Author(s): Ray Bradbury

Contemporary Fiction

'Fahrenheit 451: The Temperature at Which Book Paper Catches Fire, and Burns' In this classic of dystopian science fiction, censorship is so prevalent that "firemen" are entrusted with the task of burning books to keep the citizenry away from anything that might cause dissent. Suicides are commonplace, and people drug themselves with pills, thrills, and the meaningless programming that pours from four-wall television. Guy Montag is a fireman; he loves the act of burning, but he's never actually stopped to consider what it is he's burning. Nor has he ever stopped to consider whether his life contains any meaning, or happiness. Then he meets a strange girl named Clarisse, who encourages him to question everything. Inspired by Clarisse, Montag does two radical, forbidden things: he begins to read, and he begins to think. One of Bradbury's definitive works, FAHRENHEIT 451 is an amazingly prescient book, anticipating not only social but technological trends. Bradbury described a world where people would be surrounded--bombarded, in fact--by their televisions and personal sound systems, and where the threat of war is a sufficient excuse to limit freedom. Today, individual acts of censorship are continually flaring up around the country, and many people never even bother to pick up a book once they've finished their schooling. FAHRENHEIT 451 is the banner book for organizations fighting these trends--both censorship and simple apathy.