Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 is an enduring masterwork of twentieth-century American literature--a chilling vision of a dystopian future built on the foundations of ignorance, censorship, and brutal repression. The origins and evolution of Bradbury's darkly magnificent tale are explored in A Pleasure to Burn, a collection of sixteen selected shorter works that prefigure the grand master's landmark novel. With classic, thematically interrelated stories alongside many crucial lesser-known ones--including, at the collection's heart, the novellas "Long after Midnight" and "The Fireman"--A Pleasure to Burn is an indispensable companion to the most powerful work of America's preeminent storyteller and a wondrous confirmation of the inimitable Bradbury's brilliance, magic, and fire.