1984 in the 21st Century

Considering the type of society that we live in now, I think that this book is the perfect read if you want to learn about how society works. Adapting the title of George Orwell's: 1984 - which was the first to introduce the theory of Big Brother always watching over you - this book expands on that point and also explains how much of a controlled environment we live in. Such an interesting and fascinating read.

See my review on blog below

A great collection of essays. And very timely considering the current political climate.

Well, it didn't take long for someone to put out a collection of essays relating George Orwell's <em>1984</em> with the Donald Trump presidency. Of course it's been the lingo in the press and on social media since Trump won the U.S. election and editor Lori Perkins, who writes in her introduction of having had affection for <em>1984</em> for a long time, has pulled together a series of previously published short articles and essays reminding the reader of the similarities between Trump's political bureaucracy and the famous world of 'big brother.'

Most of the essays are very short. A couple of Kindle-pages in length for some of them. And actually, most of them don't really offer any new insight or comparisons. Anyone who spends time on Facebook will encounter much of the discourse that is here (though perhaps without the vehemence and inciting rhetoric).

None of these essays/articles stood out as exceptionally keen or insightful - as I say...this discourse is already taking place on social media and in various presses (which is where these come from). But the advantage is that Perkins has gathered a number of them and brought them together.

One of the more interesting, or at least daring, articles was "Why Orwell's Sudden Best-seller 1984 is More Applicable to Obama Than Trump" by Jay Strongman. One of my least favorite pieces (surprisingly, perhaps, given my 'other' job in the professional theatre, was "Orwell in America -- The Play" by Joseph Sutton which, first of all, was only the beginning portion of the play, and secondly, wasn't all that interesting.

And of course there's no small part of this that is taking advantage of the tremendous, sudden interest in Orwell's <em>1984</em> and the sitting U.S. presidency of Donald Trump. Thanks to ebooks and print on demand, it's much easier for writers/editors/publishers to get books in front of the reading public very quickly.

This volume contains the following:

Introduction by Lori Perkins
"George Orwell and the Self-Preventing Prophecy" by David Brin
"1984 Was the Catalyst of Our Conversation" by David Jester
"How 1984 Can Decode Trump’s First 100 Days" by Alexander J. Urbelis
"Big Media is Big Brother" by Mike Siegel
"Controlling The Present: How 1984 Predicted ‘Alternative Facts’ and ‘Fake News’" by Marc W. Polite
"Trump is not Orwellian: He is the Distractor-in-Chief" by Matt Bai
"Why Orwell’s Sudden Best-seller 1984 is More Applicable to Obama Than Trump" by Jay Strongman
"1984: The Facts on the Ground are Emotions" by Alan Saly
"Sure, It’s “1984” Again—And I Know It" by Perry Brass
"Goodbye My Safety Blanket" by Stephen B. Pearl
"Archie Andrews’ Orwellian Adventure" by Tim Hanley
"Big Brother Sam" by Boze Hadleigh
"The Year of My Dystopia" by Tracy Lawson
"1984 and Walden: A Time and a Place in Two Volumes" by Tamara Rose
"What We Desire Must Be Valued" by Rona Gofstein
"George Orwell Through the Looking Glass" by Melli Pini
"Why Don’t You “Like” Me?" by Maximilian Ximenez
"2017 Should not be 1984" by Sherri Donovan
"Orwell’s 1984: Are We There Yet?" by Sean Fitzpatrick
"Teaching After Trump" by Melissa Febos
"Why We Teach 1984 Today" by Ruth-Terry Walden
"They Love Big Brother by Aaron Zwintscher
Feminism in George Orwell’s 1984" by Tara Lighten Msiska
"Orwell in America—The Play" by Joseph Sutton
"Coming to a Theater Near You, Again" by Adam Birnbaum and Dylan Skolnick

Looking for a good book? If you are a fan of George Orwell's<em> 1984</em>, or concerned about how much like 1984 our political system has devolved to, you may enjoy the insight, thoughts, and concerns expressed in the series of brief essays collected by Lori Perkins in <em>1984 in the 21st Century</em>.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

1984 in the 21st century by Lori perkins.
After the election of Donald Trump and his advisor, Kellyanne Conway’s suggestion we get used to using “alternative facts,” the nearly 70 year-old dystopian novel made the # 1 spot on Amazon’s bestseller list.
1984 in the 21st Century offers readers 25 different opinions and viewpoints on this seminal novel from right to left on the political spectrum, with pieces from teachers to journalists and writers, lawyers and politicians, and union activists. The essays range from academic treatises to personal reminiscences to political rants and screeds, and even fiction and theater.
Good but slow read with good characters. Wasn't what I thought it was. 3*.
Netgalley and Riverdale avenue books.

A huge thanks to Netgalley and www.riverdalebooks.com for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Full disclosure: I’m an academic by former trade and deep at heart. I’m also a political junkie. I’ve spent the past 20+ years grappling with issues in local, state, and federal government and rarely shy away from a fruitful conversation.

Reading this book was like having a series of discussions with various people of various perspectives all hinging on whether George Orwell’s masterpiece 1984 is apropos of our current administration.

Some essayists argued that the real Big Brother happens under democrat administrations, where the common attack line is dems like big government and try to control what one eats, how much soda they drink, etc... Big Government then isn’t a far comparative leap to Big Brother. (Side note: there’s plenty of control by legislation on both sides). Some claimed Trump isn’t Orwellian as much as he is a distraction artist (side note: distractions is Orwellian as is was used to control).

Other writers drew specific details out of current events to draw their comparisons. Orwell in 1984 coined the term “Doublespeak” to mean pay attention to what I say even though what I do may be very different. Here, the writer brought up Trump’s doublespeak when dealing with racial issues, an implied use of dog whistles and coded messages to draw attention elsewhere with the true meaning landing on its intended audience.

One particular salient essay brought up the use of false facts as a method to distract (and thus control). One needn’t look too hard to remember Kelkeyann Conway’s regrettable use of “alternative facts.” In 1984 Orwell imagined “telescreens” in every home and how spot-on was that!? Now, Big Brother broadcasts its message directly to the people via state news channels. At least half of the population is being controlled by alternative facts.

Another Orwellian theme explored is surveillance, and here the Facebook debacle would have been neatly explored, theft of personal data ultimately used for social control. Other examples amply given.

From a purely academic pursuit, I really enjoyed this and could see it used as a part of a teaching tool in colleges and universities.

I got this book because of the cover and 1984 was one of my favorite books of my youth and it is still today. Although I do admit I haven't read it recently but it still is in my top 10 books to date. The idea of the book which was conceived back in 1948 by George Orwell as a dystopian vision of the future and big brother has definitely raised his ugly head. For instance you no longer can walk around London without being caught on at least half a dozen cameras. The phrase big brother is watching has been used many times, and now we have the invention of smart televisions which can collate what you watch and do in your own home. Kinda scary, just think what it felt like back in 1948.

This book is a series of essays regarding 1984 and was compiled in reaction to the Trump Presidency. It was actually on Amazon's best seller list in January. There is the argument that if you compare Trump's first 100 days to 1984 you are now seeing the future due to the language used. The essays are in varying lengths but seem to refer to the Trump bureaucracy and and Big Brother. A lot of the essay points of discussion you can find on social media like Facebook and Twitter. The burning question is Trump Big Brother and if so what is the future of America

This is an argument many are having the world over. The world seems to be moving away from America's dominance since world war 2 and creating the own alliances. Europe is definitely moving away from America. Briton? Well we wait and see. Although Trump won't come to the United Kingdom until our leaders and insure a happy welcome. Not going to happen. Sorry.

The essays definitely inspire the argument but it is up to you to draw your own conclusions. I can understand why but I have trouble understanding how. If you have interest in 1984 then sure read it but if not then it really isn't for you. I gave the book 2.5 stars because I was kind of disappointing the cover suggested much more.


*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34723762-1984-in-the-21st-century?from_search=true

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1OT0AZGEUIXCZ/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This was....interesting, I believe that everyone who read the OG 1984, so is very easy look the similarities with our real liv world, but this one is really good at show that part.