"Aldous Huxley, whose grandfather was T.H. Huxley, the renowned scientist, and whose great uncle was Matthew Arnold, the Victorian poet, was one of the most respected intellectuals of the 20th Century. A close friend of T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, Edwin Hubble, Igor Stravinsky, Bertrand Russell, Timothy Leary, and others, Huxley helped shape the modern mind, first with his satirical novels and later with his moral philosophy and provocative theories regarding humankind's destiny. Earlier biographers focused on Huxley's ...
Read More
"Aldous Huxley, whose grandfather was T.H. Huxley, the renowned scientist, and whose great uncle was Matthew Arnold, the Victorian poet, was one of the most respected intellectuals of the 20th Century. A close friend of T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, Edwin Hubble, Igor Stravinsky, Bertrand Russell, Timothy Leary, and others, Huxley helped shape the modern mind, first with his satirical novels and later with his moral philosophy and provocative theories regarding humankind's destiny. Earlier biographers focused on Huxley's eleven novels, while this book traces his trajectory as a theorist who framed the perennial philosophy, the view that all religions have a spiritual core found in the writings of their mystics. Huxley's interests in Asian Religions, psychedelic drugs, and the dangers of mass society, environmental destruction and rampant technology are all covered in Sawyer's short, readable and critically acclaimed biography."--
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 226 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Brave New World and 1984 are generally regarded as the two great prophetic works of the 20th century. Both are imaginary views of a future-world-gone-wrong, but each is based on a different premise: Brave New World says we will be lulled into submission through complacency, while 1984 warns of overt totalitarian control.
More than half-a-century later, the cautions contained in Brave New World -- of a World State in which wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few and pleasure and comfort have made residents universally docile and passive -- seem far more pernicious, while the Big Brother fascist domination of 1984 appears to have had its day, its basic tenor having been reduced to the premise of TV ?reality? show.
We easily forget that the enduringly prophetic Brave New World was an early work of Aldous Huxley, a British aristocrat who ultimately excelled in such diverse fields of endeavor as literature, philosophy, screenwriting, and psychedelic exploration.
The same Aldous Huxley, who pops up in the cover illustration of The Beatles? Sergeant Peppers? Lonely Hearts Club Band and published The Doors of Perception, an early psychedelic guide, also penned The Perennial Philosophy and Brave New World Revisited, two of many prescriptive works that explored themes anticipating both the 1960s ?human potential?movement and publication of The Whole Earth Catalog.
Dana Sawyer doesn?t offer a conventional biography here but more of a narrative of intellectual and spiritual development, except that the story is told so clearly and in such plain language you wish there were other books like this: succinct, anecdotal accounts of a great artist?s evolution and achievement. In fact, that?s the kind of project Huxley himself would have fully endorsed!