Beatty explains it this way, "Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs.... Don't give them slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy."
Guy Montag is a book-burning fireman undergoing a crisis of faith. His wife spends all day with her television "family," imploring Montag to work harder so that they can afford a fourth TV wall. Their dull, empty life sharply contrasts with that of his next-door neighbor Clarisse, a young girl thrilled by the ideas in books, and more interested in what she can see in the world around her than in the mindless chatter of the tube. When Clarisse disappears mysteriously, Montag is moved to make some changes, and starts hiding books in his home. Eventually, his wife turns him in, and he must answer the call to burn his secret cache of books. After fleeing to avoid arrest, Montag winds up joining an outlaw band of scholars who keep the contents of books in their heads, waiting for the time society will once again need the wisdom of literature.
Bradbury--the author of more than 500 short stories, novels, plays, and poems, including The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man--is the winner of many awards, including the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America. Readers ages 13 to 93 will be swept up in the harrowing suspense of Fahrenheit 451, and no doubt will join the hordes of Bradbury fans worldwide. --Neil Roseman
Product Description Nowadays firemen start fires. Fireman Guy Montag loves to rush to a fire and watch books burn up. Then he met a seventeen-year old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid, and a professor who told him of a future where people could think. And Guy Montag knew what he had to do....
Download Description This is Bradbury's best-known novel. The science fiction tale concerns censorship and anti-intellectualism, carried on in an alternate society that conducts huge book burnings as part of the social agenda. It is a spooky and yet uplifting book.
Timeless pieceAugust 22, 2008 This is a book that really get writers hooked. A society that didn't care fore book... Oh my! What will happen to mankind if the wisdom of time pass weren't available anymore? and then what will happen to you, if you were to oppose the silence of the books? A great tale and a lot of wisdom.
Anna del C. Author of "The Elf and the Princess" and "Trouble in the Elf City"
Although slow start it was great!August 14, 2008 I had to read this book over the summer (I'm going into 10th grade). At first it took me a while to get into it. Soon enough I couldn't put it down. It was a great book. I would recommend it to everyone.
Good, reminded me of another bookJuly 28, 2008 I was very much looking forward to reading this book, a good friend has been recommending it for some time. I must say that it took me a little longer than I thought it would to read. The language for me was little hard to follow at times. Some of it was so chopped up that I would have to go back and reread the page over to try and understand the message of that page.
I thought that the themes themselves were very prevalent to our day. I am finding that more and more that children are unwilling to read and want to play video games or go on the internet. The idea of how books are slowing being eradicated is spot on in current events. I really liked the message of how knowledge will set you free, and the good, and bad that can come from it. (As the snake said to eve, you will be like a God.) I also liked his idea of the TV walls and how it clouds the mind with loud noises and bright colors. I found that to be very interesting, especially with the outburst of 42" TVs and all the crave for the latest gadgets. I find it very ironic that Amazon is out with their new product Kindle. No offense to them but I do not support that item.
One thing that I did notice was that as I was reading it reminded me a lot of "The Giver" by Louis Lowery. I know that The Giver was written afterword but I actually liked that book more that his. I also understand that it was more meant for children, but think that the ideas presented in her book, almost paralleling Bradbury's book, were very well written and thought out. I also thought that her book was simply just a little more easy to read.
Either way, this still was an excellent book, with a lot of different issues that I think have a love of prevalence in our current status. If you liked Bradbury's book, I would greatly recommend The Giver.
Great book for teenagersJuly 25, 2008 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased this book for my teenaged son to do an English class book report. He was impressed by the way the author was able to imagine the future considering this was written in 1953. I do not recommend for under the high school level.
Important Book Still True In The World TodayJuly 22, 2008 I read Bradbury's book on two different levels. The first being the themes of communism and censorship. The other level being the tone in which he writes which reflects the primal instinct that we as individuals have that allow us to function in society and stay alive. Also, how he writes (he is a literary genius), one can decipher how the thought process works in a fight or flight situation. The book is fantastic. I found nothing boring about it. There is action always going on to where you look forward to turning the page. A must read for anyone with intelligence.
