Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

From the Paperback:
"Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires. And he enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs or 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 Guy met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think. And Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do..."

" 'You weren't there, you didn't see,' he said. 'There must be something in books, things we can't imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing.' "

 This was/is required reading in some high schools, not mine though. I've just read it recently and I wonder if I had read it in high school, would it have had the same impact on me as it does now? In this future books have been banned, not just some books, all books. If you're caught with a book your house is burnt by firemen. It starts by banning one book because of offensive content and escalates quickly. Within two generations most people forget they can think for themselves. It's a world of people just going with the flow, Guy can't even remember how he and his wife met.
   I think the implications of Fahrenheit 451 are obvious and something to be cautioned against. While reading this I wondered how anyone could just accept the thoughts they were fed and adopt them as their own. Guy only begins thinking for himself when he meets Clarisse who challenges him with questions and ideas he has never considered before.
   This book should be read by people who cherish the written word. Fans of dystopian novels will also enjoy this book. I imagine I'm a little behind on reading this one, but if you're like me and haven't read it before, now is the time.