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Summary: Not afraid to think
Review: Bradbruy creates a world of censorship and what is supposed to be simplistic and fun. The main character, Guy Montag has the profession of a fireman, and rather then put out fires, he begins them. His job is to destroy books, but he soon realizes that there is more to the world than what is told to him. With the help of some very interesting supporting characters Montag's life is drastically changed. This is a really quick read under 200 pages. It was definantly thought provoking and the whole message fits in any time period.
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Summary: Scary how realistic-makes you ponder
Review: Amazon.com recommended Fahrenheit 451 to my list a long time ago and I just now got around to reading it, somewhat skeptical at first because the description on the back of the book seemed, at best, cheesy. The publisher might want to rethink the blurb. But, I read it anyway, and am thoroughly impressed not only with the style of writing, but also with the complexity of the situation presented. In a novel where books are banned because they cause too much 'free thinking' and 'confusion' for those who fail to understand them or don't want to read them, there are a lot of fairly frightening similarities to the way society is progressing today. Granted, I don't believe we will ever burn all the books of the world, but it is a cruel reminder how many people are ignorant to the importance of books, whether fiction or non-fiction. It also reminded me how much I enjoy cracking open a new book with its characteristic smell and feel, and how much I, as a reader, would miss that privilege.
Rating:
Summary: Good - not as good as 1984
Review: An interesting book that everyone should read. If you're looking for the BEST negative utopia book, however, you need to read George Orwell's 1984.
Rating: 
Summary: Try it out, and see if you like it
Review: I picked up this book off my dad's shelf, because he recommended it to me. However, I didn't enjoy it as much as he did. Fahrenheit 451 is your typical dys-utopian book. But, it lacks a sense of style. Although the novel, like most others of the nature, has an eerie aura to it, it was basically boring. Ray Bradbury failed to get me hooked on to anything in the novel, and it wasn't the type of novel that made me want to keep reading more. The plot does not come as a surprise and the conclusion is left shady, leaving the reader to do what he/she wants with it. I suggest not to read it, but since this book has so many mixed reviews, you might as well see what all the hype is about. My recommendation: since this is a quick read, with only 179 pages, check it out for yourselves.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: Ok so some of the stuff in this book seems like dated, mid-twentieth century Science Fiction predictions of a future we now know will probably never occur. But the themes in this book are timeless and the hero is just like you and me. Hopefully. If we a more people like the fireman in this book then perhaps half the holocausts of history would never have happened. then again during those same holocausts there were men and women like the fireman and they helped defeat the tyrants in power or save millions of lives by making the right decision (moral decision) over mindlessly following the status-quo. Bradbury's descriptions of fire are lovely. They are like flowers, like petals, like demons and like angels.
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Summary: Respectable Novel
Review: I read this book because i enjoyed the futuristic ideas in Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles." This novel was a good thoughtful book but a little too slow-paced. Fahrenheit 451 makes you really think about whether our government is controlling us or not.
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Summary: possibly the best book of all time!
Review: I love this book! It is beautiful and fast-paced from beginning to end. Not only is this book entertaining, but it is also a thought-provoking social statement. Before I read it, I thought this book would be sort of boring, since I am not Science Fiction's Greatest Fan. However, this book crosses all the boundaries of fiction, appealing to all people who enjoy authors with a vividly descriptive style. I strongly reccommend this book to anyone with a voracious appetite for reading!
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Summary: A book that you need to read at least twice to understand
Review: When I first read this book, I was so incredibly lost. It was the first Bradbury book I'd ever read, and I guess I just wasn't used to his style. There were so many times I would have to reread 5 or 6 pages 3 or 4 times because I was so confused about what was going on. The characters were strange, and I couldn't ever tell what side they were on;it was really unpredictable. It's one of those books where you need to sit down and read it in a quiet atmosphere and focus on Bradbury's symbolism all throughout the book. If you miss the symbolism, you won't get much out of the book. I think it's hard for people under 13 to really understand some of the symbolism that's in the book, so there's really no purpose in them reading the book, since they won't understand it.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, Yet Somewhat Confusing
Review: Fahrenheit 451 is a book about firemen burning books. The story is quite fascinating but the way Bradbury works it along is a little confusing. The storyline- Guy Montag is a fireman who burns books and is very proud of his job, that is until one day he meets a girl named Clarrisse and an old man. The story is basically what he decides to do in order to find out why books were banned and what is inside a book that leads people to love them or hate them. The confusing part of this book is that it leaves you thinking "Ok, What just happened?". I recall that more than once I had to re-read a page 4 times and still couldn't figure out what happened. I'm guessing that the reason this book is so confusing is that it takes place in the future yet sometimes it seems so old (probably because it was written awhile ago). You sit there thinking "Is this the real world (in the novel) or are they discussing the past, or are they discussing the future?". If you happen to watch the movie of Fahrenheit 451, watch it after you read the book, or better yet, don't watch it at all. The movie is different in many, many ways, including names and plot.
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Summary: Excellent Commentary on Censorship and Political Correctness
Review: Fahrenheit 451 is a futuristic parable that warns of the bleakness of a society in which political correctness has gone awry. The firemen in the story burn books (and the houses in which they are found) in an effort to save mankind from being offended by their contents. There are a couple of gripping passages in the middle of the story, amidst intense action sequences, in which the firemen's philosophy is expounded, and a history is given to explain the madness. In the words of the fire marshal (Beatty), "Colored people don't like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don't feel good about Uncle Tom's Cabin. Burn it. Someone's written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the book." And so on.The main character (and fireman) Montag evolves from someone who merely observes with a curious detachment the odd book-loving maverick around him, to an active participant in a quest to salvage what little is left by way of the written word. He is inspired by a little girl and an old man, both unconventional thinkers, and along the way, Montag's disdain grows for his conformist wife. [Curiously, and most prophetically, Montag's wife's love of interactive television (or its futuristic analog) ends up stripping her of any individuality or character, and causes Montag to tire of her more quickly.] A great read, all in all, with credible characters, creative and thought-provoking settings and devices (including a mechanical "hound" working for the fire department that tracks prey according to its hormonal makeup (or "odor index"), and dispatches it with a poison syringe), and a caustic tone that spares no one (the media, the government, religion, etc.). The story is totally conceivable, too (even today, despite its completion in 1953), which serves to scare the reader more than the most fantastic piece of fiction ever could. My edition had a riveting Afterward by Bradbury as well, circa 1979, in which the author inveighed against censorship and those who see fit to censor. In the author's own words, "There is more than one way to burn a book."
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