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Summary: HATED IT!
Review: I really did not like this book! Now, don't get me wrong the idea was good, but the writing was horrible. I normally like Ray Bradbury's work, too. The writing style was very repetitive and boring. I think that this is one of those books that could have been great if written differently.
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Summary: The Tyranny of the Masses
Review: This slim little novella is a rollicking story about Guy Montag, a "firefighter" of the future who loves his job. His job is not to put out fires, but to set them. Montag and his comrades burn books for a living. It doesn't matter what type of books, they have all been targeted for incineration. Apparently, in the America of Guy's time, the people, and especially the government, have decided that books are a bad deal. Books make people think and agonize over choices, which is a bad thing. The real goal of society should be happiness for everyone. Since no one can be happy if they are always worrying about things they read, the solution is clear. Unfortunately, many people seem to have a problem with this, at least on a subconscious level. Suicides in Guy's world are sky high, so high that they have special teams of medics go around and suck pills and other nasty poisons out of the people who have decided they don't want to live anymore. The government does try to placate the masses through mind numbing television and radio shows (see Guy's wife, Mildred). People that refuse to go along with the program are sent away, or worse. Guy wakes up when he meets a young neighbor who turns him on to the way of experiencing life. Guy eventually rebels and ends up as part of a group who memorize books to preserve them for future generations.I'm leaving out lots of details to the book with this description. After all, I don't want to spoil the whole thing for you. What seems to be more important about this book is its value to today's world. Although written years ago, some of Bradbury's details are amazingly prescient. The omnipresence of television and other means of electronic control certainly ring true today. Also, the censoring of books continues unabated even now, with every type of group clamoring for some type of control over what the rest of us read. Certainly, burning books of every sort couldn't be far away. Since most people read nothing but pap these days anyway, I can imagine Plato and Milton going up in flames soon enough. Who wants to read that boring stuff when you can watch TV or go to a movie? Soon after this comes what Bradbury refers to as, "the tyranny of the masses." If enough people don't want to do something, you better jump on the bandwagon too. Try going to work and speaking out against multiculturalism and see what happens. Throw out your TV set and tell people about doing so. You'll be branded a freak and avoided like the plague. People are cattle, plain and simple. Bradbury does seem to have some hope for our sorry condition, as can be seen at the end of the book. However, getting to that state will take some time, I'm afraid.
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Summary: Fahrenheit 451 is Fascinating and Gripping
Review: More than just a story, Fahrenheit 451 is written in breathtaking prose, but manages to convey essential ideas through its simple, terrifying plot. Its metaphors and theme of censorship and knowledge will set your mind reeling and will hopefully do what it is intended to do: change the way you look at the world.
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Summary: I loved it! A Must Read !
Review: How many times have you ever wished that you never ever have to read another book again or how many times have you wished that books should be banned so that you could watch the TV all day long? Well, enter into Ray Bradbury's world where reading books are illegal, watching TV all day is encouraged and running people over with cars are acceptable. Remember in school, where the brainy kids would always answer the teacher's questions while the rest of us sat behind? The rest of us would always feel dumber and after class we would beat up the brainy kids. It was a no win situation but in this wonderful society, class consisted of - you guessed it - television and more television. But in this world, everyone was made equal, so much equality that practically everyone are mindless zombies. Guy Montag, the protagonist of FAHRENHEIT 451, mindlessly burn books for a living. His profession is being a fireman. What better way to prevent books from making us unhappy, right? Wrong! Everyone that follows the contraband-book-society is miserable. Right off the first few pages, someone wants to kill herself and it turns out to be Montag's wife. Clarisse McClellan enters the picture and she gives Montag a little shove towards the direction of actually making him think for himself. For a moment there, Montag starts to live. He sees nature meaning trees and flowers, you know, that sort of junk people really don't see when their mind and concentration is on the television. McClellan also makes Montag question his lifestyle and happiness. He starts to get upset because he realizes that there is something terribly wrong with how the society works. But don't worry. Before McClellan can complete the transformation of making Montag into a living and breathing person, she gets run over by a car, driven by a bunch of kids. A wonderful world, is it not? Since Montag is stuck in between the phase of being a zombie and being a full fledge person, he looks for help. Although he wants help, he's placing himself in danger, by - be prepared for this - reading books and by talking with Faber, a retired English professor. The journey that awaits Montag would be full of confusion, danger and anger especially when Faber and Beatty have a verbal one-on-one. By the way, Beatty is really Captain Beatty, as in captain of the fire department.
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Summary: Fahrenheit 451
Review: Fahrenheit 451 is a book about a man named Montag. His occupation is being a fireman. When this book takes place, which is in the future, the firemen are making fires for books instead of extinguishing fires. Montag meets a girl that's new to his neighborhood and he walks her home. On the way, he finds out that her name is Clarrise Mclellen. He also found out that she was quite peculiar. Clarisse asked questions like if he was happy.
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Summary: When Will There Be A 'Fahrenheit 452'?
Review: Unarguably, FAHRENHEIT 451 is one of the finest books ever written. While the book gets a bit disjointed in its closing scenes, it still should be required reading for anyone with a brain and a pulse.
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Summary: Great!
Review: I had to buy this book for school. At first when I was reading it, it seemed a little boring because it wasn't the type of book I usually enjoy reading. But after I got about 20 pages in, I couldn't put it down! I loved every description and foreshadowing, and how much of the technology was similar to today's, even though the book was written in the 1950's. I was so happy with it that yesterday I went out and bought another of Bradbury's books, The Martian Chronicles!
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Summary: Fahrenheit 451
Review: The book had a good beginning that brought you right into the action of the story and showed you the view that the main character had. It had a captivating storyline that was able to keep you interested.
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Summary: It's gettting hot in here!!
Review: If you have ever heard the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover", you'll notice how Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is a perfect example of that. Since I was assigned this book to read, I didn't get that enthusiastic with it at first, especially with that title. I thought it was going to be a book were I had to struggle to keep myself awake to read it. After reading the first 4 or 5 pages though, I was proven totally wrong. I became engulfed in this book and couldn't stop reading it. The story felt so real that I could picture it happening in our society without a doubt in my head.
I enjoyed reading about how Guy Montag's character unfolded throughout the story and how he realized that just because something was the law didn't mean that it was exactly right. It is good how he followed his beliefs and didn't let anyone tell him that he was wrong. A downside to this book though is that my favorite character, Clarisse, was run over by a car. I believe that Bradbury just added that part to just take her away. I believe if Clarisse would have lived, she would have been at Montag's side and the overall story could have been so much better.
Also, I believe that Bradbury could have changed the ending a little. That was the least exciting point of the book. The jets flying by overhead and the city being destroyed was very exciting, but after that, the overall excitement of the book just died off. I am not going to be stereotypical and say that all of Bradbury's books have a dull ending (because I haven't read any other one), but I will say that he should have fixed this one up a little.
All in all, Bradbury has written a good book. Not perfect, but good. I think that this is a book that few should be without reading because it can actually knock some sense into them to not be fools and stand up for what they believe in. The book portrays a world that could possibly be our own in a few years. The fate of this world though, will rest upon our own hands.
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Summary: Simplicity! A book that lets the readers connect the dots
Review: First of all I just wan't to say that I became interested for a rather odd reason. I read an article that said much of the band Radiohead's artwork was inspired by this book; as well as some of their little scribbles and a Tee- Shirt.
Now I have always respected Radiohead as smart dudes, and have found the image of book burnings full of symbolism. Thus, I gave it a read, and low and behold what do I find? A beast of a book.
All the other reviews pretty much get it right, but I didnt like how one reviewer slammed the idea of how easily the main character was converted. After all, the people who did so read books did they not? How could he debate with so little knowledge. Also look at people in our world who are converted from other religions. It usually doesnt take much. Some things just FEEL right after you hear it out loud.
All in all, I do not consider this science fiction, but more of a political or social commentary. Interesting, Thought provoking, and entertaining; while maintaining a beatiful simplicity that lets the reader think and imagine.
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