1984

by George Orwell

Recommended in 22 interviews and reading lists

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Who recommends it

1. The Best Dystopian BooksReading list

   1984 is a dystopian novel by George Orwell. The story is about a society where the government controls everything. The government is able to control the people by monitoring their every move and listening to their conversations. The people are not allowed to have any privacy and are constantly being watched. The…

2. Mariela GrifforInterview

   There are many books that I was not able to mention previously in my list but if I had to compile a list of highly recommended books I would add these books: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart, one of my favorite books, and 1984 by George Orwell.

3. David Heinemeier HanssonInterview

   I haven’t mentioned any fictional books yet, and even though that isn’t my primary genre, the best of which I’ve read have still had a profound impact on me. The first shoutout would go to The Trial by Franz Kafka, 1984 by George Orwell, and The Stranger by Albert Camus.

4. Michael MichalkoInterview

   1984 by George Orwell. It is not impressive as a novel about particular human beings, but as a warning it is superb. The book features a dystopian future society where free thought is illegal and punishable. Since the government controls all thought and all information, they can change it as they please, and can…

5. Andrew CopsonInterview

   On Liberty by John Stuart Mill or – if it’s not a cheat of an answer – the complete works of John Stuart Mill. So many of the foundations of our modern liberal democratic societies are not only elucidated but also defended there – and in the clearest possible prose. Many people don’t think today about why the good…

6. Roger SchankInterview
7. Matt ForbeckInterview

   1984 by George Orwell. It was prescient when he wrote it back in 1949, and it’s even more useful as a means of understanding our political environment today.

8. Michael PittsInterview

   1984 by George Orwell. Reading this novel sets out a scene of a future in a world of perpetual war and total government surveillance. Looking out how our world is rapidly changing with conflict in the Middle East in Africa and a dictator in North Korea it’s not hard to imagine and see what might happen. 1984 reflects…

9. Daron AcemogluInterview

   I will name two. As I have become more worried about what’s going on in the United States, I reread 1984 by George Orwell, which is more than a tour de force, but also scary in some of its prescience. I also reread The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard Evans, which is also scary and points out lots of mistakes for…

10. Susan HaackInterview

    I don’t very often recommend books to friends and family. I did, however, do a lot of “recommending books” last semester, when I was teaching a class on philosophy and literature. For the class, all the students read several epistemological novels: Imaginary Friends by Alison Lurie (on the real versus the imaginary)…

11. Lawrence GrobelInterview

    With Mr. Trump in the White House, The Plot Against America by Philip Roth, 1984 by George Orwell, and The Trial by Franz Kafka would be a start.

12. Dick PassinghamInterview

    I am going to read Post Truth by Matthew D’Ancona. I have re-read 1984 by George Orwell, the most important text on this issue, and now want to see what D’Ancona has to say about Breitbart News and other dark organizations.

13. Gary MehiganInterview

    I think of lots of sci-fi books, like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell, books by Isaac Asimov and Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.

14. David PapineauInterview

    1984 by George Orwell. I spent my teenage years in apartheid South Africa, and a respect for habeas corpus and other civil liberties is deeply ingrained in me. I’d like more people to be sensitive to the way modern states are now riding rough-shod over the historical protections that ensure our freedom.

15. Michael KutscheInterview
16. Jonah BergerInterview
17. Dawn TindleInterview

    Books about being kind to each other. Understanding differences and appreciating them, not using them to divide, blame or shame. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee comes to mind again. Or perhaps some distopian fiction – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood or 1984 by George Orwell – would remind us of the slippery…

18. The Best Books for Fans of Philip K. DickReading list

    Long before 1984 or Brave New World, there was We, a 1924 Russian novel so dangerous to the Soviet regime that it was banned and had to be smuggled out of the country for publication. Set in a glass-walled totalitarian city called OneState, where citizens are known only by numbers and every action is monitored, the…

19. Annelise OsborneInterview

    I read so many books as a kid. The ones from school I remember are The Bridge to Teribithia, Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby, 1984, and Wuthering Heights. For fun, I would read the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie novels and of course Judy Blume books. I also read the Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes.

20. A Brief History of George OrwellArticle

    If you are new to George Orwell’s work, I would recommend starting with either Animal Farm or 1984. These are his two most famous and widely-read novels, and they provide a good introduction to Orwell’s political views and his writing style. Animal Farm is a satirical novel that tells the story of a group of farm…

21. Richard KochInterview

    I can get excited by either. Ideas absolutely fascinate me. Books that are fiction but write about ideas too are either dreadful or double-heaven. In the latter category, I put Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, much of Enid Blyton, 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell, the novels of Iris Murdoch, and perhaps perversely…

22. Ian TollInterview

    If I must name one, I’ll say The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. I still measure every writer against Mark Twain, and haven’t found a better one. But George Orwell was in the same league, so I’d name 1984 as a runner-up. I should also mention Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin novels, which are among the very…

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