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Velshi Banned Book Club: ‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury
American dystopian classic “Fahrenheit 451” by the late Ray Bradbury encapsulates the dark realities of a society without books, intellectual curiosity, or critical thinking. “Fahrenheit 451” tells the story of Guy Montag, a fireman, whose job is to destroy the most dangerous item in their government-controlled society: books. It is a novel that pushes us, as readers, to consider our lives and our role in society. This is a novel that warns us of what our world would look like under total government control, softened by excess media consumption. The author of another celebrated dystopian classic, “The Giver”, and friend of the Velshi Banned Book Club, the legendary Lois Lowry and Jason Stanley, Yale University philosophy professor, author, and fascism expert joined us to discuss the late Bradbury’s magnum opus. The novel shows you “different ways you could have lived, different ways society could have gone,” says Stanley. Lowry agrees, “that's how we learn.”
