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The Fireman
The Fireman by Ray Bradbury
From: Galaxy Magazine - February 1951
The first publication of what would later be titled 'Fahrenheit 451'.
Short story.
From: Galaxy Magazine - February 1951
The first publication of what would later be titled 'Fahrenheit 451'.
Short story.
ebook
Published February 1, 1951
4 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
About the author
Ray Bradbury
2,559 books25.3k followersRay Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 10, 2020
This story has kind-of too many ideas for one story. It isn't only about the power of classic books vs. the inanity of popular entertainment. It also mixes-in an out-of-control police state, a robot dog, city-leveling bombs, kids in cars running over pedestrians for fun, and more. (See also the short story The Pedestrian: A Fantasy in One Act.)
But my enjoyment was 5 stars for the almost poetry of Bradbury's style.
Funny enough, the book of Job is important in this story. I read that for the first time, completely by coincidence, right before reading this.
But my enjoyment was 5 stars for the almost poetry of Bradbury's style.
Funny enough, the book of Job is important in this story. I read that for the first time, completely by coincidence, right before reading this.
October 28, 2019
The Fireman by Ray Bradbury
Galaxy Magazine - February 1951
In this first publication of what would later be titled 'Fahrenheit 451', Ray Bradbury's short story remains as vital today as it was over 65 years ago.
I loved the flow of this tale, as I did the book, and felt the sadness at the loss of a character - not shown in the film. The Professor, neighbor girl, mechanical dog... all enjoyable and as representative as they should be.
Overall, a great story for the researcher and enthusiast. Available for free online, too!
Galaxy Magazine - February 1951
In this first publication of what would later be titled 'Fahrenheit 451', Ray Bradbury's short story remains as vital today as it was over 65 years ago.
I loved the flow of this tale, as I did the book, and felt the sadness at the loss of a character - not shown in the film. The Professor, neighbor girl, mechanical dog... all enjoyable and as representative as they should be.
Overall, a great story for the researcher and enthusiast. Available for free online, too!
March 13, 2019
Came across this recently on the Internet Archive, and as a lover of Fahrenheit 451 - which I teach every year - I wanted to check it out. Interesting the parts Bradbury kept, and the parts he either changed, expanded, or got rid of. It's also how much of "The Pedestrian" apparently lived inside this story, also. Definitely something for the consummate Bradbury fan to enjoy.
September 2, 2016
Fahreheit 451 being my favorite novel of all time, it was interested to see what kind of a version came before it and I was not disappointed. Still preferd the novel, as it explored the brief moments that defined the novel, such as Clarisse, the poem reading, etc.
October 20, 2018
Written over fifty years ago, this book still burns strong with its emphasis on the value of books and the importance of genuine discussion. Leave it to Bradbury to be able to look into the future and see the way we are today with too much scorn for fact, true science, for critical thought and the arts.
July 16, 2017
early version of Fahrenheit 451
September 15, 2025
I wanted to read this to compare it to Fahrenheit 451 and see the similarities and differences between this Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine excerpt and its final draft some two years later. Same rating as F451 because surprise surprise it's just as awesome
Some noteworthy changes I found while reading:
1. Montag explicity states he doesn't want Clarisse to change at the beginning of the story. In F451, he is definitely enamored by her, curious about why she and her family are so different and he enjoys their time together, obviously, but in The Fireman, he tells her he'd throttle her psychiatrist for trying to change her. I liked this. It gave more strength to her confusion over him being a fireman for me.
2. Mildred's suicide attempts are mentioned, but there is no in-depth description of them in the book. Montag briefly mentions what we experience first hand in F451, a time she took 20 pills "a year ago, when we had to pump her stomach, and me shouting to keep her awake, walking her, asking her why she did it, why she wanted to die, and she saying she didn't know, she didn't know, she didn't know anything about anything". It feels more visceral to experience the weight of that moment in F451.
3. There is more of a focus on race in The Fireman regarding Clarisse's death. She is described as the "lovely dark girl" killed by a "vanilla-faced idiot". We don't really know how true this is, seeing as the only information Mildred gives Montag about Clarisse's death is that a car hit her and he assumes the rest. Still, this tiny detail shift caught my eye.
4. The TV walls weren't a thing in The Fireman, replaced by radio! I loved this concept in F451, the level of distraction and involvement of the people of the household was such a crazy depiction, and considering the television craze after WWII I'm not surprised by Bradbury's concern of a tech takeover voiced through these inventions of his. Both hit hard.
5. Montag threatens to kill Mildred for burning his books - "Never touch my books. Never. Or, by God, if you do, touch just one of them meaning to burn it, believe me, Millie, I'll kill you." There was just much more animosity towards her in this scene, it shifted my perspective of this version of Montag.
6. Montag more actively tries to involve Mildred with the books. In F451, he reads to her and her friends at times as they are forced to listen. In The Fireman, Montag has Mildred read to him instead of the other way around for hours on end until she gives up, tired. He doesn't read at her and hope she'll come around, he tells her it'll take time, that he wants to help her become more aware.
7. Montag considers killing Beatty (or Leahy in The Fireman) prior to the burning scene at the end. "'I'll shoot him tonight,' he said, aloud. 'I'll kill Leahy. That'll be one censor out of the way. No.' He laughed coldly. 'I'd have to shoot most of the people in the world. How does one start a revolution?'"
8. Faber doesn't give Montag the ear piece! It was so odd not to have Faber quietly commenting to Montag that he was fucking up LOL
9. Beatty doesn't want to die. This was another bigger change for me. In F451 there is an inclination that Beatty wanted to die at the end, screaming at Montag verses from more books he shouldn't have memorized, telling him to pull the trigger. Montag recounts this and concludes that Beatty wanted to die, making people angry to rile them up instead of remaining quiet and protecting himself at all. In The Fireman, Montag goes at him mid sentence with the fire hose. He doesn't consider Leahy's mentality later at all. Something about the premeditation of this act again shifts my view of this version of Montag.
Bradbury did an awesome job tweaking this story for its release. I much prefer F451 Montag to The Fireman Montag 🙂↕️
Some noteworthy changes I found while reading:
1. Montag explicity states he doesn't want Clarisse to change at the beginning of the story. In F451, he is definitely enamored by her, curious about why she and her family are so different and he enjoys their time together, obviously, but in The Fireman, he tells her he'd throttle her psychiatrist for trying to change her. I liked this. It gave more strength to her confusion over him being a fireman for me.
2. Mildred's suicide attempts are mentioned, but there is no in-depth description of them in the book. Montag briefly mentions what we experience first hand in F451, a time she took 20 pills "a year ago, when we had to pump her stomach, and me shouting to keep her awake, walking her, asking her why she did it, why she wanted to die, and she saying she didn't know, she didn't know, she didn't know anything about anything". It feels more visceral to experience the weight of that moment in F451.
3. There is more of a focus on race in The Fireman regarding Clarisse's death. She is described as the "lovely dark girl" killed by a "vanilla-faced idiot". We don't really know how true this is, seeing as the only information Mildred gives Montag about Clarisse's death is that a car hit her and he assumes the rest. Still, this tiny detail shift caught my eye.
4. The TV walls weren't a thing in The Fireman, replaced by radio! I loved this concept in F451, the level of distraction and involvement of the people of the household was such a crazy depiction, and considering the television craze after WWII I'm not surprised by Bradbury's concern of a tech takeover voiced through these inventions of his. Both hit hard.
5. Montag threatens to kill Mildred for burning his books - "Never touch my books. Never. Or, by God, if you do, touch just one of them meaning to burn it, believe me, Millie, I'll kill you." There was just much more animosity towards her in this scene, it shifted my perspective of this version of Montag.
6. Montag more actively tries to involve Mildred with the books. In F451, he reads to her and her friends at times as they are forced to listen. In The Fireman, Montag has Mildred read to him instead of the other way around for hours on end until she gives up, tired. He doesn't read at her and hope she'll come around, he tells her it'll take time, that he wants to help her become more aware.
7. Montag considers killing Beatty (or Leahy in The Fireman) prior to the burning scene at the end. "'I'll shoot him tonight,' he said, aloud. 'I'll kill Leahy. That'll be one censor out of the way. No.' He laughed coldly. 'I'd have to shoot most of the people in the world. How does one start a revolution?'"
8. Faber doesn't give Montag the ear piece! It was so odd not to have Faber quietly commenting to Montag that he was fucking up LOL
9. Beatty doesn't want to die. This was another bigger change for me. In F451 there is an inclination that Beatty wanted to die at the end, screaming at Montag verses from more books he shouldn't have memorized, telling him to pull the trigger. Montag recounts this and concludes that Beatty wanted to die, making people angry to rile them up instead of remaining quiet and protecting himself at all. In The Fireman, Montag goes at him mid sentence with the fire hose. He doesn't consider Leahy's mentality later at all. Something about the premeditation of this act again shifts my view of this version of Montag.
Bradbury did an awesome job tweaking this story for its release. I much prefer F451 Montag to The Fireman Montag 🙂↕️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2025
The Fireman is the first published version of the story that would eventually be published as Fahrenheit 451. I read it to get insight into the writing process, to see where Bradbury started in order to appreciate where he went. It’s a fascinating exercise.
Most of the basic elements of Fahrenheit 451‘s plot are here. By very nature of this being a 25,000-word novella published in a magazine rather than a 50,000+ word novel, all those elements are underdeveloped. Montag’s character mostly stops growing in the first third of the story. His relationship with Clarisse comes and goes and lacks the weight of how it changes Montag the way it does in the full novel. The world-building is lighter. In general the prose is clunkier.
Nonetheless, the ideas are all there. I was pleasantly surprised at how much even in this shortened version of the story Bradbury conveys his key messages. I could see why a publisher read this and encouraged him to make it a full novel. It’s an appetizer for the much bigger, more fleshed-out story that will be told in the classic novel.
An enjoyable read. Now I want to go back and re-read Fahrenheit 451.
Most of the basic elements of Fahrenheit 451‘s plot are here. By very nature of this being a 25,000-word novella published in a magazine rather than a 50,000+ word novel, all those elements are underdeveloped. Montag’s character mostly stops growing in the first third of the story. His relationship with Clarisse comes and goes and lacks the weight of how it changes Montag the way it does in the full novel. The world-building is lighter. In general the prose is clunkier.
Nonetheless, the ideas are all there. I was pleasantly surprised at how much even in this shortened version of the story Bradbury conveys his key messages. I could see why a publisher read this and encouraged him to make it a full novel. It’s an appetizer for the much bigger, more fleshed-out story that will be told in the classic novel.
An enjoyable read. Now I want to go back and re-read Fahrenheit 451.
February 16, 2021
This was good! I've been meaning to reread Fahrenheit 451 for a few years now so I was happy to read this for class. I'm now very curious how this short story differs from the novel! I read Fahrenheit at least eight years ago now so I don't remember what happens - all I know is that there was nothing in this short story that felt unfamiliar! And yet it also didn't feel condensed. Funnily enough, I think I'm more motivated to pick up Fahrenheit now! When I do, I'll be glad to compare them.
May 25, 2024
Apparently, Bradbury didn’t realize the harm that books can do, for example: in Dr. Seuss’ “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” a person of Asian decent is depicted with C-word sticks! How many people of Asian descent have committed suicide because of this racist stereotype? Probably billions.
August 15, 2017
The first version of Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451"
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews