A very nice review of FAHRENHEIT 451, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, appeared in yesterday's Chicago Sun Times newspaper. In case anyone would like to read it, you can access the article by clicking on the following link:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/books/sho-sunday-bradbury07a.html

Richard,

Thanks for the link. Great review and nice excerpt from the novel. I'd forgotten what a brilliant piece of work it is. And I was especially glad to see the reviewer avoid the trap of making the by now cliched connection to John Ashcroft and the Patriot Act. As Bradbury points out in the article's excerpt from F451, the book burnings came from the people.

Pete

It is a good read. Definitely worth the time. Thanks for posting it.

Richard:
This weekend I chose not to buy a Sunday edition of Sun -Times, and Lo, now on Monday night I discover a need to find a copy of the Sun-Times, to which I say "Good Luck."

It's a mammoth thought, a thrill, to know that this book will propel thru the future with readers clinging to it like onto the side of the Noah's Ark...as the world may well flood itself away in torrents of simple ideas. Housed inside this book is a freedom of expression, but I believe foreign to what is contemporarily taken place on this planet. There is a decency thruout its pages, which has lost its meaning nowadays. But it is THAT decency which vibrates inside of the reader. If he be callous as stone, he will burn it 'by chance' , as it were, of always looking the other way wherever it may happen to be...

Ray Shakespeare, or is it William Bradbury?

The arrival of Clarisse that would change Montag's life:
"The autumn leaves blew over the moonlit pavement in such a way as to make the girl there seem fixed to a sliding sidewalk, letting the motion of the wind and the leaves carry her forward. ...Her face was slender and milk white, and in it was a kind of hunger that touched everything with a tireless curiosity."
(F451, RB, p. 5, Del Rey)

The arrival of Juliet for the marriage that would change the young lovers' lives:
"Here comes the lady. O, so light a foot
Will ne'er wear out the everlasting flint.
A lover may bestride the gossamer
That idles in the wanton summer air,
And yet not fall: so light is vanity."
(R&J, WS, Act II, sc. vi)



[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 09-18-2003).]

Thanks. Loved the // to Shakespeare. Just reading Bradbury's words again is more than enough. They say it all. Sheer poetry.

ooo dont ruin it Im still reading

The famous Coda (1979) seems to glow even brighter today than when it was written - now nearly 25yrs ago. For those who have not read it, take a few minutes here: http://www.uta.edu/english/V/students/collab5/bradbury.htm

I've read this before, but I really enjoyed reading it again. Even when Ray is ranting, he does it beautifully--so poetically, I often stop and reread certain phrases and sentences that just catch me in a certain way. I printed out a copy this time to save for my "All Things Ray" file. Thanks, fjpalumbo for the great article!

Newer interview with RB about 451. Most is well known, but some tidbits of new info.
http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20.../NEWS/312260305/1004

A mediocre film with a brilliant ending.
It's funny, because it's true.

I was reading today's Chicago Sun Times and, lo and behold, there was a color photo (from 1996) of Ray Bradbury on the Letters to the Editor page. In reading the following letter, it became clear why:

"THREATS AGAINST LITERATURE, LIBRARIES ARE OLDEST TRICKS IN THE BOOK

Threats against libraries are likely to increase in part because the right-wing religious intolerance and political nihilism that is driving recent book bans mirror those of their past. Whether those threats materialize into actual violence is a question mark, but the outlook is forbidding, given this week's bomb threats at Harold Washington Library Center and facilities in surrounding suburbs.

Books themselves offer insights regarding the consequences of book bans. And what better book on these topics than 'Fahrenheit 451,' a dystopian novel published in 1953 by Waukegan-born author Ray Bradbury?

The novel confronts book bans directly as it depicts an American society where books are unlawful and 'firemen' burn any that are found.

Bradbury was reacting to the Red Scare of the Joseph McCarthy era, when right-wing propaganda promoted the fear of communism and other leftist concepts. He also wrote in the shadow of the book burnings in Nazi Germany and the ideological repression in the Soviet Union.

These dynamics bear a striking resemblance to propaganda today against 'progressive' ideas such as African American history, civil rights and gender equality, as evidenced by the widespread bans against Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye', Sherman Alexie's 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' and Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaiden's Tale' illustrate.

Bigotry against the LGBTQ-IA+ community is also a strong dynamic in numerous book bans.

Given the increase in violence against Jews, people of color, immigrant and others, things could get worse with libraries, librarians and patrons drawing the wrath of fanatics.

Craig Barner, Lincoln Square"

In thinking more about the above letter to the editor, perhaps it would be a good idea to add some context. On Thursday, September 14, 2023, all Chicago Public Library branches, as well as many other libraries in Illinois (including those in Evanston, Aurora and Joliet), were evacuated and/or closed due to bomb threats received over the choice of books offered on the libraries' shelves. A sad day.

And one more book that is often sought to be banned: FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Thank you. This is MY town's library which is threatened with closure! https://www.tri-cityherald.com...rticle278326718.html

Lawsuit and restraining order: https://www.daytonchronicle.co...rom-ballot/4241.html

"It was a pleasure to burn and to weed!"

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada...ok-weeding-1.6964332