Profile - Tilton School

Tilton School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school serving students from 9th to 12th grade and post-graduates. The student body of 243 consists of 51 day students and 192 boarding students from 20 states and 16 countries.

The Lucian B. Hunt Library is located in Tilton Hall. The original name for the Town of Tilton (where the school is located) was Sanbornton Bridge. It was changed in 1869 to honor Major Charles E. Tilton , who had gone west 25 years earlier in the Gold Rush and returned a wealthy man. Major Tilton built his mansion (now Tilton Hall) and many of the buildings in town. He is responsible for numerous statues and parks as well as the famous arch, which still stands in Northfield, New Hampshire.

Tilton School chose Fahrenheit 451 as the 2007-2008 All School Book and has held a variety of Big Read events including lectures, discussions, and reading events for the Tilton School community. Tilton School has had an All School Book each year since 1999.

Events - October 23, 2007

The Dunbarton Library will host a discusssion of Fahrenheit 451 at 6:30pm.

The Frost Free Library in Marlborough will host a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 led by Dr. Marianne Salcetti of Keene State College at 6:30pm.

Michael Brien will lead a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 at Barnes & Noble in Manchester at 7pm.

Discussions of Fahrenheit 451 will also begin at 7pm at Pease Public Library in Plymouth; at the Hills Memorial Library in Hudson; and at the Howe Library in Hanover where Laura Rubenis will lead the discussion.

"Civil Liberties vs. Security in Post 9/11 America" at Tracy Memorial Library at 7pm
As the federal government continues to address new national security issues in the wake of September 11, 2001, the uneasy balance between security and civil liberties is receiving renewed attention. This lecture by Richard Hesse, Franklin Pierce Law Center, explores the important trade-offs and considerations facing citizens and non-citizens alike.

Events - October 18, 2007

Join the staff of the Barnes & Noble in Newington at 3pm to discuss “What book would you save?”

Beginning at 7pm there will be discussions of Fahrenheit 451 at Barnes & Noble in Salem, at the Gilford Public Library, at the Exeter Public Library, at the Colby Memorial Library in Danville, and at the Leach Library in Londonderry. James Webber will lead the discussion in Exeter and Mark Cronin will lead the Londonderry discussion.

At 7pm the Mill Pond Center for the Arts in Durham will host a screening of the original 1966 movie version of Fahrenheit 451 starring Oskar Werner and Julie Christie and directed by Francois Truffaut. This program is presented in partnership with the Durham Public Library, the Madbury Library, and the Lee Public Library.

Imaginate That! in the Youth Program Room at the Keene Public Library 3:30 to 5:00pm
Share your favorite science fiction stories. Create your own alternate universe and populate it with the people and animals you design. Make extraordinary other worldly crafts. Discover strange and unusual science “facts.” This program is for children in grades 4-8.

Events - October 17, 2007

A Brown Bag Book Discussion of Fahrenheit 451 begins at noon at the Somersworth Public Library

Beginning at 7pm there will be discussions of Fahrenheit 451 at the Philip Read Memorial Library in Plainfield (with scholar Laura Rubenis); at the Richards Free Library in Newport; in the meeting room at the Wolfeboro Public Library; and at the Weeks Public Library in Greenland (led by Christina Healey).

Events - October 16, 2007

James Webber will lead a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 at Exeter Public Library beginning at 10am


Beginning at 1pm there will be a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 in the meeting room at Wolfeboro Public Library and at Portsmouth Public Library

Hills Memorial Library in Hudson will begin their discussion of Fahrenheit 451 and "What book Would You Save?" at 1:30pm

Sandown Public Library will host a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 at 6:30pm


As part of their Big Read NH programming Manchester City Library will show the film version of this classic novel beginning at 6pm


Richard Hesse on "Civil Liberties in a Fahrenheit 451 World" at the Richards Free Library in Newport at 7pm
Ray Bradbury’s remarkable account of life in a thoroughly repressive society was written in the midst of the "McCarthy Era" in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Many government officials and agents regarded communism as a sufficient threat to justify the suspension of civil liberties. To accomplish that objective society had to be persuaded to suppress those who spoke and acted to protect those liberties.
Bradbury’s account relies on that pattern to construct a society which accepts the destruction of books (and one assumes, all other forms of art and literature) as an appropriate and necessary means of assuring "happiness." Those who do not accept that formula suffer a cruel fate.
Are we living through a contemporary version of Fahrenheit 451 or have we insulated ourselves from that form of oppression? We will examine the trends in our society following 9/11 to take our temperature and determine how close we are to Fahrenheit 451.

Disussion led by library staff and local teachers of "What Book Would You Save?" at the Chesley Memorial Library at 7pm

Adult and YAttitudes Book Discussion Group will talk about Fahrenheit 451 at the Rye Public Library at 7pm

"Surveillance in the Post 9-11 World" at Tilton School beginning at 7:30pm

Surveillance in the Post 9-11 World

In Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury imagines a world where the government protects us by burning books. In 1984, George Orwell imagined a totalitarian world where even thought was controlled; hero Winston Smith did not triumph. Is Big Brother watching us now, or are we simply taking wise precautions against real threats?


David Mackey of Plymouth State University will present this program at several locations during our Big Read:

• Barrington Public Library, 10/4/2007 (6:30pm)


• Dunbarton Library, 10/11/2007 (6:30pm)


• Tilton School, 10/16/2007 (7:30pm)


• Madbury Library, 10/29/2007 (7pm)

This program is part of the NH Humanities Council's Humanities-To-Go catalog.