Fahrenheit 451
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| Length: | 6 hours | ||||||||||
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Overview
Internationally acclaimed with more than 5 million copies in print, Fahrenheit 451 is Ray Bradbury's classic novel of censorship and defiance, as resonant today as it was when it was first published nearly 50 years ago.
Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires...
The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning...along with the houses in which they were hidden.
Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames...never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid.
Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think...and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do!
Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires...
The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning...along with the houses in which they were hidden.
Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames...never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid.
Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think...and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do!
Reviews (50)
American Farenheit 451?
Written by Ward Kelly on August 31st, 2008
- Book Rating: 5/5
Just finished reading this classic written in the early 50's. While its influence was no doubt based on some of the Dictatorships toppled just years before, it has its fingerprints running through American politics to date. Bradberry makes comments about how the people are kept happy with endless entertainment on large screen TV's, and through total lack of controversy, as well as alcohol. This seems prescient in that we now live in a society obsessed with sports, hollywood, celebrity, and partying. The book speaks of the burning of books to control the masses from thinking too much, and thus are much more easily controlled. It speaks of the majority which lived wasted lives of loneliness, while being entertained, and who as the majority supported the status quo of the knowledge suppression.
Fahrenheit 451
Written by Michael Scott from Santa Cruz, CA on August 28th, 2008
- Book Rating: 3/5
I've always wanted to read this story, and have actually seen the movie. I thought it would be a cool idea to get the version here on SAB that was narrated by the author (there is another version narrated by someone else available here). Bad idea. I found his style annoying. However, the 6th disk is entirely an interview with the author himself. That made it all worth it. If you just want to listen to the story, I'd try the other version, but disc 6 made my choosing this version well worth it.
451
Written by Conley from Tulsa, OK on August 21st, 2008
- Book Rating: 5/5
I loved listening to Bradbury read his work. It was wonderful to hear the story again and so passionately done. Although, I did not listen to the interview on the final disc since the tale was all I was after. I fully recomend this work.
below zero
Written by GARNETT ABBEY from Burlington, ON on January 31st, 2008
- Book Rating: 1/5
I sent it back after 5 minutes. I couldn't follow a damn thing as the author sounded like he had a mouth full of toffee. Sorry, but it's seems as though his ego got the better of him. A professional should have read the book.
Fahrenheit 451
Written by John Lawrence from Lake Wylie, SC on November 21st, 2007
- Book Rating: 1/5
My wife and I tried listening to this, but found it difficult to follow. It would have been better if read by someone who was a proffessional at that instead of the author.
Fahrenheit 451
Written by Gabrielle Ludwig-Martin on September 21st, 2007
- Book Rating: 5/5
I hadn't read this book for many years. To be able to listen to it again, read by the author himself, was a tremendous experience. No matter what the author's voice may sound like, you get the full meaning and nuance of what was meant. It was particularly wonderful, especially since he recently passed away, to hear the last CD of the interview with him about the book, and his life. What experiences! He was more than an author....he was a philosopher, a visionary, and a truly gifted human being. He will be sorely missed.
Painful
Written by ML from Carrollton, TX on September 19th, 2007
- Book Rating: 1/5
I thought I'd re-read a classic. The reading by Bradbury was so painful I had to stop half way through disk one. It really was that awful.
Fahrenheit 451
Written by Marilyn on September 4th, 2007
- Book Rating: 2/5
I was disappointed in this book solely because I forgot to check who was reading it. Authors, on the whole, do not make good readers--and this was no exception. I could not listen to it and had to send it back.
Fahrenheit 451
Written by Thomas Wright on May 12th, 2007
- Book Rating: 5/5
A wonderful reading of this science fiction classic by the author, with a great interview by him on the last disc. Written in the fifties the story is as relevent today as it was then. In fact many of the authors predictions seem to be coming to pass. A great reading of a seminal book. Highly recommended !!
The end is worth waiting for!
Written by Cyndie Browning on March 26th, 2007
- Book Rating: 4/5
Altho' Fahrenheit 451 was written 50 years ago (and I WAS alive back then altho' probably not old enough to read it), I had never read the book. And one reason I chose this edition, where Bradbury reads it to me, was because I figured _he_'s the author, so who knows the book better than he does? Alas, he's 50 years older, too, and no longer has the breath to read his own words. I found it very annoying the way he had to keep taking a breath after reading 4-5 words. In some places, it was hard for me to make any sense of the sentences, waiting for him to take a breath. However, CD#6 is worth the whole rest of the book. It consists of an interview with Bradbury in 2001, who talks about writing the book: what made him think of it, how he got the title, what his life was like back then, the political and social climate, etc. Absolutely delightful!! and worth the whole rest of the bad reading and everything! I give it a 4-star rating, solely because of that interview at the end.