Fahrenheit 451   (book)

Fahrenheit 451

"Internationally acclaimed with more than five 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 fifty years ago."

I enjoyed this book. It reminded me of Atlas Shrugged in a couple ways, and of We The Living in other ways. It's about the transformation of a man who sort of fell into his oppressive occupation without thinking about it. In fact, the entire society of his time seems not to think. His transformation begins when his mind is woken up by a chance meeting and he begins to see more clearly what is happening around him.

While this is definitely an inspiring novel about the evils of censorship, the protagonist's philosophy strikes me as rather defeatist for my taste. To paraphrase: "Do no provable 'wrong', stay passively on the sidelines until the dust clears, then re-enter the picture when they know they need you." That philosophy doesn't sufficiently punish willful ignorance in the face of the truth.