Bloom, Harold, ed. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451: Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2001.

This volume opens with a useful introduction to the novel, written by prominent literary critic Harold Bloom. The rest of the book contains a series of short interpretive essays by critics such as Wayne L. Johnson, Donald Watt, William F. Touponce, and Susan Spencer.

———. Ray Bradbury: Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2001.

This volume offers a broad introduction to the themes that preoccupied Bradbury in his major works, including Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles. After opening with a critical introduction written by Harold Bloom, the book features several short essays on various aspects of Bradbury’s writing.

Bradbury, Ray. Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales. New York: Harper Perennial, 2005.

As the title suggests, this volume collects one hundred of Bradbury’s best short stories. Many of the stories featured here were originally published in pulp magazines as early as the 1940s, and had not been in print since then. Bradbury’s short stories provide the curious reader of Fahrenheit 451 deeper insight into Bradbury’s science fiction imagination.

———. Dandelion Wine. New York: Avon Books, 1999.

Originally published in 1957, Dandelion Wine is a novel by Bradbury that takes place during the summer of 1928 in the fictional town of Green Town, Illinois. The novel features a nostalgic vision of small-town life that Bradbury based on his own childhood in Waukegan, Illinois.

———. Fahrenheit 451 and Related Readings. New York: McDougal Littell & Co., 1997.

This school edition presents the text of the novel alongside a series of short stories, poems, and brief essays meant to help the student build reading comprehension skills.

———. The Martian Chronicles. New York: Bantam Books, 1994. 

The Martian Chronicles is an influential science fiction novel comprised of a series of related short stories. The stories that make up the book recount the colonization of Mars by humans seeking refuge from an Earth that has suffered from the devastation of atomic disaster. The Martian Chronicles originally appeared in 1950.

———. Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity (Expanded). Santa Barbara, CA: Joshua Odell Editions, 1994.

De Koster, Katie, ed. Readings on Fahrenheit 451: Greenhaven Press Literary Companion to American Literature. New York: Greenhaven Press, 2000.

This volume brings together a number of essays Bradbury wrote between 1960 and 1990 on the subject of writing. Students of Fahrenheit 451 will find especially valuable the essay titled “Investing Dimes,” in which Bradbury reflects on his experience writing the novel.

Reid, Robin Anne. Ray Bradbury: A Critical Companion. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000.

In this volume, Reid provides a valuable introduction to Bradbury and his writing. In addition to a biographical essay on the author and an essay that situates the author’s work within a broader context of science fiction writing, Reid includes individual chapters on each of Bradbury’s major works, including Fahrenheit 451.

Weller, Sam. The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury. New York: William Morrow, 2005.

Sam Weller’s authoritative biography of Bradbury offers students deeper insight into the writer’s life and creative process. Weller had full access to Bradbury’s private archives, and he was also able to conduct extensive interviews with Bradbury himself, as well as with the writer’s editors, family, and friends.