George Orwell Books

The book is written by Eric Arthur Blair with the pen name of George Orwell. In this novel he speaks of Communism, why it is actually more of a bane than a boon. He got the idea of writting a book from an animals perspective when one day, he saw a little boy of about 10 years of age driving a huge cart-horse along a narrow path, whipping it whenever it tried to turn. It struck him that if only such animals became aware of their strength humans should have no power over them. He felt that humans exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat. He thus began to analyse Marxism from the animal's point of view. This book is for both the young and old who are interested to know why Communism is said to be bad when it actually seems to act fairly on paper. Readers will enjoy the irony of Marxism when implemented on the animals, at the same time they learn the vital weaknessess that expels Communism from being an viable alternative in anyway. A must read!

I remember reading this book back when I was in school and enjoyed it very much. I don't know if it was required reading for my daughter as well but she wanted it anyway. Its a great story and she enjoyed it just as well. Its definitely much more complicated than a typical childrens' story with a microcosmic dystopia. I'll have to read it again soon.

A predecessor to 1984 (the most awesome book in existence), it also deals with a vision of a dystopia far in the future. Zamyatin depicts a controllist state governed by something as impermeable as mathematics. No emotion is involved and the soul is seen as a disease. Although the situation is much more dispairing than the one shown in 1984, it also offers some hope as one still gets the impression of a resistance outside the green wall. Despite the "numbers" being completely brainwashed, the One State is a society on the brink of collapse. The Guardians are ultra paranoid of any abnormal activity, spying on the citizens more than normal. The book is written in the form of a journal addressed to the people of another planet. It justifies the One State and is an attempt to socialize the other planet's people before a possible invasion by men.

George Orwell's picture of the British Indian Empire is a world of real and mental violence, pure racism, provocations by and manipulations of indigenous rebellions, corruption, bribing and blackmail.

He unveils `the lie that we're here to uplift our poor black brothers. ... The Indian Empire is despotism with theft as its final object. Its real backbone is the Army.'

The White Man lives like a parasite on the indigenous population, because `the real work of administration is done mainly by native subordinates.' `He becomes a creature of the despotism tied tighter than a monk or a savage by an unbreakable system of taboos.'
A colony `is a world in which every word and every thought is censored. Even friendships can hardly exist when every white man is a cog in the wheels of despotism. Free speech is unthinkable. You are free to be a drunkard, a fornicator; but you are not free to think for yourself. Your whole life is a life of lies.'

This hard-hitting book contains already the main themes of Orwell's later work: political and social freedom, freedom of speech and thought and the (im)moral, secret, arrogant and violent behavior of a all powerful oligarchy.
Not to be missed.

Very complete, well-written, interesting to read, this introduction to Modernism is just what you're looking for, if you're interested in Modernism. It covers a lot of ground, and gives enough context, historical and otherwise, so that Modernism can be seen in perspective. Highly recommended.

Gives you an idea of his politics, reviews and the presures of an reviewer of both US and GB published titles 5 years prior to his death. Letters, reviews, and timescale which give an idea of the authors concerns, rather than what a biographer interpets it to be be.

Revealing for those who have read most of Orwells output.

If you're planning to do any serious research on George Orwell, this collection is an absolute necessity. Rare clips and literary bursts allow the most complete picture of this literary giant you could dream of. Don't call yourself an Orwell critic without having read all four fat volumes. Really.

I had never heard of the author or the book when I picked up a British edition at a used bookstore. I had hoped that anyone writing a novel on Orwell would possess Orwell's virtues of directness, frankness, and lucidity while offering up some ideas. Caute succeeds on all fronts, and in some matters of technique he is clearly Orwell's superior. He also has a sense of humor and his characters - including Orwell himself - are more nuanced than any Orwell character.

The book's story is about Orwell researching Animal Farm. He finds the book's narrator - a boy named Alex - hanging on at the family farm after his Mum and Dad have both abandoned it. There are pigs and other animals whose names will be familiar to the reader. Alex fills us in on his contributions to both Animal Farm and 1984 and his continuing relationship with Orwell. The last page of Alex's narrative contains a surprise which is perhaps intended to show that - as Orwell says in the novel - Orwell is often wrong.

Caute himself has written 8 other novels and 10 non-fiction books, including several on the left, communism and fellow travellers.

This book contains the author's reminiscences of Eric Gill, George Orwell, Dylan Thomas and J. Middleton Murry; from it a fifth, and no less interesting personality emerges...that of Mr. Heppenstall himself.

206 pages

William J. Boerst's Generous Anger is a 112-page biography of George Orwell will appeal to students from elementary grades 6 through middle school: it provides an account of his life, early influences, and the writings which changed his world. Facts read as lively as fiction in this biographical portrait.