Sunday 2 March 2014

Fahrenheit 451

Hello loyal viewer(s),
Yesterday morning I finished reading Ray Bradbury's 1953 hit, "Fahrenheit 451", named after the auto-ignition temperature of paper- i.e. the temperature at which paper, and all things comprised of it, spontaneously ignite!
It is very much like George Orwell's "1984" in so far as it is set in a totalitarian and dystopian (debatable) cityscape. Rather than the notorious thought-police ruling the streets there are firemen- men who start fires rather than stopping them. The firemen have one thing in mind- burning books- and they deploy a mechanical hound to sniff them out, often killing those found in possession of the books as well. They do this because books are viewed as a source of corruption and unhappiness in this perpetually "happy" society.

It was and still is a great novel and is very apt in this 21st century society, particularly after the recent reveals concerning civil liberties from figures such as Edward Snowden and Bradley/Chelsea Manning. Books like this are of the utmost importance, now more than ever, because they provide society with potential outcomes and foresights of decisions that we have yet to make and, depending upon the magnitude of the events portrayed in books and the their implicit messages, they may be useful in determining how the human race should develop and act in a world of constant modernization and change.

You can buy the same copy I read at-
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fahrenheit-451-Flamingo-Modern-Classics/dp/0006546064

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