This is one of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read. One of the most frightening, too. But not because of the apocalyptic scenes on the Earth and Mars described in it. It's just that it so precisely showed the automatism and senselessness of everyday life. The people portrayed by Bradbury have lost the ability to be genuinely astonished by something. They just consume everything that comes their way without "wasting time" on being amazed by anything. They just plough through a new planet, alien culture, its legacy and even Martians themselves. The indifferent destruction machine is almost perfect and omnipresent. The book was written in the middle of the twentieth century and yet nothing has drastically changed since then in this respect.

Actually, there is a much wider range of topics covered by the author, I just stressed what struck me most as so relevant to the present day realities. Absolutely gripping reading.