1984

75th ANNIVERSARY EDITION “Orwell saw to his credit that the act of falsifying reality is only secondarily a way of changing perceptions. It is above all a way of asserting power.”— The New Yorker In 1984 London is a grim city in the totalitarian state of Oceania where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston Smith is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. Drawn into a forbidden love affair Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be. Lionel Trilling said of Orwell’s masterpiece “ 1984 is a profound terrifying and wholly fascinating book. It is a fantasy of the political future and like any such fantasy serves its au