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.