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  • Experts

Utopia & Dystopia

Most Recommended Books

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

“It shows the ways in which technology, our need for certain creature comforts and consumer culture can be used to manipulate us.”

Catherine Mayer, Politician

Read more

    The Best Near-Future Dystopias, recommended by Rosa Rankin-Gee

  • Read
    The Best Near-Future Dystopias - The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

    1

    The Dog Stars
    by Peter Heller

  • Read
    The Best Near-Future Dystopias - Under the Blue by Oana Aristide

    2

    Under the Blue
    by Oana Aristide

  • Read
    The Best Near-Future Dystopias - Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

    3

    Station Eleven
    by Emily St John Mandel

  • Read
    The Best Near-Future Dystopias - World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

    4

    World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
    by Max Brooks

  • Read
    The Best Near-Future Dystopias - Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien

    5

    Z for Zachariah
    by Robert C. O'Brien

  • The Best Near-Future Dystopias - The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
  • The Best Near-Future Dystopias - Under the Blue by Oana Aristide
  • The Best Near-Future Dystopias - Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
  • The Best Near-Future Dystopias - World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
  • The Best Near-Future Dystopias - Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien

The Best Near-Future Dystopias, recommended by Rosa Rankin-Gee

Books featuring dystopian or post-apocalyptic themes offer us an opportunity to study human nature outside of the normal structure of society, says Rosa Rankin-Gee, author of the acclaimed novel Dreamland. Here, she recommends five other books featuring a near-future dystopia, all of which explore a societal or cultural unraveling through beautiful prose.

The Best Near-Future Dystopias, recommended by Rosa Rankin-Gee

    The best books on Alternative Futures, recommended by Catherine Mayer

  • Read
    The best books on Alternative Futures - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

    1

    Brave New World
    by Aldous Huxley

  • Read
    The best books on Alternative Futures - Idoru by William Gibson

    2

    Idoru
    by William Gibson

  • Read
    The best books on Alternative Futures - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

    3

    The Left Hand of Darkness
    by Ursula Le Guin

  • Read
    The best books on Alternative Futures - Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

    4

    Binti
    by Nnedi Okorafor

  • Read
    The best books on Alternative Futures - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

    5

    The Handmaid's Tale
    by Margaret Atwood

  • The best books on Alternative Futures - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  • The best books on Alternative Futures - Idoru by William Gibson
  • The best books on Alternative Futures - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
  • The best books on Alternative Futures - Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
  • The best books on Alternative Futures - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The best books on Alternative Futures, recommended by Catherine Mayer

Catherine Mayer—author, journalist and president of the Women’s Equality Party—talks to Five Books about her optimism for a more equal future for society by way of her favourite science fiction visionaries and their work.

The best books on Alternative Futures, recommended by Catherine Mayer

    The best books on Utopia, recommended by Ellen Wayland-Smith

  • Read
    The best books on Utopia - The City of God by Augustine

    1

    The City of God
    by Augustine

  • Read
    The best books on Utopia - Utopia by Thomas More

    2

    Utopia
    by Thomas More

  • Read
    The best books on Utopia - A Modern Utopia by H G Wells

    3

    A Modern Utopia
    by H G Wells

  • Read
    The best books on Utopia - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

    4

    Brave New World
    by Aldous Huxley

  • Read
    The best books on Utopia - Paradise Now: The Story of American Utopianism by Chris Jennings

    5

    Paradise Now: The Story of American Utopianism
    by Chris Jennings

  • The best books on Utopia - The City of God by Augustine
  • The best books on Utopia - Utopia by Thomas More
  • The best books on Utopia - A Modern Utopia by H G Wells
  • The best books on Utopia - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  • The best books on Utopia - Paradise Now: The Story of American Utopianism by Chris Jennings

The best books on Utopia, recommended by Ellen Wayland-Smith

Utopia is out of fashion because efforts to set one up normally end disastrously, says author Ellen Wayland-Smith. And yet, they offer a critique of society that, even today, can’t be ignored. She picks the best books on utopia.

The best books on Utopia, recommended by Ellen Wayland-Smith

    The best books on Dystopia and Utopia, recommended by Chan Koonchung

  • Read
    The best books on Dystopia and Utopia - Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy

    1

    Looking Backward
    by Edward Bellamy

  • Read
    The best books on Dystopia and Utopia - The Iron Heel by Jack London

    2

    The Iron Heel
    by Jack London

  • Read
    The best books on Dystopia and Utopia - Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

    3

    Nineteen Eighty-Four
    by George Orwell

  • Read
    The best books on Dystopia and Utopia - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

    4

    Brave New World
    by Aldous Huxley

  • Read
    The best books on Dystopia and Utopia - Swastika Night by Katherine Burdekin

    5

    Swastika Night
    by Katherine Burdekin

  • The best books on Dystopia and Utopia - Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
  • The best books on Dystopia and Utopia - The Iron Heel by Jack London
  • The best books on Dystopia and Utopia - Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
  • The best books on Dystopia and Utopia - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  • The best books on Dystopia and Utopia - Swastika Night by Katherine Burdekin

The best books on Dystopia and Utopia, recommended by Chan Koonchung

Warnings about the future of society contained in novels such as Nineteen Eighty-Four may seem less important since the fall of the Soviet Union, but they are all too relevant to China today, argues the Chinese writer

The best books on Dystopia and Utopia, recommended by Chan Koonchung

    The best books on Utopia, recommended by John Quiggin

  • Read
    The best books on Utopia - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

    1

    Brave New World
    by Aldous Huxley

  • Read
    The best books on Utopia - Consider Phlebas by Iain M Banks

    2

    Consider Phlebas
    by Iain M Banks

  • Read
    The best books on Utopia - The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith

    3

    The Affluent Society
    by John Kenneth Galbraith

  • Read
    The best books on Utopia - Envisioning Real Utopias by Erik Olin Wright

    4

    Envisioning Real Utopias
    by Erik Olin Wright

  • Read
    The best books on Utopia - Essays in Persuasion by John Maynard Keynes

    5

    Essays in Persuasion
    by John Maynard Keynes

  • The best books on Utopia - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  • The best books on Utopia - Consider Phlebas by Iain M Banks
  • The best books on Utopia - The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
  • The best books on Utopia - Envisioning Real Utopias by Erik Olin Wright
  • The best books on Utopia - Essays in Persuasion by John Maynard Keynes

The best books on Utopia, recommended by John Quiggin

The Australian economist and author of Zombie Economics says we need to inspire people with a view of a better society. In short, we need a new utopia.

The best books on Utopia, recommended by John Quiggin

    Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse, recommended by John Gray

  • Read
    Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse - The Invisible Writing by Arthur Koestler

    1

    The Invisible Writing
    by Arthur Koestler

  • Read
    Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse - Civilisation and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud

    2

    Civilisation and Its Discontents
    by Sigmund Freud

  • Read
    Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse - The Pursuit of the Millennium by Norman Cohn

    3

    The Pursuit of the Millennium
    by Norman Cohn

  • Read
    Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse - The Sense of an Ending by Frank Kermode

    4

    The Sense of an Ending
    by Frank Kermode

  • Read
    Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse - Hello America by JG Ballard

    5

    Hello America
    by JG Ballard

  • Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse - The Invisible Writing by Arthur Koestler
  • Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse - Civilisation and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud
  • Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse - The Pursuit of the Millennium by Norman Cohn
  • Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse - The Sense of an Ending by Frank Kermode
  • Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse - Hello America by JG Ballard

Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse, recommended by John Gray

Is it inevitable that the desire to build a perfect world should end in disaster? John Gray considers the flaws in utopian thinking and the essential nature of humans. He recommends the best critiques of utopia and apocalypse.

Critiques of Utopia and Apocalypse, recommended by John Gray

    The Best Apocalyptic Novels, recommended by James Miller

  • Read
    The Best Apocalyptic Novels - The Road by Cormac McCarthy

    1

    The Road
    by Cormac McCarthy

  • Read
    The Best Apocalyptic Novels - Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban

    2

    Riddley Walker
    by Russell Hoban

  • Read
    The Best Apocalyptic Novels - The Book of Dave by Will Self

    3

    The Book of Dave
    by Will Self

  • Read
    The Best Apocalyptic Novels - Judge Dredd by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Carlos Ezquerra

    4

    Judge Dredd
    by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Carlos Ezquerra

  • Read
    The Best Apocalyptic Novels - When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs

    5

    When the Wind Blows
    by Raymond Briggs

  • The Best Apocalyptic Novels - The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  • The Best Apocalyptic Novels - Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
  • The Best Apocalyptic Novels - The Book of Dave by Will Self
  • The Best Apocalyptic Novels - Judge Dredd by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Carlos Ezquerra
  • The Best Apocalyptic Novels - When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs

The Best Apocalyptic Novels, recommended by James Miller

British novelist James Miller recommends his choice of the best apocalyptic novels

The Best Apocalyptic Novels, recommended by James Miller

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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