Rating: 
Summary: Brave New World:The worst book
Review: I find that this book is horrible. It is boring and not enjoyable to read at all. I find it discusting in one scene the children were singing a song about orgies. In the book farenhieght 451 they talk about a world in which all books are burned well I think every copy of this book should be burned it is horrible and boring I only recommend this book for people who have problems sleeping. This book will get them to sleep if it doesn't give them a headache first.
Rating: 
Summary: A great guide to the infamous book
Review: As usual I am impressed with ability of this company to put out concise, well-written break-downs of complicated works of literature. As in their other books MAXnotes breaks down the plot, characters, and literary devices in a way that makes the book more accessible. They provide not only definitions and summaries, but analysis as well. I found they did an especially good job of breaking down the first 3 chapters that is so filled with technical language that students often become lost and disinterested in an otherwise wonderful book about the human condition. I have found more and more of my students that use these books perform better on my tests, and have deeper and more meaningful papers than those that don't. I find that MAXnotes gets them to think more about the book, rather than trying to give them a quick summary.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful, terrifying, and necessary.
Review: This book, I am happy to say, was one of the most insightful and terrifying books that I have ever had the privilege to read. To clarify, I don't mean 'terrifying' in the sense that Stephan King is terrifying. Instead, I mean it in a sense of deep and utter horror at the society that is presented. Imagine a world where all of society is conditioned to be utterly loveless. All people have been created in a decanting plant and have been programmed before their very birth for the tasks that they will fill. There are five castes, and the amount of oxygen that the embryo is given in the decanting plant will determine what caste it belongs to. The lower castes are given less oxygen to make sure that they are stupid enough to enjoy the mundane jobs and empty lives that they will fill, and the higher castes are given enough oxygen to make them the society leaders - but only to a point. The moment the child is "born", it begins to undergo a series of conditioning that includes both messages in their sleep and electric shocks. The ideas of a "mother" or a "father" are considered vulgar and utterly filthy, as is the idea of actually falling in love with someone. In fact, staying faithful to one person is the utter limit of social depravity, and the maxim of 'everybody belongs to everybody else' is praised to the skies. The lack of adult decision-making is encouraged, and all people are kept at an infantile level. All needs are instantly filled. And for everything else, there is soma, which is a drug that reduces the user to a cow-like state of bliss. Soma is what keeps the entire society placid and static. Enter into this world John the Savage, who was born on one of the last Indian reservations, and the only place on earth left where people are given the belief of loving and natural relationships. However, he does not belong there either among the primitive culture, and joins the 'modern' culture. There, he cannot reconcile himself to such a way of life, and he is finally driven mad and kills himself. In truth, John's sad end was the only possible ending for him. He could not survive in such an insane world as the modern society, and the primitive society would not accept him. As there was no middle ground, all that was left was death. I would highly recommend this book. Despite the fact that it was written in the early '30s, it could just as well have been written today. The focus is on the human, and as such it remains just as powerful and meaningful today (especially as the possibilities of genetic tinkering loom closer) as it was then.
Rating:
Summary: BUY THIS BOOK NOW!
Review: This is an impeccable edition of a twentieth-century masterpiece. British novelist, essayist, and LSD-enthusiast, Huxley is one of the truly great minds of the last 100 years, and Brave New World stands as a remarkable achievement in literature. This dystopic novels presents the reader with a society in which humanity has been eclipsed by science--almost. Read this great work and see what happens to the poetic spirit, the rebel spirit, in an age of conformity, sterility, and a grotesque "niceness."
Rating: 
Summary: perhaps even creepier now
Review: In an age when commericalism is common place, this classic is even more scary to read. And, of course, by reading it you are undermining one of the basics of this distopian society: buy new things all the time. Sound familar? You beat it does. The characters aren't as well developed as I would ideally like but the focus is on a society where the individual is lost so there is a reason (or that's what I tell myself ;-)) A great read for high schoolers just investigating the world around them with a critical mind and a terrifying read for those of us caught up in the material world already.
Rating:
Summary: Undisputed classic
Review: This book is a brillant satire and a fascinating story of the ideals of a social utopia gone wrong. If the characters in the book get angry they just take a gram of soma. The motto is "A gram is better than a damn" Nowadays we have a society drugged out on the soma of choice....Prozac
Rating: 
Summary: Quite Disappointing
Review: After being stimulated to read this book while reading the notes to George Orwell's 1984 (which, incidentally, is completely different from BRAVE NEW WORLD), I found myself vastly let down. The intentionally flippant tone works for some people, but it detracts from the heavy/academic/philosophical themes, which, in this case, are actually quite good (which is why I even give it two stars). The criticism Huxley received from his contemporaries--that he is the typical Oxford playboy-gentleman who seems far removed from his ideas--are valid. While one reads the book, one gets the feeling that Huxley is playing a little game--immensely enjoying himself by playing around with these essentially lofty ideas. His metaphors are self-consciously pretentious. For example, the whole idea of the Savage picking up a book of Shakespeare and somehow intrinsically understanding it, only later to spout off passage after passage, is shamelessly implausible. Metaphors should be subtle and smooth in such a way that the reader "forgets" that he's actually reading a book, but so many of Huxley's are too blatant that they beome intrusive and insulting. The running "ford" joke, I thought, seemed clever at first, but, like any joke, it wore out and became irratating after I read it on almost every page. For a man of such education and intelligence, it is surprising that he could write such a potentially good novel so poorly. In the final analysis, if someone is only mildly interested in serious social topics, this book is for that person; it is funny (at times) and well-written (at fewer times) and exhibits some intriguing ideas (again, at times). But this book is not the "great work" that so many who buy into any author who would attack the progression of Western civilization make it out to be.
Rating:
Summary: COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY
Review: This is an excellent book, depicting a future where babies are born in bottles, 60 identical twins are common. There is no god, only a leader, his Fordliness. There is no lonliness or sorrow due to soma, the drug of the future. Pain is not necessary, and everyone is happy.... or are they? This book does have some low spots, and thats why it doesnt have 5 stars, but it is well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read for the Serious Thinker
Review: Brave New World offers one plausible picture of the future of humankind. First published in 1932, this Huxley favorite describes a world 700 years from now in which children are genetically engineered, sexual freedom is the universal rule and "happiness" is ensured both by subliminal mind programming and a well-circulated feel-good drug. For anyone who thinks seriously about the human race (where we are and where we're going) this book will spark a lot of good thoughts. The foreword, written 15 years after publication, contains Huxley's self-critique of the novel, and Brave New World Revisited is an excellent companion book.
Rating:
Summary: secure social structure vs individual moral balance
Review: After buying this book in an airport bookshop (at the advice of my English Lit teacher) I expected it to be worth flicking through for the duration of the flight - I actually had no idea of the lasting imprint it would leave on my thoughts and thinking patterns of the way I view the social structure in which we live. In the "utpoic" society of the future, humans are genetically engineered to ensure their function in a pre-destined social role. Huxley carefully examines the place the individual has in a society, reviewing how self-analysis, questioning and individualistic thinking patterns can disrupt the equilibrium which keeps our community at a balance. Questions raised include - should we sacrifice individual pleasure and "want" to ensure the creation of a society where everyone has enough to eat, where no mass violence or brutality takes place and every-one has adequate sanitation? Or should we rebel from this lack of conrol of our pre-destined social role, and have the free mind and morals to construct our own social niche, one which we aren't conditioned against deciding? Huxley carefully creates a fully balanced, well constructed argument which relays to the reader the full, horrific consequences of what can happen if the fibre of society is dissrupted. Read this book if you want if to be presented with a convincing and stimulating examination of the exact social structure in which we function.
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