Rating: 
Summary: Great Idea-Shame about the rest!
Review: The Great Idea that spawned this book is visionary and intelligent and hampered by Aldous Huxleys' ant-American ideals.I found that the first few chapters of the book consisted of the author trying(successfully though boringly)to persuade us of the world he was creating and at the same time trying (and failing dismally) to include storyline and character developement.The author was evidently an intelligent man with great ideas but I,personally, want more than that from my reads.Huxley was influenced by Ant-American friends and two 'trips'(not holidays) to America to confirm his suspicians about the 'New Power' taking the rest of us down the slippery slope of classless mass production.I say that AH was an intellectual,creatively barren,snob who cared more about maintaining his sheltered middle-class England and not about the lower classes.He also tried and failed to make it in Hollywood,the critics now say that he was 'too intelligent' for hollywood but,after reading BNW,I suspect he just wasn't creative enough-for all his great ideas and I suspect the resentment from being judged wanting by such a faction is a main reason for his political bent.
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Summary: We're well on our way
Review: This book was riveting in its depiction of a future society that hatches babies, conditions them to become consumers, and programs their lives to be uniform. The New World uses conditioning rather than brute force (like 1984) to achieve the utopian society where individuality is the ultimate crime. Through the use of this conditioning, newly hatched humans are placed into a caste and bred to be happy within this caste. At the beginning of the book, I was not sure why some government would go to all of the effort of hatching babies and spending endless hours conditioning them, both while they are awake and while they are asleep, but the goal became clearer as the book went on. This future government prioritizes stability above all else, and wants nothing to do with dissension, rioting, or wars. To avoid any possibility of this sort of unrest, government conditions everyone to be the same and to be doped into happiness. The quest for "higher" learning as we know it is conditioned to be wrong and worthless. So art and religion are replaced with senseless movies and a drug called Soma. The notion of love and monogamy is frowned upon and sleeping with many partners is conditioned to be a service to society. Basically, the broad, easy path to quick happiness is encouraged and the narrow, costly path is discouraged. "No pain, no gain" would not make any sense to these people. I thought that this story was an incredible attempt at predicting the direction of our society from a Depression-era perspective, and was very convicting in some of the ways we have made Huxley's predictions come true. We, as a society, do favor the quick and easy route to happiness (blockbuster movies, drugs, etc) rather than striving for something more costly. I love this book because it makes you think. Yes, it is weak on character development and the narrative is quite annoying in some parts, but I appreciate anything that causes me to examine my society and myself in the humbling way that Brave New World has done.
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Summary: Huxley's vision of the future
Review: Much praise is heaped upon Huxley for this Novel. In fact it is considered by many to be a classic. For me it was the ideas, which may have been ahead of their time, rather than the actual style of writing itself which deserves to be commended. The future is filled with robotic humanbeings who have been conditioned by 'early childhood training', constant reinforcement, subliminal messages and a breeding program that would eclipse any envisioned by those in the third reich. These humans, if you can call them that, are devoid of any individuality, embracing their oneness with the rest of humankind rather than glorying in their diversity. Their drug-induced happiness, and total submission to authority and the order of things is any freedom loving human-being's nightmare. Amidst all these drones, there is miraculously one man who does not accept the status quo. One who questions, and it is his questioning of the system that leads to his discovery of John Savage, a 'free-born' human being. John Savage's introduction to this brave new world disgusts him. Instead of being overawed by their 'progress' he reels back in horror when he realizes that they have killed the human soul; the only part of them that made them truly human. An interesting sidenote, Huxley quotes Shakespeare extensively through John Savage's character. It could be an interesting exercise trying to work out which Shakespearean works the quotations come from. Read Huxley's book to get a glimpse of a possible future. Even though our future may not be as extreme as Huxley imagines it, there are some similarities between both worlds even today.
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Summary: A look at Huxley's Brave New World
Review: Individuality, an aspect of one's development, is thoroughly explored in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, a piece of futuristic writing that speaks many truths. By examining a society based on conformity, readers are able to distinguish between the downfalls of conformity and the advantages of individuality. The control of the government reinforces the theme of conformity within a society. One example would be that embryos are programmed into a certain caste. They can be designated to Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, or Epsilon. Each caste represents a different level of intellect. If an embryo is fortunate enough to be conditioned into an Alpha, it is the most intellectual thinker and leader of the society. Each caste has less intelligence and less strength than the previous caste. Since the Epsilon is considered to be the weakest, they must perform the tedious tasks that no one else desires. Huxley's incorporation of this example of conformity enlightens the most narrow-minded readers. Another intriguing feature of this novel that pertains to the theme of conformity is Huxley's creative ability to integrate the symbol of the drug, Soma. This drug takes away all forms of human emotion such as love, happiness, hatred, and desire to name just a few. Therefore, all individuality is vanished by a simple, yet complex, pill. The idea behind Soma is that it provides for instant gratification. This enhances the idea of conformity because there are no human urges. Everyone feels the same way. Huxley's development of the character John Savage adds an interesting twist to the rebellion against conformity. Through this character, Huxley exhibits a strong and free- willed individual. He speaks of the importance of the arts, science, and religion to gain a life of fulfillment. Unfortunately, his opinions were overpowered by the government's opinions because in the end, John succumbs to the powerful society, though he is appalled of the notion. Aldous Huxley portrays a futuristic society that in a frightening way could come true. This dystopian, disturbed, society opens the minds of all who engage in this futuristic journey.
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Summary: A satirical social commentary
Review: This Utopian/dystopian future offers soma and other carnal pleasures, while manipulating the people into mind-numbing dependence. Huxley explores the evils of a seemingly satisfied and successful society, because that stability is only derived from the loss of freedom and personal responsibility. Part of what has made this book so controversial is the very thing that has made it so successful. We want to believe that technology has the power to save us, but Huxley shows the dangers as well. John claims the "right to be unhappy." Mustapha says it's also "the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat; the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what might happen tomorrow..." By getting rid of all of the most unpleasant things, the society also rid itself of many of the true pleasures in life. There's no real passion. Remembering Shakespeare, John says: "You got rid of them. Yes, that's just like you. Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it. Whether 'tis better in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them... But you don't do either." These men have realized that fear and intimidation have only limited power; after all, these tactics simply build up resentment in the minds of the oppressed. Subconscious persuasion and mind-altering drugs, on the other hand, appear to have no side effects. Add to this the method of genetic engineering, and soon almost all "pre-Ford" problems have been wiped out permanently. The caste system of this brave new world is equally ingenious. Free from the burdens and tensions of a capitalistic system which separates people into social classes by natural selection, this dictatorship government is only required to determine the correct number of Alphas, Betas, etc., all the way down the totem pole. There is no class warfare because greed, the basic ingredient of capitalism, has been eliminated. Even Deltas and Epsilons are content to do their manual labor. This contentment arises both from the genetic engineering and the extensive conditioning each individual goes through in childhood. Freedom (as well as art and religion which are results of freedom) in this society has been sacrificed for what Mustapha calls happiness. Indeed almost all of Huxley's characters, save Bernard and John, are content to take their soma ration, go to the feelies (the superficial substitute for actual life), and live their mindless, grey lives. The overwhelming color throughout Brave New World is grey. Everything and everyone seems dull to the reader, except perhaps the Savage, who is the only bright color in the novel. This grey happiness is the ultimate goal of the World Controllers like Mustapha. Yet Mustapha has incorrectly associated lack of pain with happiness. Only the Savage knows that true happiness comes from the knowledge that one has value. He alludes to this when he describes his childhood in the Reservation where the only time he was happy was after he had completed a project with his own two hands. This, not soma, gave him the self-confidence to find happiness. The Savage knows his own value is as an individual, not a member of a collective. Other characters in Brave New World, however, have no concept of self-worth. This results in their inability to find the happiness known to the Savage and the rest of the pre-Ford world which lives in the Reservation. True happiness is a consequence of freedom, not slavery. No slave can experience happiness until he is free. Yes, any slave can experience the contentment of a full belly and a full supply of instant gratification, but this doesn't lead to happiness. Bernard suffers throughout the book, being caught between both worlds. Although he has been conditioned to accept his servitude, he is constantly longing for freedom. He sees this freedom in the Savage, and envies him for possessing the inner happiness- genuine happiness- which Bernard's society outlaws. Huxley uses Bernard to exemplify this struggle between freedom and slavery. Huxley argues that a genuine, free life requires suffering and pain. Men without anguish are men without souls. Huxley's future describes a world without pain and a world without soul.
Rating: 
Summary: True Happiness?
Review: Choosing to read this book for my high school English class, I originally selected it because of the appealing future themes and ideas of a perfect utopia. Though I knew it would be interesting, I never imagined just how compelling and thought-provoking a single novel could be. The excellent writing style of Aldous Huxley draws the reader in, offering his clear and insightful views very apparently. As the novel begins, the reader is presented with the, "large, squat grey Hatchery and Conditioning Center." All of the bioengineering and caste-system placement occurs here, predestining every person that is "decanted" in its door. Since each person has been conditioned to enjoy his or her class and job, everyone is constantly content and has no wish to do anything other than what is required of them. If, for some unusual reason, they become depressed, there is always the mood-altering drug Soma. Throughout the novel, Huxley provides the reader with many characters that do not fall under society's perfect mold. Through these characters, the reader is left to question many things, such as; what is so wrong with being completely happy, even though you have no free will? Also, is making ourselves superficially content the answer to being sad and depressed? In the novel, Huxley asks, "Where is true fulfillment and happiness found," leaving it as an open ended question for the reader to contemplate and examine themselves. Through these questions and many others, the reader begins to not only reflect on the fictional, "World State," but the world around them as well. In this era of fast food, instant gratification and extreme materialism, there are no better questions to be asking than these, the ones at the heart of Brave New World. Definitely read this book, because in addition to being a great science-fiction novel, it is a book that will inspire you to look a little differently at not only the world around you, but also your own life.
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Summary: This book is BRILLIANT!!!!!
Review: After I had read "1984" in grade 11, I figured that I had read THE greatest dystopian novel of all time-- I was wrong. While "1984" attacks totalitarianism in general, "BNW" satirizes a variety of corrupt systems SOVIET COMMUNISM, CAPITALISM, CONSUMERISM, ORGANIZED RELIGION (brilliantly through the concept of the drug "soma"). It compares and contrasts two opposite societies, arriving at some interesting conclusions and a compelling ending. Throughout, the story raises deep questions about what progress means for society while showcasing a world where science and technology have not only increased the standard of living, but also enslaved the masses. After reading "BNW" in grade 13, I developed a deep interest in the genre of dystopian fiction. There has been much debate amongst my peers over whether the progressive "Brave New World" is an example of HEAVEN or HELL or perhaps the "savage reserve" is heaven or hell...you read and decide.
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Summary: Loweender
Review: Huxley is writing about a world with good intentions gone horribly wrong. This novel addresses the weakness in societal engineering, namely man. Basic gratification is the engine for this society. This society represses with a velvet fist.
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Summary: A caricature of American life
Review: To really understand this brilliant book,the essential thing is to grasp that it is a caricature of life in the U.S, especially Southern California, where Huxely spent the last forty or so years of his own life.
The material plenty of Brave New World; the social duty to consume and spend money; the preference for synthetic products over natural ones; the emphasis on people's physical appearance, including their "lustrous" smiles; the obligation to be happy as well as bland; the tendency to think in short, pithy epithets that are manufactured by experts in emotional engineering; the equality of women, which makes them shameless; the instability of social relations and the family (which has been eradicated); the fear of being alone or inactive; the "resort" as a way of spending one's leisure; the everlasting hunt for sensation; names such as "Morgana Rothschild", "Benito Hoover" and, of course, "Lenina Crowne", all of which point to a society without roots; these, and many other things in the book, are simply facets of the United States magnified, distorted, and made fun of.
Had Huxely's American readers understood the mirror he is holding up to their face, no doubt they would have crucified him as, at various times, they did other "Un-American" writers. Fortunately, like the heroes of Brave new World, they are not capable of introspection. So much the better for him, and for the rest of us who are not American.
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Summary: Sci-fi of morality
Review: I never read this book in high school like I should have. So I thought I would get the audio cassette version. Well I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Michael York does an excellent reading although his girly voices will make you laugh at first. I guess if I had read this when I was in high school I would have never realized what an anti-communist book it was. I would have thought that it was a sci-fi book with all the cool helicopters and other transportation devices. The impersonal part about baby factory made me feel cold. I couldn't imagine growing up with no relatives or not knowing who your family was. The morality with all the people having sex all the time was different except for the fact that you were not allowed to have the choice not to have sex if you didn't want it. The savage's lives were a little too moralistic for me but I guess it was written in the 1930s. He just over emphasized his feelings of love and was too appalled by people having sex all the time. The overall message was insightful still showing how it is always better to have freedom of choice then to be bound to the collective. This is a good book or tape for high school age people to listen to.
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