Fahrenheit 451

May, 1954

One moment he was smiling----the next he was a shrieking blaze of flame.What has come BeforeWhen all houses, everywhere, were made completely fireproof, firemen were no longer needed for their original purpose. They were given a new job, as peace-of-mind custodians. Instead of putting out fires, they set them. They burned books.To own a book was a crime. Books caused unhappiness -- they raised questions that couldn't be answered -- conflicts that couldn't be resolved. This was a perfect, conflic...

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