Rating: 
Summary: Classic SF tale--anti-censorship and also anti-war
Review: Fireman Guy Montag is happy with his work--burning books--until he runs into a teenaged neighbor who really talks to him, questions him, and starts his mind working in directions that don't feel comfortable and that lead him to question his entire existance. In Ray Bradbury's futuristic dystopia, books are illegal and wall-sized television sets, constantly babeling and even allowing user interactivity, rule the world. But, as we learn from the story, this isn't the result of harsh government sanctions, but of popular consensus only supported by the government when books were already almost extinct. Author Ray Bradbury is a powerful and effective writer. His use of the language adds color to a straightforward, if fascinating plot about a man's struggle to come to terms with himself in a world where comfort and 'happiness' are deemed more important than questioning and thought. Like George Orwell's 1984, FAHRENHEIT 451 survives because of its eternal message, its strong writing, and its insights into the future--a future that Bradbury might recognize as something similar to our own present. In an era where book reading declines each year, and where a greater and greater percentage of those books sold are best-sellers by a few favorite writers, Bradbury's message is certainly worth another look. Two characters make this novel--Guy Montag, with his doubts but also his hopes for the future, and fire chief Captain Beatty. Beatty knows the truth, knows more about books than Montag or even most intellectuals, and is willing to argue against them--but does so using arguments from the books themselves. Beatty's arguments are subtle and definitely worth stopping and thinking about--only if we are willing to pay Beatty's price can intellectual freedom survive and Beatty is right--few are really willing to pay. Although most reviewers focus on the book burning and anti-intellectualism that Bradbury describes in FAHRENHEIT 451, there is also a strong anti-war message that runs through this novel and much of Bradbury's early work. As in our own era, wars are expected to be easy and cheap, at least for the Americans. Bradbury argues that expectations don't always make the truth.
Rating: 
Summary: A Prophetic Novel of Censorship
Review: Guy Montag is a firefighter who burns things. Specifically books, and the houses they are found in. He lives in a state where books, and possesion of them, is illegal. Guy enjoys his job until the day he meets Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse makes Guy doubt his motives and he soon becomes daring enough to break the law and read a book. He finds he loves litereature, he keeps steals books from the houses he's burning and reads them at home. He finally goes as far as to skip work one day, and his Fire Department Captain, Captain Beatty, shows up at his home. He tells Montag that it's normal for a Fireman to go through such doubts at a stage in his life. Then proceeds to go through a long monologue as to the history of banning books. According to him, special interest groups objected to books that criticized, belittled, or undermined their causes. For this reason, books became more and more neutral in order to avoid offending anyone. However, this still wasn't enough. So society agreed to outlaw books. Montag is not convinced and begins to plot with a professor he had previously met named Faber. They plan on planting books in the houses of Firemen as a way of discrediting the profession and destroying the governments unit for censorship. However, thing go when the alarm sounds at the firestation and Montag goes to the last house he'll burn in is career, his house. Unlike its fellow dystopia-themed predecessor, 1984, much of Fahrenheit 451's depiction of modern society came true almost prophetically. Although not outlawed, literature now holds a narrow audience. And the brainwashing televisions Ray Bradbury depicts aren't far off of today's one-eyed-boxes. Ray Bradbury's adjectival descriptions in this book are strong, even at times; on occasion, one could even say they became monotonous. However, the books never crawls forward for to long; the progress, although not quick, still moves fast enough to keep the reader's attention. Overall a strong novel censorship. Although not perfectI would recommend Fahrenheit 451 to any reader interested in either mere science-fiction, or one actually interested in a political criticism of censorship. Both will find their time well spent, the latter will definitely get more out of it, as for the previous. . .
Maybe you would enjoy Star Wars??
Rating:
Summary: awesome book...simply amazing
Review: a really great book. kinda short though, wouldve liked to have seen more suspense, but thats the only negative thing i can say about this book. its an awesome story and really throws you for a loop at the end. if you like this book and would like to read more like it, i recommend george orwell's "1984." that one is a really great book also. whereas this book focuses on the extremes of censorship, 1984 focuses on the extremes of propaghanda and kind of circulates around censorship as well. again, only if you like books like this will you enjoy the message that 1984 delivers. it's kind of a mind f**k though. it really makes you think about whether or not you truly know whats happening in the news. read it and you'll understand.
Rating:
Summary: This is why censorship stinks!
Review: This book points out while at the absolute extreme mind you what the negative effects of censoring books can be. It is Ironic that this book is on the list of top 100 books challenged between 1990 and 2000. Besides being a great social commentary/civil liberties book, it is an exciting book. If you are in the mood just for a good page turner, read the book, if you are in the mood for a good social commentary, read the book. The story is basically about a man with an empty life who's job is to go around burning the homes of people who own books. A very good example of how empty a person's life can be without being able to exercise their mind. I think anyone who likes to read, will like this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Bradbury: Literary or Laboured?
Review: I heard about this book from noticing it cropping up on listmania lists on this website as a very "literary" book, meaning pretentious and boring. Now i've read it, i can almost not see why its there - true, the book is artistic - bradbury lists every adjectival detail of his narrative, at times painstakingly - if you like prose where if there's smoke, its wispy and curling and dissipating, instead of being able to imagine what it looks like - then Ray Bradbury is for you. At times this style of writing feels laboured, and many recognise it as simple artistic. I happen to feel that a true artist knows when to linger and when to stride forward and get straight to the point. I could argue that Bradbury fits into this category. In fact, his story of Montag, a "fireman" in a futuristic state where books have become the enemies and need to be destroyed - is quite an action based piece which set the tone for much successive science fiction. Of course, Bradbury was not the founder of this genre, though i don't know much about it, i think George Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World preceded it. It is old - about 1950 i think, but it doesn't feel old. I thought Bradbury's nervous fear of the advent of television in the 40's was funny, but has ended up being quite prophetic - TV has indeed come to be quite a maniupulative medium. If you love a book which is big on story as well as being big on ideas, if you love a nostalgic adjective-packed prose, if you love science fiction - and if you don't, just damn well read 1984 and then maybe some Phillip K Dick like i did, and you'll see what all the fuss is about - and btw, science fiction isn't really science, its ABOUT science, or the fantasy of science, what science can do to us, the thirst for knowledge and advancement - but its really about people struggling against a system. Actually, strike all that, SF is about story. In fact, its one of the best genres for telling ideas through story. In Fahrenheit 451, the idea is censorship, freedom of thought, and the repression of it by the state - and its told through the involving story of Montag, the officer of repression who finds himself in a bit of a pickle when he accidentally spies a line of prose on a page he's been ordered to burn, and wonders what the big mystery is. Plus, its short - only about 150 pages - so you can eat it up over a couple of long train rides if time is a factor. For me, though, only 3 out of 5 because i started struggling about half way b.c of the profusion of adjectives. But for some people, its a plus - if you have trouble imagining novels, then Bradbury gives you all the info, almost like on a movie screen. B.P
Rating:
Summary: Interesting...
Review: Farhenheit 451 catches the reader from the start. The brillant start to book about burning and changing not only sets up the book's major themes, it also foreshadows Montag's transformation. Then the book offers an exciting plot with a backdrop of an intriguing false utopia. Suddenly the book ends -thirty pages before it actually ends. Bradbury seems to put the last events on cruise control. The contrived ending sort of gives the book a bad after taste. However, this book is fantastic even with the flawed ending. The dialogs surrounding books and the concepts they contain often make the reader pause and reflect. The fact that sitting and reading can be deemed revolutionary is something every reader dreams of. If only once, this book is worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat strange writing, but good book...
Review: The writing was strange, as was the imagery. However, this book had a very good theme. Now, I know that everyone who reads this book will not see the same theme, but I thought that the theme was that life is better if you use your brain. It was also horryfing to see that nobody knew what they were missing by not being able to read books, they thought that their wonderful big picture TVs would lead them through happiness, and that they could ignore the nasty things about life. But that's not the way that life is.
Rating:
Summary: MY REVIEW
Review: I recommend this novel for those who like to read interesting things. This novel is about how books cannot be read at all in society; it was against the law. Imagine just listening to the media all day and radio stations, where would they get all their facts and information on human nature, or nature itself? The firefighters in the story create the fire, rather then putting them out. Picture the future with just technology and no books? This book sort of gets you curious about what is gonna happen towards the ends because of all the killings and interesting talks a man Montag had with a seventeen year old girl named Clarisse. I don't usually like to read books but when I read this one, I wanted to know what happened next or why the people in the story were acting like that? It was easy for me to imagine. So for those who would like to read a short book about a hundred and seventy- three pages, I recommend this one. Below is a quote from the story and my commentary about it. So here and take a sneak peak:
1.) " He gazed, shaken, at that white hand. He held it way out, as if he were farsighted. He held it close, as if he were blind. 'Montag!' He jerked about. 'Don't stand there, idiot!' The books lay like great mounds of fish left to dry. The men danced and slipped and fell over them. Titles glittered their golden eyes, falling, gone. 'Kerosene!' They pumped the cold fluid from the numerated 451 tanks strapped to their shoulders. They coated each book; they pumped rooms full of it. They hurried downstairs, Montag staggering after them in the kerosene fumes. 'Come on, women!' The women knelt among the books, touching the drenched leather and cardboard, reading the gilt titles with her fingers while her eyes accused Montag. 'You can't ever have my books,' she said. 'You know the law,' said Beatty. 'Where's your common sense? None of those books agree with each other. You've been locked up here for years with regular dammed Tower of Babel. Snap out of it! The people in those books never lived. Come on now..." (38)
The problem here is that they are called to put fire to a woman and her house for having books. Montag hesitates and tries to encourage the women to leave while she. The women, Captain Beatty and Montag have an argument about books and set the house on fire.
In this scene, it doesn't seem like Montag wanted to burn the lady and the books. He seemed hesitant by warning the woman to get out before it's too late. Books seem to be some people's most prized possession. In these books, there are problems, trials, death, and unrealistic acts. They feel that there is no purpose in reading these books because it will corrupt what the society runs now. When he states, "The people in those books never lived. Come on now," they feel there is no purpose on how these stories will benefit you positively, but only negatively.
Rating: 
Summary: The book is not the best!
Review: It is not the best book I have read. It was really weird and freaky. The thing about it was that I didn't comprehend it much. It was really a book that doesn't suit me that much. I didn't understand it much. At times, I felt stupid reading it because I didn't understand it. If you are a person who likes reading books about fire, this book is for you.
I really don't want to have to read it again and I didn't like it. It was way out of my league. I didn't care for the Ray Bradbury. But, I am not saying I hate him. I am sayinh I might tru some of his other books as well as this book that I didn't like. Although this book does not fit my categories or my type of books, I would not recommend it to other people who like serious stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Reality check in a world that needs it
Review: It's amazing how a book that was written nearly half a century ago continues to captivate the interest of any reader, aand especially that of a fourteen-year-old like myself. Fahrenheit 451 has managed to do this. Now one of my favorite books, I can sit back and wonder "what makes this such a good book?" I feel the answer is that F. 451 is a slap in the face to Americans living in this day and age. The fact that it appears this is where America is headed - wars (war with Iraq, war with Afghanistan), censorship (parental advisories on cds, ratings on movies), and just a general air of disaffection to the world can be seen every day. America: read this book! We'll be better off for it!
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