Just one more question from a confused Little Duck: Does anyone know if there is a specific event in Mr. Bradbury's life that sparked his passionate views against censorship? Thank you so much.
~Duck

I think some school district in California, had banned or blacked out words in F-451, or it might have been some racial story that was contriversial in Martian Chronicles.
I think that F-451 had also been tampered with by a publishing house also. There are more on this board that could be more precise.

The only original events I can think of were Nazi book burnings before WWII--as Ray was already writing about book burnings just a few years after the war--and the repression of the McCarthy era both in the U. S. and behind the iron curtain. Ray may have had personal experiences as well, but I don't know what.

In his forward in the 40th anniversary edition of Farenheit 451, Bradbury addresses the issues leading to his focus on censorship. They included the following (some direct, contemporary experiences, some things he'd read about):

-- Activities of the "Un-American Activities Committee (prior to the McCarthy hearings.)

-- The McCarthy hearings and issues related to that period. (He discusses McCarthy's removal of books from the Army's library, and Eisenhower's return of those books to the shelves.)

-- Hitler's book-burnings.

-- Stalin's rumored book-burnings.

-- The witch hunts in Salem (in which an ancestor was charged, but not burned).

-- The burning of the Alexandrian Library in ancient history.

-- His love of libraries and bookstores.

-- An encounter with a policeman while out for a walk, which led to the writing of "The Pedestrian". This led to the character Montag, and to Farenheit 451.

-- He says he could not afford college, so he lived in libraries.

-- He also cites his love of books and ideas as driving him to oppose censorship and the restriction of ideas.

-- He also cites Hugh Hefner and the founding of Playboy magazine -- which Bradbury cites as a venture that had to overcome a "frightened nation" and which, according to Bradbury, "shocked and improved" the world. Obviously, he sees Playboy as an effort to overcome censorhip and the fear of ideas.

He recounts his library/book/censorship stories as including: "The Bonfire," "Bright Phoenix," "The Exiles," "Usher II," -- all leading up to F451.

He says he has probably written more stories, novels, plays, poems, etc., about libraries than any other writer today.

He cites the library in "Something Wicked This Way Comes" as the central battleground between good and evil (Mr. Dark and Mr. Halloway).

I love this line: "All the women in my life have been teachers, librarians or booksellers. I found my wife, Maggie, in a bookship in the spring of 1946."

Obviously, there are a lot of influences in Bradbury's focus on issues of censorship and the restriction of ideas. I think his love of ideas is, however, the driving force . . . his unwavering belief that the free exchange of ideas is what will allow mankind to achieve the best possible in him.

(Forward published in: FARENHEIT 451: 40TH ANNIVERSAY EDITION. Ray Bradbury. Simon and Schuster, NY. New forward, c 1993.)

On some documentary maybe on the Discovery Channel a very interesting reason was given for the burning of the library at Alexandria. People were arguing about religion--Christianity vs. other religions, and different aspects within Christianity--so someone figured it was best to burn the whole thing so that certain knowledge would be lost and only accepted views be promoted. (Of course, now anyone with a "Da Vinci Code"-type theory of any kind can say it was all in there.)

Ray appeared on an A & E biography of Hugh Hefner saying very positive things about the literary influence of "Playboy."