Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell · first published 1949
19% recommend80% neutral1% critical
Why HN recommends it
Dystopian novel on mass surveillance, censorship of the past, and Newspeak's control of language; it shows rather than tells and unsettles readers. Suits anyone discussing state power or privacy.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel, often referred to as 1984, is a dystopian social science fiction novel by the English novelist George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair). It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime. Thematically, Nineteen Eighty-Four centres on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and repressive regimentation of persons and behaviours within society. Orwell, himself a democratic socialist, modelled the authoritarian government in the novel after Stalinist Russia. More broadly, the novel
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Four Sci-Fi books that get projections right: * 'Paris in the Twentieth Century' by Jules Verne * 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley * '1984' by George Orwell * 'The Space Merchants' by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth (1952) Verne predicts correctly many technologies and changes they cause in the society. Probably the most accurate…
on “Dude, you broke the future” ↗…it'd now be a simple matter of finding the highest ranked; but here, I have to use my judgement. So I suggest: Number 13, Euclid's Elements Number 32, Machiavelli's The Prince Number 93, Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four I'm not sure every programmer should read Elements - maybe, but its a little abstract these days. I think The Prince would be good reading for the softer skills of the programming profession - and genuinely…
on “What is the single most influential book every programmer should read?” ↗…There" - Lewis Carroll "Dracula" - Bram Stoker "Frankenstein" - Mary Shelly "On Education" - Bertrand Russell "The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy" - Douglas Adams "Animal Farm" - George Orwell "1984" - George Orwell "Lord of The Flies" - William Golding "Brave New World" - Aldous Huxley "Gulliver's Travels" - Jonathan Swift "The Selfish Gene" - Richard Dawkins
on “Ask HN: What are some good books?” ↗This is a sad farce and all, but the reality is that it doesn't take 850 books to educate a child in the humanities. It shouldn't take more than three: - 1984 by George Orwell (born Eric Arthur Blair) -- what evil looks like - The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius -- the "theory" of a good life - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig --…
on “Texas lawmaker wants to know what books on race, sexuality are in schools” ↗…people feel under totalitarian regimes. Please, understand the fact that things are different in free countries that what they are in Syria, North Korea and Iran (where I live). You can start by reading '1984', by George Orwell to get a feeling of how dictatorships work.
on “Bashar Assad emails leaked by Anonymous” ↗'1984' by George Orwell - Even after all this time it is a chilling look at one of the many ways a society can go wrong, particularly relevant these days because so many parts of it are coming true. 'Snow…
on “Ask HN: Books That Should Be Read” ↗…'readers' list of novels is a big a crock of shit as the non-fiction. I might be a little pessimistic, but of the top ten: 4. THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien 5. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee 6. 1984 by George Orwell Are the only credible novels there. I'm sorry Ayn Rand and L. Ron Hubbard are not and never have been popular enough amongst the populace to hit 7 out of 10 of the top 10 spots. Radcliffe's…
on “Random House's 100 Best Nonfiction Books: A Lesson on Internet Polls” ↗I can think of a handful of books that have had a major impact on me. Off the top of my head: Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury The Game - Neil Strauss The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steve Blank Business @ The Speed of Thought…
on “What is the book that has completely changed your way of thinking?” ↗I'd say every programmer should read 1984 by George Orwell, to always keep in mind the big picture implications of their work. When I first read it, I got shivers: "this book is about google!" And after Amazon deleted the very same book from…
on “What is the single most influential book every programmer should read?” ↗…work though, ask me a different day and I will choose The Three Stigmata or Do Androids Dream or something else) The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (simply a good story and a great background) 1984 by George Orwell. What all these books share is the idea that sci-fi is about social, cultural and economic dynamics, not ships or time travel. That is my definition of sci-fi: An on-going essay about…
on “Ask HN: What's your favorite Science Fiction book?” ↗I wrote a really long ass post about how naive your line of thinking is, but I decided against posting it. Do yourself a huge favor and pick a god damn book. I suggest 1984 by George Orwell.
on “Amazon Echo” ↗…New Kind of Science - Wolfram The Singularity is Near - Kurzweil Gödel, Escher, Bach - Hofstadter Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies - Hofstadter Atlas Shrugged - Rand The Fountainhead - Rand Nineteen Eighty-Four - Orwell The Trouble With Physics - Lee Smolin Time Reborn - Lee Smolin Ambient Findability - Peter Morville Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software - Steven Johnson Six…
on “Ask HN: What are the most thought-provoking books that you have read?” ↗->Every week I'm let know what it is I'm supposed to be outraged about. I call this the "Five minutes of hate". If you don't get that reference, read 1984 by George Orwell. I think you'll find it very illuminating. One week, it was Chik-fil-a and how we should hate them because their CEO gave money to a cause I disagree with, the next it's some baker in…
on “How ‘South Park’ Perfectly Captures Our Era of Outrage” ↗…(possibly smaller) resurgence after the Snowden revelations.[1] I only wish that Orwell's masterpiece was better understood and appreciated. In addition, I should point out that the book's title is "Nineteen Eighty-Four", not "1984". [1] http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/1984-rockets-amazon...
on “George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon” ↗…(Bertrand Russell, 1930) "The Revolt of the Masses" (José Ortega y Gasset, 1930) "Brave New World" (Aldous Huxley, 1932) "Reason" (Isaac Asimov, 1941, short story) "Animal Farm" (George Orwell, 1945) "Nineteen Eighty-Four" (George Orwell, 1949) "Starship Troopers" (Robert A. Heinlein, 1959) "The Gods Themselves" (Isaac Asimov, 1972) "Time Enough for Love" (Robert A. Heinlein, 1973)
on “Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?” ↗