Fahrenheit 451

Hardcover

English language

Published Oct. 30, 2011 by Folio Society.

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (4 reviews)

Ray Bradbury’s classic envisages a dystopian future in which the job of firemen is to seek out books and burn them. In this edition, introduced by Michael Moorcock, Sam Weber’s astonishing illustrations perfectly capture the novel’s haunting atmosphere.

In 1950, Ray Bradbury had a kernel of an idea for a story, and rented a typewriter in the basement of the UCLA library for nine days (it cost him $9.80). Dashing from the basement to the stacks to track down half-remembered quotations and typing at furious speed, in that short time he produced the first draft of an extraordinary novel. Serialised, widely published, adapted for film, theatre and even opera, the book, as Bradbury wrote, ‘seems to have a life that goes on recreating itself’.

Source: www.foliosociety.com/book/FRH/fahrenheit-451

84 editions

Una buena distopía

4 stars

Esperaba un Orwell y terminé un poco decepcionado. El mundo que construye está interesante pero no indaga demasiado en él, algunas partes parecen inconexas y solo estar ahí para continuar con la historia. Vale la pena leerlo completamente por una parte muy particular del final, sí lo lees, sabrás cuál es cuando llegues ahí.

Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were heading for shore.

5 stars

There are so many quotes that I have taken away from this book and that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I think one of the main (or, most impactful) ones is 'if you drown, at least die knowing you were heading for shore' - such a beautiful way of saying die doing what's right. It reminds me of the quote from Stéphane Charbonnier who stated, 'I'd rather die standing than live on my knees' (he was later killed by Islamic terrorists who did not agree with the viewpoints he published). I know that many people reading this review might argue that I should have read this book earlier in my life (and they're likely right) but I want to attempt to rebut this by saying that I think, if I were to read Fahrenheit 451 at any younger age, I might not have been …