Fahrenheit 451

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 53,025 ratings

Price: 17.46

Last update: 11-15-2024


About this item

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of 20th-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future, narrated here by Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins.

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television "family". But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television. When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.


Top reviews from the United States

VL
5.0 out of 5 stars Very important book.
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2024
Fahrenheit 451 is a powerful critique of censorship, conformity, and the suppression of knowledge. Bradbury’s depiction of a society that bans books and discourages independent thought serves as a warning against a future where intellectual freedom is sacrificed for comfort and order. Through Montag’s transformation, the novel suggests that self-discovery and freedom are inextricably tied to the pursuit of knowledge. In a world where individuality is erased, Bradbury argues that humanity’s survival depends on the protection of free thought and the willingness to question the status quo. Fahrenheit 451 remains relevant today, serving as a reminder of the importance of intellectual freedom and the need to resist forces that threaten it.
Sherry Sharpnack
5.0 out of 5 stars The Temperature at Which Books Burn
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2024
SOME SPOILERS (as if no one had read "Fahrenheit 451" before I finally did):

The lateness of the review does not reveal my opinion of this novel. That being said, I can see why some folks raise their eyebrows at the thought of high-school kids reading this.
"Fahrenheit 451" is a classic -- and a highly-banned book -- for a reason: it is simply stellar at making its point: the world needs to preserve the great thoughts of history, even if it is "only" in people's heads, not in physical books. We need people to think big thoughts, to address the thorny problems, and also just simply to write beautiful words. Mr. Bradbury honestly does both in this disturbing read. I honestly wasn't sure I should be reading it at bedtime, b/c of Mr. Bradbury's graphic writing. The introduction to Clarisse McClellan -- and her quick departure from the storyline -- was upsetting and senseless. Guy sees this, and this revelation changes his views of everything: his job, his marriage, his wife's "addiction" to the banality of her screens on every wall. What disturbed me the worst, however, was his wife's overdose and the extremely mundane, all-in-a-day's-work, attitude of her rescuers.
What a sad world! Books are burned and overdoses are so commonplace that there are rescue teams going about all night long "saving" people. I'm glad that we don't live in this world -- yet.
Let me end w/ an example of Mr. Bradbury's excellent writing in the FIRST paragraph of this view of a dystopian future:
"It was a pleasure to burn.
It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and CHANGED [caps b/c I don't know how to italicize]. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history." p. 1.

I mean, wow, just ... wow.
Erik Martenson
4.0 out of 5 stars Equilibrium 451
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2024
Stellar book. I loved it, and the formatting is beautiful. Straight margins on both sides, I love when the text is justified. It looks good and makes the book easy to read.

In this, rather short, story we meet Guy Montag, a fireman. But not a fireman in the sense that he puts out fires, no! He’s the one doing the burning. And what does he burn? Books.

In this simplified, almost childish, version of the future everyone lives in houses. They all have a lawn. They have a television, a radio, a car that guzzles gasoline, and did I mention there’s a war on? No doubt started by the same people who banned books.

The book is lovely, but a bit naive. In this world there doesn’t seem to be any computers? And it’s written in 1953. The first computers were conceived during the 2nd World War, to crack the cyphers of the enemy. Why no computers, Ray?

Yes, I know. He died in 2012, same year my own dad died.

And he was an American.

That’s why I find this book so strange, because it’s written halfway in US English and halfway in British. Why on Earth?

Ray writes «toward» which is the US form, but also «programme», and that’s not the only example. He writes «sidewalk» which is US, and «colour» which is British. Very peculiar.

This made me remove one star from the rating, simply because I see no reason for this aberration. I do read British books, many of the best sci-fi writers in the world are from there, but just stick to one written language, okay? It’s not a cake. Don’t mix ’em!
Christine Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Same great book
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2024
I first read this book back in high-school 40 years ago and it quickly became one of my cult favorite reads. I'm happy to have another copy. Hard copy is of high quality as is the dust jacket.
Philipp Bergmann
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2024
Delivered fast and great price.

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