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Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Surprise--it's pretty good
Review: As an English teacher, I felt like a loser because I had never read FAHRENHEIT 451, so I picked up a copy and read it.

It's pretty good. I guess I avoided it because it was written by Ray Bradbury and I didn't consider him an accomplished author. Now I do. The book just might surprise you. It is science fiction at its best.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Astronomically Good Book
Review: Sometime in the not-so-distant future, the world will change severely. Soon people's homes will be completely fireproofed, leaving no use for firemen as they are thought of today. But they will not be out of work; their role will simply change. In an ever increasingly television oriented society where yesterday's classics are now thought of as censurable tripe, firemen will be starting fires, not stopping them. Their new role will be of a secret police that search out the hated books and raise their temperature to the level at which books burn, Fahrenheit 451. This is the premise of Ray Bradbury's novel. Bradbury's story is an ominous look into where he fears society is presently headed. It is in many ways a warning against existing increasing rates of demoralization, drug use, addiction to non thought-provoking activities, and illiteracy. He easily communicates how such simple trends could evolve into societal brainwashing and individuals who say they are happy, think they are 'social,' and simply spend all their time in their parlors (the ultimate in new television technology). One of the self-proclaimed 'odd' people of this book went decidedly against the norm in saying, "But I don't think it's social to get a bunch of people together and then not let them talk, do you?" However, this book is not solidly a story of doom and gloom. The main character is a fireman named Montag and he ends up providing hope for the reader. While he is not a godlike hero, made up of courage and thew, he does fit the quixotic template in that he is a sad classicist in a new and frightening time. After only a small jolt of reality from an imaginative child, he realizes the world could be made of truth and beauty, rather than the contemporary cheap thrills and insatiable cupidity. Furthermore, this tale has much in common with two other critically acclaimed classics. Montag's government is merely interested in controlling the people while waging war with other super powers, much like the opression in George Orwell's 1984. Additionally, individuals hold very little sacred, no one cares for human life and everyone is looking for a cheap (often-dangerous) thrill. This is a public where men who handle drug overdoses are not concerned that such matters happen "nine or ten a night," all of this general apathy is mirrored in the novel Brave New World. But, again, Bradbury is a creative author, and his visions of the future are not nearly as hopeless as 1984, or so alien and drug based as Brave New World. Fahrenheit 451's point is twofold. While it warns against where society is headed, it also shows that it only takes good people like Montag to bring society back from the brink of ruination. This faith in the goodness of the common man does not falter and shows optimism that is not always part of such works. Upbeat themes can be hard to find in such otherwise bleak forewarnings, and even in most normal classics it is hard to find a purely happy ending and/or main point. Seeing as this book was published over forty years ago one would assume that it is out of date, but this is not true. It is a science-fiction book without any unbelievable differences between this projected world and our own. Also, Fahrenheit 451 is easily read. The book communicates its point in a mere 160 pages, none of which are filled with incomprehensible vocabulary. It contains enough action for those who like it, and plenty of Montag's self-realizations for readers interested in seeing characters delve into their own mind's inner recesses. This book should be a joy to anyone who chooses to pick it up. Conversely, this easily enjoyed book carries with it some strong meaning. Montag's experiences are a warning to people who would get so used to their impersonal lifestyle that they would become desensitized to many of the world's horrors. Upon finishing the book, one is sure to be more guarded against choosing an easy path, and therefore becoming less of a human. Bradbury did well in bringing the way life became more and more impersonal and barbaric. "I put up with (my children) when they come home three days a month; it's not bad at all. You heave them into the 'parlor' and turn on the switch. It's like washing clothes." In likening children to annoying creatures which deserve as much attention as laundry, the character who made this statement both disgusts the audience and says the statement as if it were only natural. The author has a talent for letting his audience see situations both as they normally would and as the characters do. Even through the opening we see some of the book's many themes played out in Montag.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Incredible!
Review: This is definitely one of my top books. It has wonderful insight into human actions, and what will happen if knowledge is ever disregarded. This book seems to be a commentary on our lives, and culture, which seems leaning ever more towards the predictions in this book. I am very frightened that Farenheit 451 may one day become a reality, if not exactly like it, at least somewhat.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. All I can say is, read it for yourself!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: If you can't stand the heat then don't read this book
Review: My name is Antwone and I have just finished a very intresting sci-fiction novel. This book by Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 is eye catching. It's an easy read and won't take you a long time to read it. Bradbury's writing style is very compelling in nature. He depicts a futuristic society where the government controls everything. In this book he tells the story of a man (Guy Montag) that works for the government. He is a fireman who gets paid not to put fires out but to start them. In the society that Bradbury builds, the job of a fireman is to burn all books. The government feels that books make people anti-social and is the reason why there are so many problems with people in their world. Guy Montag upon many events in the book starts to struggle with his on self. He starts to find a new found love for books in which he is intrigued by. He struggles with this throughout the book. He is disregarded by his comrads and they are displeased with his change in attitude. Throughout the book the heat gets intense as Guy struggles with his own feelings. The government is on the look for him and out for his arrest. Will he survive? or Will he fall under the governmental society? Hope you read it and find out. This is a great read an will give you a deeper feeling of what to think about in the future. This book will give you an greater insight on what may and could happen in the future. So if you like intense heat give Fahrenheit 451 a try and see if you can stand the heat.

Happy Reading

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Eye Opening
Review: I found this book to be an extremely eye-opening work of art. Without giving away the plot, I will tell you that if you're of even average intelligence you will enjoy this book. By the way, you may have read an earlier review by a guy named Brewster.. just read the book and you'll see how he's a classic example of the society in this book!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Understanding
Review: I believe this book to be completely and inutterably crazy. I dislike it because of its content. Honestly i have read a lot more interesting books. Slowly i start to understand it but barely. Choice of words is what i believe to not be good. I think the story would be and entirely different book if Ray Bradbury would have chosen maybe some words and word phrases that children might understand better. I suggest to read this book if you feel like you have time. If your into all that science fiction stuff then you would probably enjoy this book much more than i ever will in two lifetimes. Goodluck, you might need it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another Great work by Bradbury
Review: It was another great work by Bradbury. I like reading scifi books and this was the perfect book for me. I was reading it for a class in high school. I had to do a report and it was the perfect book for it. The fireman went off the hook because his mind went crazy after he heard the his boss killed a girl. I was not his fault. I would have do the same if that happened to me. I recomened the book to the scifi types. You will enjoy the fireman's journy through life of fun until murder. You'll love it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: How could you give it less than five stars?
Review: When in 8th grade I had to read this for school, the first thought that came to mind was "Oh boy, another dull, uninteresting novel to add on to all the rest." Little did I know that Farenheit 451 would come to become one of my favorite books ever. I didn't even need a teacher to tell me what Bradbury was trying to say. That is the strength of his message. When we finished discussing the book in class, I even went out and bought it. Not only is this book exciting, but it is thought provoking as well. If I had my way, I would have this novel, 1984 by Orwell, and Brave New World by Huxley stressed in school far more than the meaningless stories that children have to read. A better understanding of these novels could change the world.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing and increditable book
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I have read it twice now, and everytime I read it, I enjoy it more and more. This book was about one person and the changes he went through. Guy Montag was a firemen, who burned books for a living. Then he is enlightened to read a book, and is helped by Professor Faber. At the end, Montag is a rebel. He runs away and becomes I leader of other rebels to bring reading to the world they left. This book show how the technology is taking over and not even using books for education. I think it is a book that everyone should read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A quick review of a great piece of literature
Review: This is a very twisted book based on a time many years from now. A time when books weren't made to be read, but to be burned. Guy Montag, the main character in this story never questioned why books were to be burned. He just went on with his job as a fireman and burnt them along with the homes of many brave people who wished to rebel against the wishes of an obviousely deprived society. One day he meets a young woman who tells him of a time when books were made to be enjoyed and not burned, and when people had the right to express their feelings by writing them. He also meets a scientist who helps him in his quest to find as many books as possible and read them all. He is later caught when his crazy wife, Milly, sounds the alarm that he has hidden books in their home. When the house is burned Montag kills his former boss, Captain Beaty, with a flame thrower. He then tries to escape the town and is almost caught, but makes his way to the forest and finds a group of highly educated people who have been through the same trails as he. He then joins there little circle and is never caught.


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