Brave New World Revisited (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)

The brilliant mind of Aldous Huxley has pointedly shown us what was afoot in 1958, the year I graduated from high school. One of my favorite classes in University was "Social Control." Here are the salient points from that class. It was a big topic and there were several major books at the time. I don't see that conversation continuing now. Perhaps we have gone diwn that road too far. Sadly, it seems we the people didn't heed his and others' warnings. I wish everyone would read this book and think deeply about what he wrote.

This nonfictional address of the concepts described in Brave New World are as eye opening now as they were in the middle of the twentieth century. This as was Brave New World is a masterpiece of writing and brilliantly researched. 100% recommend this book.

It is interesting to note that this was written over half a century ago. Huxley critiques his own great work, Brave new World, from the perspective of the technologies and advancements made some 20 or so years later than his original classic. His analysis of psychological methodologies, comparing Orwell's work and critiquing neurological studies from the late 30's through to the 1950's, including the use of subliminal messaging is certainly thought provoking. I wonder what he would have made of modern technology? The apparent reduction in attention span of the media-obsessed population juxtaposed by the the underlying free access of uncensored information that the internet revolution has allowed would have made for an intriguing analysis. This is certainly a good read, at the very least from a historical perspective.

Aldous Huxley is so smart and honest. Does not have an agenda except for the betterment of everyone. The first 1/3 of this book is great. The last 20% is worth the time where he gives his ideas on what it means and how to really be (and stay) a democracy. The middle is pretty much known by everyone these days and can be skipped imho. But it was ahead of its time. Even if you do skip the middle; the rest of the book is insightful and worth reading today. Not an easy read but it is clear and straightforward for anyone making the effort.

This is Huxley's appraisal of how things have gone 27 years after he wrote Brave New World. One of the big issues he discusses is overpopulation. The developed world is actually now seeing declining birth rates and some countries are seeing actual population declines. Much of the rest of the world is seeing slowing growth. So, at least one of his points is showing some improvement. However, another point is getting much worse - government and corporate propaganda. He never could have seen social media coming, but it has accelerated the ability to act not only as tightly controlled propaganda, but also as a soma to millions seeking diversion and validation. The book is a short read and not too difficult. I highly recommend it.

It is interesting to see how some problems that were considered intractable at the time of writing (circa 1960) are now ignored, shelved or solved (take your choice). The big two are population and resource depletion. It is now rather passé to worry about these them.Conversely, some problems that are barely mentioned here are now top of mind, namely climate change and pollution.Some have remained constant, such as the struggle to maintain real democracy and political freedom. Who know how Huxley would have felt about latter day developments such as the temptation to well-intentioned censorship and un-personing of dissenters.Perhaps the greatest lesson from rereading this work is “this too will pass”, though one never knows what will pass and for how long.

“In their propaganda today’s dictators rely for the most part on repetition, suppression and rationalization—the repetition of catchwords which they wish to be accepted as true, the suppression of facts which they wish to be ignored, the arousal and rationalization of passions which may be used in the interests of the Party or the State.” (p.37)The chapters in this book amount to a collection of related essays in which Huxley, writing in 1958 (twenty-six years after writing his masterpiece), reflects on the state of the world. It’s thoughtful and well written. It’s certainly an interesting look into the author’s thinking, and I highlighted many fascinating excerpts. But he does too much pontificating for my tastes; I think he’s much better at novels than essays. Even his well-established and extraordinary prescience reaches its limits here. One forgivable but striking example: he repeatedly ranks DDT alongside penicillin as one of the modern world’s most promising achievements. I found him most compelling when he’s commenting explicitly on his book, and especially so when he’s comparing it to Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. I would have enjoyed more such commentary. Even more, I wish he’d written a sequel instead of these essays!

Okay. If you want to see what someone accurately predicted about our present world circumstance from 60 years ago this book is amazing. I almost fell out of my chair reading it for some of the astounding predictions Huxley made in 1958 that are spot on about how society has changed since then. He did not use vague generalities but direct detailed predictions based on his remarkable, almost supernatural, understanding of human nature. Do not read this if you have grave doubts about our future now...for human over population and the growth of mega billionaires makes our destiny very dark indeed. But, if you want to be prepared for what is going to happen to the human experience on planet Earth next, read this book. Nostradamas can step aside...he is a pure amateur compared to Huxley!

Great window into the minds of the sick freaks that run our planet

Loved it, I found Brave New World a bit confusing and dated and struggled to relate to the protagonist but in this book, Huxley is much more clear about his reasoning behind BNW and compares it with 1984 to formulate an idea of how a modern dictatorship might function in the future, its a brilliant, harrowing read and very prophetic in many ways

I did not get the book in the photo. You get the book without the jacket (used look jacket). For a refund only 20%. Ripoff.

Es un libro pequeño, vino como en la. Descripción!

Merci à Amazon qui n'est pas capable de différencier les avis consommateurs concernant deux ouvrages différents.J'ai acheté "Brave New World Revisited" en pensant que c'était la bonne version du livre original, car sur la page du livre original il était indiqué que ce n'était pas une bonne version. J'aurais dû comparer les avis des deux liens avant de recevoir mon livre, je n'avais pas remarqué que c'était exactement les mêmes entre les deux ! Donc au final quels sont les avis concernant "Brave New World" et ceux concernant la version "Revisited" ?Je me retrouve donc avec un ouvrage analysant "Brave New World" qui ne me sert pas à grand chose étant donné que je ne peux pas lire l'histoire originale. Merci à vous Amazon <3