War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
And Big Brother is watching…
Thought Police. Big Brother. Orwellian. These words have become part of our national vocabulary because of George Orwell’s classic novel 1984, the story of one man’s nightmare odyssey through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but individual thought and memory. A minor functionary named Winston Smith joins a covert brotherhood and pursues a forbidden love affair against the cold, gray backdrop of the Republic of Oceania — only to become a hunted enemy of the state… and of Big Brother.
Today, half a century after it was written, Orwell’s prophetic haunting tale of conformity and identity strikes a disturbing chord. As we follow Winston Smith through his rebellion, imprisonment, torture, and reeducation, we witness firsthand the worst crime we can inflict upon ourselves and others: the destruction of the truths and freedoms that make us who we are.
With an Afterword by Erich From.