Animal Farm

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Summary: Animal Farm is the greatest political book ever written
Review: The story starts out childishly enough. Some mistreated animals take over the farm from their cruel owner. Soon we discover there is more to this story than just talking animals. This story is a haunting example of the inheirent cruelty and chance for abuse that comes with Communism or any other form of governmet for that matter. Read it to your kids

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Summary: Best book I have ever read!
Review: This book showed exactly what was wrong with governments today. It used great personaficaton with each creature, and used each creature to represent the perfect people(e.g. Hittler, Stalin, Churchhill). Allen Cotner ([e-mail])

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Summary: Animal Farm goes beyond communism
Review: Animal Farm is a great book. Many people read it in the context of the Russian Revolution. However, at least for me, its warning goes much farther. It is an unfortunate fact of life that people in power will use their position to usurp more power, and eliminate their colleagues so as to reap the rewards of their efforts. It happens everyday in businesses across America. I suspect this is at the root of why people sometimes "go postal"

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Summary: Fairy tale for kids-- fact of life to learn from for adults
Review: This compelling book is written in a melodic, fairy tale fashion, that can entertain children. But the in-depth sociological issues it portrays are life-lessons for adults. Ralph Steadman illustrates this particular print in such a way as to amuse children, and explain the book to adults. This book analyzes Russia's revolution, and analyzes political motives everywhere. An Excellent book, worth many praise, and worth purchasing for yourself

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Summary: Once again, I was proved wrong
Review: I was pessimistic when our Literature teacher assigned us this book. But after finishing the first two chapters, I couldn't put it down. The representations of Josef Stalin and his nemesis, Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky to the pigs Napolean and Snowball was amusing. Orwell established good characterization from the very beginning. One of the best classics I've ever read

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Summary: What in the world was that?!
Review: Animal Farm is the weirdest book I've ever read. In it (in a parody of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution) animals in a UK farm overthrow their master, a Mr. Jones. Now, I fully understand the message the author is conveying, and (keep in mind I had to read it because for Grade 10 English, otherwise I'd rather be reading the latest Tom Clancy or Dale Brown thriller) while some parts were, say, tolerable, the book contained absurdities on EVERY page, such as: animals that can read, write, paint, sew, operate firearms, sing, teach, trade, and form Communist dictatorships. Well, the only way I got myself throgh this extremely (thank God) short novel was to lock myself into a room, read it, and get it over with

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Summary: Sensational book that shows the rise of communism.
Review: I have recently read this book for my English class. George Orwell with the use of barn yard animals reveals the ruthlessness and control of the communist government in his own era. The book is very easy to follow and is very insightful

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Summary: ONE OF THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD BOOKS OF OUR TIME...
Review: Many have hailed George Orwells' Animal Farm a classic, and rightly so; it is indeed a classic work of literature, in both meaning & style. However, while it wouldn't be false to attribute it as a story raving against the injustice of governmental oppression (i.e. totalitarian-ship), it would be very much incorrect to dub it "anti-communist", if not for the very fact that Orwell himself subscribed to very communistic beliefs. The story itself is a surreal account of a group of farm animals uniting to overthrow their oppressor, the farmer Mr. Jones. They initially hit upon the idea after a speech from an inspirational boar, Old Major, who represents communisms' primary theoretician, Karl Marx. Old Major tells the group of animals one night of a dream he had where the group lived in an egalitarian society (that is, a society where everything is based on mutual respect for others), where the group lived in harmony, working for the good of the group, rather than Mr. Jones. Soon after, Old Major dies and it seems the dream is just that. Two pigs suddenly call to the group to realize the dream and act upon it in order to achieve the potential of the idea, a self-sustained environment. The pigs, Snowball & Napoleon, lead a revolt to overthrow Mr. Jones and his farm hands and establish their own democracy, to be headed by the revolutionary pigs. Snowball & Napoleon have different opinions on how things should be however... It becomes evident early on that Snowball has the groups interests in mind (the animals manifesting the working class in the story) while Napoleon has only his. It turns out that Napoleon is an expert manipulator/propagandist and once things begin to go wrong on the new self-sustained farm, he deviously directs the blame to his rival, Snowball. Soon Snowball is in exile. The farm animals blindly follow whoever can convince them of a way of looking at things; in short, they are dumb animals. It seems in this instance that Orwell is satirizing humanitys' tendency to blindly follow incompetent leaders and failure to act for themselves. Few of the animals ever question Napoleon and the ones who do are either slaughtered in front of the entire group...or are too afraid to speak out. Likewise, while in this country citizens are able to voice their distrust of the government with more freedom than those on the farm, many are ridiculed & labeled as disloyal dissenters, both of which echo life in Animal Farm. Immediately after the Revolution, the farm collectively established several unanimous rules that they would all abide by. Slowly, with Napoleon in charge, they are altered to conform with what Napoleon and his small group of loyal pigs desire; in short, they establish a dictatorship. Whenever someone speaks up and questions a rule that they thought had previously been different, they would be assured that that was most definitely not the case and they were just imagining things. Ultimately, that was accepted and Napoleon held his power. Such are the conditions of the dictatorial establishment! In the end, the pigs have altered the original constitution beyond recognition and the animals are brutally repressed. The end is shocking & unreal & must be read in its entirety to be appreciated...but I will say that it turns out the animals had their enemy in their midst the entire time. Basically, Animal Farm is a tale that is meant to parallel history, usually in its Stalinistic references. Still, like in Orwells' most widely recognized novel 1984, it serves as a warning to humanity with its insight and underline message: DON'T FOLLOW ANYONE BLINDLY. Or, perhaps more true to Orwells' personal beliefs, "make decisions with respect to others." After all, we're all in this together.

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Summary: This little piggy went a little too far.
Review: George Orwell's classic _Animal Farm_ is truly a mustread. Anyone interested in politics could learn a lot from this story.Animals take over and control the (Manor)farm. Rules are made. Work is done by the animals to earn their feed. But can all the animals pull through? This book says that the power elite of our country are pigs. This book will be well worth your time...so get a copy today! -JC

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Summary: a superior satire, burlesque, prime parody
Review: Eric Blair (His assumed alias being naturally "George Orwell") evinces the immanent, imminent, intrinsic, exigent, and indeed ineluctable demise demonstrated by this true failed, yet wonderfully accomplished revolution (in fact a cyclical concept) in which the liberating pigs, who lead to free a farm of animals from their human oppressors, inevitably take the place of humans as a fascist oligarchy. An interesting book