1984

Rating:
Summary: I love George Orwell
Review: I read this book 5 years ago for an English book report. I've never been able to forget it. It's the haunting account of Winston Smith, an employee of the Ministry of Truth who hasn't forgotten the past, and who wants to change the future.

However, Big Brother is watching him. Try as he might, our hero is trapped in a totalitarian world where he faces extermination if he wants to think as an individual and question the government.

Published in 1949 during the Cold War, Orwell puts a spin on communism and totalitarianism that to this day makes my blood run cold. I shutter at the thought of our world ever becoming like Oceania, even in the slighest bit.

Highly recommended book for the whole world to read. Let's hope we never come to this.

Rating:
Summary: el peligro del hombre en una sociedad asi
Review: pobre winston, el hecho de que su memoria funcionara y de que no olvidara las cosas lo ponia en un grave peligro.... y nosotros, que somos constantemente espiados a tarves del telefono, de la internet, de las camaras en las tiendas, eso a veces me pone a pensar que el autor no esta tan lejos de la realidad como podria parecer, si se siguen usando los avances tecnologicos para fines de vigilancia, terminaremos en una sociedad sin privacidad donde un hermano mayor siempre estara observando nuestros pasos paraque no nos descarriemos del camino que desde el momento de nuestro nacimiento se nos ha impuesto. al final, el protagonista sucumbe a su hermano mayor, cuidado los hermanos mayores nos vigilan pero no hagamos como winston, sigamos siendo unos rebeldes.... LUIS MENDEZ [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Chilling
Review: The only book that I have read that scared me as much as "Transfer-the end of the beginning" by Jerry Furland. Just because one is paranoid it doesn't necessarily mean that someone isn't really out to get you. In this case it is the government.

Rating:
Summary: Five stars is faint praise indeed.
Review: The essence of 1984 that carries it beyond mere fiction is Orwell's deep understanding of the totalitarian urge common to those who seek and wield political power. Today we stand at the brink of a technological society where the political levers of control and surveillance are far beyond Orwell's darkest imaginings. All that prevents their implementation is the political calculus of the time. As Jerry Furland has shown so vividly in the novel "Transfer" the systems already exist to enslave each of us. We are left wondering when, not if, the political will to execute the final transfer to a new Utopia will occur. This is the dilemma of our modern age.

Rating:
Summary: Boring and depressingly morbid at the same time...
Review: OK, maybe Mr. Orwell intended it to be this way, but it still doesn't hide the fact that this book moves incredibly slow compared to the author's other works. I read this book because I remember thoroughly enjoying and understanding Animal Farm years ago, and this work was recommended by several of my friends. If you want an unrealistic view of a future that is totally morbid and depressing, check this out. Yes, this is science fiction, and just because some people call it a classic doesn't mean I like it. If you want some of the best in this genre, I recommend 'Dune', by Frank Herbert, '2001: A Space Odyssey', by Arthur C. Clarke, or 'Enders Game', by Orson Scott Card.

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Summary: Just remember--Big Brother is watching you.
Review: "1984" was a prediction of the world from 1949 by a British author. The scariest part of all is that it could still come true.

"1984" deals with a parallel universe, if you will, of modern times. Instead of the somewhat feuding-but-happy world we live in, this universe is controlled, right down to the very razor you scrape your face with. Oceania is the setting, and Winston Smith is our protagonist. He lives in a catch-22; he knows what he has seen will get him killed, but trying to hold back his thoughts will drive him insane.

Winston confides in a fellow worker, Julia, and she turns him on to The Brotherhood, an underground organization against The Party that may or may not exist. This decision forever changes Winston's life, and the horrible betrayals and consequences that follow will blow your mind and keep your fingers turning.

It took me a while to recover from reading this book. Clarity about so many things came to me, and also a bitter realization that one misstep can trigger this in the real world.

Rating:
Summary: A literary journey into room 101
Review: Possibly only equalled by Brave New World, 1984 is a dystopia which unfalteringly relays the full horror of dictatorship and social manipulation to the reader. This magnificent novel has an almost perfect structure - Orwell has so delicately considered not only how this society could arise (offering detailed explinations of new social "super powers" and how dominace and political power could be successfully sustained), but why. His successful attempt to offer the reader a philiosophy of the nature of humankind, eventually distilled to the nature of power, draws some disturbing, horrific conclusions. Orwell's philosophy is that man dominates simply for the sake of power - the only, unchallenged reason. His unsettling final symbol of the new order - a man's face being crshed by a boot - is a symbol not only of totalitarianism, but of political human misery, and all it's destructive connotations. An extremely disturbing novel which must be read

Rating:
Summary: A little boring
Review: The book tries and does send out a good message for our future. Orwell warns against giving the government the ability to destroy our privacy and control us. Yet, I found htat the book as very slow at times. I almost had to force myself to read on.

Rating:
Summary: Portrait of Dystopia
Review: There are three novels I recommend to everyone, especially adolescents, to encourage critical thinking. These are Orwell's '1984', Rand's 'Anthem' (or 'Atlas Shrugged' if you have the time) and Huxley's 'Brave New World.' Orwell's vision of a totalitarian regime ruling its people under a microscope through propaganda and punishment is unfortunately realistic. It is also extremely well written. It is not chance that the symbolic "Big Brother" is so often referenced, feared, and loathed. Orwell christened a phenomenon: the increasingly observant eye of authority. The illustrative crushing of the human spirit is heart wrenching to bear witness to, but stands as a reminder of the value of our liberty. This is a must read for the freethinking individual.

Rating:
Summary: I never recovered from reading this book
Review: I first read this novel in 1983 as part of a British lit class in high school. I have never recovered from the hammer blows it delivered-- it is devastatingly thought provoking and eerily haunting. I have re-read this novel many times over the years, and still stand in awe of its power. I am thankful that this novel was required reading in my high school!