"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past." Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair ...
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"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past." Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal. George Orwell's dystopian masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-Four is perhaps the most pervasively influential book of the twentieth century.
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Written in 1948, George Orwell's classic book 1984 has great relevance for the modern reader. As is typical with this genre of books (such as Fahrenheit 451 and The Giver) a hero emerges who challenges the status quo of a totalitarian government in a dystopian future. What is startling about this book is that many of its themes can be found in modern life. The reshaping of consciousness (as evidenced by the Common Core, political correctness, the liberal news media, the entertainment industry, the prevalence of liberal college professors at our universities), the erasure of memory (revisionist history, the goal of removing all things Confederate), the surveillance state (Big Brother), control of thought and speech (again, political correctness), and a state of continuous war (the Global War on Terror) are all ideas and trends that can be found in both this book and in modern society. One can also see evidence of doublespeak in both this book and in modern life: there is nothing affordable about the (un)Affordable Care Act. Moreover, people are now being deceived into thinking that if we give more of our money and more of our freedom to the government, then, (somehow) we will create more prosperity and more liberty. Nothing could be further from the truth. Amazingly, George Orwell had the future all figured out decades ago with this eye opening and prescient book. The question is, are modern readers going to heed Orwell's warning?
msjrn8
Sep 26, 2013
THE classic for your personal library
Bought this one to replace my old, worn-out copy, with intentions to re-read the text, along with other such books. ( Looking Backward, for example.)
Marleen W
Aug 8, 2013
Things to know
A story of how a person thinks how things could happen, and could come to light again, based on the present governement overruling our Constitution.
Charles C
Dec 27, 2012
Half the size of a regular hard cover book. Threw it in the trash.
Cheryl B
Nov 22, 2012
Great seller
The question would I recommend this item to a friend doesn't seem to apply to a seller review. The book is boring.
The state of the book when received was excellent as was the length of time it took to receive the book.
