Expert Commentary on...
“Nineteen Eighty-Four is seriously read in China by intellectuals, who see similarities between the world of George Orwell and present-day China.”
Chan Koonchung, Novelist
“It’s eerily predictive of the sort of video camera surveillance world that we now live in. It would be interesting to update 1984 and make all of the things that Orwell foresaw more annoying than dangerous.”
P J O’Rourke, Political Commentator
“None of us love Big Brother, but we all know he is part of the family. Big Brother is like the uncle we don’t like who has to be invited for Christmas. The question is: How do we live with Big Brother without him ruining our lives?”
Tim Weiner, Journalist
“It alerts us to the danger of unfettered state power, which under any circumstance always ends up committing violations against individuals.”
Juan Mendez, Lawyer
“Orwellian has come to mean the kind of surveillance state we live in today, with all the CCTV. It’s not a prophetic book but it’s a warning.”
Chris Abbott, Nonprofit Leaders & Activist
“It was originally titled 1948, but the publisher said to him that was too close. They had to push it back, so he just changed it around to 1984.”
Henry Normal, Poet
Amanda Craig
Robert Service
