Fahrenheit 451 (Book)

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Saw this in my feed from ABE books...

An asbestos bound copy of Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 was auctioned.
I never knew there was such an edition... but (you must admit) it makes eminent sense to bind that particular book in fire proof material. :D
(Moi is the proud owner of the SF Book Club edition--combustible version--- bought in the 1970s for something like $2.95 ...)

Fahrenheit 451.jpg
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"Eternity is an awful long time, especially towards the end."

"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.” -- CSL

Re: Fahrenheit 451 (Book)

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Asbestos is only dangerous if/when it breaks apart. As long as it isn't disturbed it just sits there and doesn't do anything.
And you can be certain that whoever paid $22K for that edition is not going to be handling it much, if at all, and not because the cover contains asbestos. It's probably going to sit in glass case.

And about asbestos.... I have the horrible "popcorn" ceilings in my home.
My house was built in 1972, therefore the "popcorn" texture contains asbestos, as was typical before the 1980s.
The ceiling has not been painted (which would seal it).
I bought the house in 1983 almost 40 years ago. I live in Arizona, Phoenix metro area, which means I spend a solid 4 months (at least..could be five) indoors to escape the summer heat. I do not have any impairment from asbestos "exposure" because I don't disturb the ceiling.
Maybe there is a fine asbestos dust that continuously rains down on me...
But I have had two chest X-rays in the last 5 years (routine pre-surgery requirements) that were clear and my oxygen levels are consistently above 95%.
So......don't disturb the stuff and you will be fine.
(Heck, I'm more likely to end up with lung problems from doing woodworking, even though I wear a dust mask or respirator.)

"Eternity is an awful long time, especially towards the end."

"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.” -- CSL

Re: Fahrenheit 451 (Book)

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You are correct. It is only dangerous if it is friable and you disturb it. But the thought of it creeps me out.

I'm sure you realized this, but if you ever try to sell your house, the potential buyers will likely want you to remove that popcorn ceiling. If you do, I highly recommend hiring a professional and not trying to DIY it.

I also have a copy of Fahrenheit 451 from SFBC, though probably bought only 20 years ago, not 50. Mine is as undisturbed as though it were asbestos. My buying to reading ratio is regrettably lopsided and I have pretty much put a moratorium on any new books (except Tolkien of course).
"Olorin I was in the West that is forgotten...."

Re: Fahrenheit 451 (Book)

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With the housing market the way it is in Phoenix I wouldn't have any problem selling the house... maybe settle for a few thousand less if the ceiling is still popcorn.
And as far as having a professional remove it? ...
Around 1990 I talked to people who do drywall work. Everyone of them told me
1) if the building were used for commercial purposes (store/office/school/gov) they would charge me and arm and a leg to remove it, and use all the "approved" paraphernalia to do it: sheeting, vacs, masks, bunny suits etc. and also have to dispose of it according to Haz-mat regs
2) a private residence the would send maybe one or two guys out with half face respirators, gallon water sprayers/scrapers/plastic drop cloths, and dispose of it in the trash in 30 gallon plastic bags.
3) I know too many people who have done their own homes or bought homes to flip that do it exactly that way..,.. it's on youtube how to do it safely.
I did my 12 x 18 family room 30 years ago (before youtube existed). It was tiring and tedious (and probably contributed to my needing neck surgery 5 years ago) so I decided to leave the other rooms for someone else to do. ....And my lungs are still clear.

The hardware/ big Box home stores here sell "popcorn ceiling removal" kits and even have a video on it.
popcorn removal
Maybe in other states you can't do it yourself even in a residential structure.
But Arizona has a long [legislative] history of leaving people alone and not intruding in their home life.
Yes, we have plumbing and electrical and construction codes.
But once the home is built AZ has (up until recently) minimally interfered as to how you altered it, as long as it wasn't a structural change (which would then require a permit and have to follow code).

"Eternity is an awful long time, especially towards the end."

"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.” -- CSL

Re: Fahrenheit 451 (Book)

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Back to Fahrenheit 451....
I just read it...again.... for the (I don't know) 20th(?) time.
I guess I was 12-14 or thereabouts when I first read it, so that means that on average I read it every 2-3 years.
Kind of like LOTR, except I came to that at a much later age (as I mentioned in another thread)
There was movie made...directed by Francois Truffaut made in the mid 60s... not very good.
I don't think Bradbury liked it IIRC... casting was so-so, except for the part of Beatty... Cyril Cusack was perfectly cast as the Fire Chief.
Some scenes were really well done, like the old woman who was willing to be burned in her house along with all her books... that scene has stayed with me all these years.

"Eternity is an awful long time, especially towards the end."

"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.” -- CSL

Re: Fahrenheit 451 (Book)

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Re: professional asbestos abatement, I didn't mean to suggest you do that to stay on the right side of the law, but rather for your personal safety. But if you did a room 30 years ago and have had no ill effects, apparently you got lucky! :thumbs_up At least so far...asbestos-related diseases take a very long time to manifest. By the same token, if you decided to do the rest of your house now, based on what you have implied your age to be, chances are you would not have to worry. I'm just glad I have a new house (well, it was new 15 years ago) and don't have to worry about asbestos or lead paint.

As far as regulations, yeah those probably vary by state, and I have no firm idea what they are here. I suspect that if the homeowner does it, they can do what they want, but if a flipper did it, they'd have to do something more rigorous.

Getting back to the book, I kind of doubt I'll ever read it, even beyond my daunting backlog. I suspect it would be far too depressing. As to movies, a year or two ago they made a version for HBO with Michael B. Jordan of Black Panther fame. It was supposed to be awful so I never watched it.
"Olorin I was in the West that is forgotten...."

Re: Fahrenheit 451 (Book)

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I seem to remember something about the recent movie, primarily that it was pretty bad.
I think 20 years ago (it was before he had his "problems") Mel Gibson wanted to make a movie of it with himself directing, but also in the protagonist role (which I would have had no problem with... he would have made a great Montag).

Oh you really should read it if only to see how book burning (aka wholesale state sanctioned censorship of any reading material) could come about.
Beatty goes into it at length, and it was quite the eye opener for me.
At base it's this: It's not a top down legislative act.... it comes from the bottom up, driven by the masses.
And then there's the tech-y stuff....."advanced" at the time but we have it now (and not all of it good) and that Bradbury nailed it is almost scary.
He wrote it in 1953 on a rental typewriter in the basement of the UCLA library.
Also I recall about him that he never got a driver's license...himself rode a bike or walked and only rode in a car. And he never flew.
Last edited by Deimos on Wed Jul 20, 2022 2:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

"Eternity is an awful long time, especially towards the end."

"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.” -- CSL

Re: Fahrenheit 451 (Book)

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Olorin wrote: Wed Jul 20, 2022 1:58 pm Asimov didn’t fly either. If he couldn’t get there by car or train, he wasn’t going. Supposedly only flew twice.
Maybe Bradbury was OK with trains...some of his short stories involve characters riding trains.
Then again some of his characters drive cars too... and fly.
It's funny tho' about his not flying. So many, many of his stories involve rockets (almost always going to Mars) and one [titular] character is named Icarus Montgolfier Wright.

"Eternity is an awful long time, especially towards the end."

"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.” -- CSL
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