The late great Ray Bradbury memorably dramatized the dangers of censorship and book-burning in Fahrenheit 451.
Bradbury’s Prometheus-winning 1953 novel, inducted in 1984 into the Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction, is occasionally brought up as a cautionary tale in contemporary discussions about freedom of expression, censorship, school libraries and what books are appropriate for students of different ages to read.
Fahrenheit 451 is referenced anew in an interesting Thinkspot column that challenges common media reporting about “book bans” in government-run schools and libraries across the country.
But do the lessons of Fahrenheit 451 truly apply?
Is “book banning” tantamount to book-burning and other forms of State-enforced censorship?
