1984 (1949) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 4 stars

“This book still scares me... ”

• Rated 5 stars

“Simply a book that everyone should read. Orwell's 1984 is the clearest picture of what a successful totalitarian society would look like, how it would keep its citizens in check, and what life would be like beneath such a system. The book is particularly effective because the society depicted is inefficient and clumsy, yet wholly inescapable. One gets the impression that even those 'at the top' of such a system live joyless lives, are slaves to the things they created. It is in those revelations that the book is at its most powerful, because it is there that Orwell's vision coincides with our own world. The people who built the system of 1984 felt they were doing what was best for humanity, still feel it even though it has cost so much. If what Orwell depicts in this book were impossible, it would only be bleak,. But because aspects of his predictions are all around us in a thousand different forms, some every bit as brutal as he describes, the book becomes frightening. ”

• Rated 0 stars

“1984 = Human Security Act. Who's the terrorist NOW?”

• Rated 4 stars

“Overall, I really liked this book, and it was a fresh change from my usual reading. It was extremely well written, but I think some level of understanding of basic sociology is important in being able to understand how their society works (or doesn't work). There were parts of the book that I didn't quite get a good grasp on, and I felt it went a little too in depth without answering the real questions of the story. Having said this, I think it painted a very thought provoking picture of the future, considering it was written well over 50 years ago and is well past the year 1984.

The ending was expected yet somewhat unexpected. Parts of it I saw coming and others were surprising. I suppose it was a good ending, but mostly a realistic one I would say. It just... ended. Although, it kind of confused me as well,... ahh.. I will explain too much otherwise :P I guess you have to think back to what was previously said and apply that to the ending. Sorry for the wonky train of thought :P ... Basically, I think the best way to sum it up is that it provided a grim but I guess hopeful ending, at least, you'd like to hope.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Not to be missed, Orwell's opus shows us the down side of progression and the upside of the little pleasures we still have. Deeply haunting and powerfully provocative, it is most certainly the best of its kind.”

• Rated 5 stars

“This is one of those books that I have to come back and re-read every few years. It never fails to make me think.”

• Rated 4 stars

“Scarier now than ever.”

• Rated 4 stars

“In today's world of the war on terror, 1984 is a reminder of why citizens of democracies must constantly watch those who hold power with as much care as those who would rob them of their power. There are a couple of eerie parallels between 1984 and 2003. The first is the way war is used to control the population (although Orwell is wrong in one respect: in 2003, war fever is highest among the proles). The second is the mutability of the past. 1980s: We're at war with Iran! 1990s: We're at war with Iraq! 2002: We're at war with al Queda! 2003: We're at war with Iraq because of WMD! 2003: What WMD? We're at war with Iraq because of al Quada! no, because of democracy! The third eerie parallel is the irrelevance of official statistics. The sunset clauses for sizing the tax breaks, the fact that the tax plan will create a million and a half new jobs. Keep the current tax debate in mind when you read the following passage from 1984: Statistics were just as much a fantasy in their original version as in their rectified version. A great deal of the time you were expected to make them up out of your head. For example, the Ministry of Plenty's forecast had estimated the output of boots for the quarter at a hundred and forty-five million pairs. The actual output was given as sixty-two millions. Winston, however, in rewriting the forecast, marked the figure down to fifty-seven millions, so as to allow for the usual claim that the quota had been overfilled. In any case, sixty-two millions was no nearer the truth than fifty-seven millions, or than a hundred and forty-five millions. Very likely no boots had been produced at all. Likelier still, nobody knew how many had been produced, much less cared. All one knew was that every quarter, astronomical numbers of boots were produced on paper, while perhaps half the population of Oceania went barefoot. Fourth: Can't you just picture Fox News leading a two-minutes hate against Osama bin Laden? ”