Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book that questions government control
Review: I am a high school student who studied this book for an English independent study. It is one of the most intriguing books I have ever read. It is written as a futuristic prediction of what the world might be like if the progess of science and governmental control are not checked. The theory of the government in Brave New World is that in order to ensure a stable society (Utopia) the individual must not exist. I strongly recommend this book as it provokes serious critical thought on the part of the reader.
Rating: 
Summary: aldous was well ahead of his time
Review: I am not usually overly stimulated by books but this one changed all that. i found this book to be one of the most intrigueing books i ever had the pleasure of reading. i found aldous to be light-years ahead of his time. the things he wrote about in this book were almost prophecy. if you read no other books read this one it will give you a new outlook on society as you know it.
Rating:
Summary: The Dictatorial Happiness
Review: I would like to keep this short. We all know what the book is about: the bankruptcy of the individual. It's just that most people seem to miss a point: the society depicted in this book is obsessed with being happy and banning every form of discomfort out of their lives. Now there are certain people in this novel who rise up against this society but, I think, their motives are misunderstood: most people seem to think these dissenters are fighting for the right to be free so they can be happy in their own individual way. Actually they are fighting for the right to be unhappy, to suffer. For the greatest freedom you can enjoy as an individual is the right to be your miserable self.
Rating:
Summary: A serious, intellectual book.
Review: I would reccomend this book to a serious reader who is looking for intellectual stimulus. It is not a science fiction thriller, and if you are not prepared to consider challenging ideas, I would not. "Brave New World" discusses a negative utopia where humans are slaves to thier "conditioning" or a pavlovian effect used to control them. All their wants are fulfilled but in reality they are no more than biological inanamate objects. What makes this book so impressive is that was written in 1931, but predicts many modern human developments including mass media and "the invasion of privacy", biological engineering, and mood-altering drugs.
Rating:
Summary: An insightful look at oppressive society
Review: In "Brave New World" (BNW) Aldous Huxley describes a controlled, class-structured society that uses eugenics, mental control by sleep conditioning, sexual freedom without attachment, and the euphoric drug "soma" to mold its members into bland compliance. Huxley writes with a fine dry humor, but BNW's overall tone is oppressive.There are similarities between Huxley's BNW and today's society: eugenically-controlled population classes versus today's racial classes; mental control by sleep conditioning versus today's social conditioning by music, movies, and television; and soma versus today's drug Ecstasy. Yet Huxley's BNW description is incomplete. BNW lacks an economic basis. Huxley discusses no BNW societal goals beyond survival of *society*. Poverty exists in BNW but Huxley presents society from an affluent viewpoint -- the lives of BNW's poorer members are not chronicled. And although BNW was written before the existence of HIV/AIDS, Huxley does not discuss syphilis and gonorrhea (the sexually transmitted diseases in 1931) when he presents BNW's sexual freedom without attachment. In "Brave New World Revisited" (BNWR) Huxley reexamines BNW in terms of society in 1958. Here Huxley examines the methods used by Hitler, Stalin and psychology to mold and control human minds and behavior. Huxley predicts that overpopulation will require excessive control of individuals in order to ensure society's existence. Huxley also predicts that excessive control will replace individual initiative and freedom with (universally medicated) compliant mentalities. Based upon 1958's society, Huxley states that society *is* unstoppably headed toward the excessively controlled Brave New World. Huxley's tone within BNWR is pedantic. Yet given Huxley's post-World War II viewpoint plus his belief that society is unstoppably replacing individual freedom with societal control, writing with a fine dry wit would have been inappropriate.
Rating:
Summary: An insightful look at oppressive society
Review: In "Brave New World" (BNW) Aldous Huxley describes a controlled, class-structured society that uses eugenics, mental control by sleep conditioning, sexual freedom without attachment, and the euphoric drug "soma" to mold its members into bland compliance. Huxley writes with a fine dry humor, but BNW's overall tone is oppressive. There are similarities between Huxley's BNW and today's society: eugenically-controlled population classes versus today's racial classes; mental control by sleep conditioning versus today's social conditioning by music, movies, and television; and soma versus today's drug Ecstasy. Yet Huxley's BNW description is incomplete. BNW lacks an economic basis. Huxley discusses no BNW societal goals beyond survival of *society*. Poverty exists in BNW but Huxley presents society from an affluent viewpoint -- the lives of BNW's poorer members are not chronicled. And although BNW was written before the existence of HIV/AIDS, Huxley does not discuss syphilis and gonorrhea (the sexually transmitted diseases in 1931) when he presents BNW's sexual freedom without attachment. In "Brave New World Revisited" (BNWR) Huxley reexamines BNW in terms of society in 1958. Here Huxley examines the methods used by Hitler, Stalin and psychology to mold and control human minds and behavior. Huxley predicts that overpopulation will require excessive control of individuals in order to ensure society's existence. Huxley also predicts that excessive control will replace individual initiative and freedom with (universally medicated) compliant mentalities. Based upon 1958's society, Huxley states that society *is* unstoppably headed toward the excessively controlled Brave New World. Huxley's tone within BNWR is pedantic. Yet given Huxley's post-World War II viewpoint plus his belief that society is unstoppably replacing individual freedom with societal control, writing with a fine dry wit would have been inappropriate.
Rating:
Summary: A gramme is better than a damn, Aldous
Review: It's not as pessimistic as "1984" nor as cleverly metaphorical as "Animal Farm", but I hold both "Brave New World" and its cousin, the non-fiction analysis of Huxley's text ("Brave New World Revisited") higher in my esteem than either. Huxley himself was a brilliant man (what else can u expect, descending from Darwin's Bulldog himself?), and BNW is a brilliant novel. It's my favourite kind of book, just bursting at the seams with ideas and thoughts and theories, and told craftily through the eyes of a cast of intriguing characters. Because, aside from being a brilliant novel, such fantastic three-dimensional creations as Bernard Marx, Helmholtz Watson, Lenina Crowne and John the Savage will win you over forever. That's what makes this prophetic combination of BNW and BNWR so effective; the first shows you a startling vision of the future, and how it affects a wonderful cast you'll come to love; the second is a thought-provoking analysis written some years later, considering just how far the world has progressed towards achieving that 'utopia'. All kids should read this book at some stage. After all, we're the future (apparently), and this is a memorable example of what we do NOT want it to become.
Rating: 
Summary: Brave New World
Review: Nothing about this book really caught or held my attention. The premise of the novel is of course very original and a thought provoking idea, but the novel just didn't live up to the ever-present hype that surrounds it. I gave it three stars for the originality of ideas and detailed descriptions of future distopia, but in the end this novel did nothing for me. "1984" was much more effective and interesting in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Anti-Climax....
Review: The book itself descirbes a horrifying 'Utopia' where man is not free to think, let alone speak! A description of a horrifying 'junkee' dictatorship. However, the companion book 'revisited' is a worthless addition, ruining a striking book with Mr. Huxley's somewhat confused analysis of his own writing...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent piece of work
Review: This book is a terrefic piece of work and it always amazes me when I think that this book was written nearly 70 years ago. If you do not fear Big Brother, Genetics, and other such things you will after you read this. I was forced into reading this in High School...and thank God I was. This is an absolutely amazing piece of classic writing that seems frighteningly close to the not so distant furture.
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