A modern classic that becomes increasingly relevant in this age of increasingly frivolous AI usage, and the rise of anti-intellectualism. I read this over Banned Book week as an e-book and it struck such a chord that I have quickly purchased a paperback, which will be smothered in notes. It’s worth taking a moment to ponder that this was written in 1953, inspired by McCarthyism, book burnings and ideological suppression that was being seen at the time, and in the immediate 20 years before it’s publication.

In an age where we are seeing ever decreasing levels of literacy - with The Literacy Trust reporting that 10% of children do not have a single book of their own, and only 1 in 3 children read for enjoyment - Bradbury speculates what this could mean for society. A core part of this book is that the censorship of books steamed from society itself and was then taken on by the government, rather than the other way around. And with areas of society driving the book bans we see already, we can start to see how this road gets trodden.

A passage that particularly struck me was one that highlighted how pieces of literature get distilled down - such as we see happening with adaptions to TV and film, but more importantly with AI summaries - framed as a way to keep up with your friends and neighbours, here is Hamlet in five sentences.

There are many scary concepts that are outlined within this short book, which we can see in society today, that had started to raise their head over 70 years ago.

It’s not a book without it’s flaws, I’m not comfortable with the portrayal of women (I acknowledge this reflects attitudes in society at the time of its writing, and again this is something that we are seeing increasingly within areas of society today.)

Fahrenheit 451 thoroughly deserves its place as a modern classic. As noted, it is not without its flaws, but I think these are vastly outweighed by its important and still (or even increasing) relevance to society today.