[kennyc]

OMK3. Despite it's power, I wouldn't say F 451 is Bradbury at his best writing-wise. He is an incredible short story writer though. If you get a chance try "The October Country" or "S is for Space" (if they are even still available). One of my all-time favorite short stories -- #1 for a long, long time but still in the top few is "Frost and Fire" which is in the S is for Space collection.

Other work where he shines is - The Martian Chronicles.

Enjoy!

Edit: just check because I was thinking this started as a short story and was right. Here's the wikipedia entry:

"The concept started with Bradbury's short story "FireMan," written in 1947 but first published in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1963.[4] The original short story was reworked into the novella The Fireman, and published in the February 1951 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction. The novel was also serialized in the March, April, and May 1954 issues of Playboy magazine.[5] Bradbury wrote the entire novel on a pay typewriter in the basement of UCLA's Powell Library. His original intention in writing Fahrenheit 451 was to show his great love for books and libraries. [6] He has often referred to Montag as an allusion to himself.[citation needed]"

Often I find the short stories or novellas much more engaging than the expansion to novel size (as was the case with Nancy Kress's Beggars in Spain). Sort of like movies from novels they are rarely as good or better than the book.