Recommendations from our site
“Nineteen Eighty-Four is seriously read in China by intellectuals, who see similarities between the world of George Orwell and present-day China.”
“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.”
The best books on Political Satire, recommended by P J O’Rourke
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?”
“It alerts us to the danger of unfettered state power, which under any circumstance always ends up committing violations against individuals.”
“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.”
The best books on Global Security, recommended by Chris Abbott
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.”
“This is the ultimate dystopia written by someone who wasn’t just one of the greatest of all journalists, but one of the most prescient.”
“The book looks at how order and disorder co-habit. Orwell, without ever having gone to the USSR, understood it from the outside brilliantly.”
Our most recommended books
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On Liberty
by John Stuart MillRecommended 9 times
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Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George OrwellRecommended 8 times
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War and Peace
by Leo TolstoyRecommended 8 times
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Scoop
by Evelyn WaughRecommended 7 times
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The Looming Tower
by Lawrence WrightRecommended 7 times
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Frankenstein
by Mary ShelleyRecommended 7 times
