a book
Animal Farm: George Orwell (Macmillan Collector's Library)
George Orwell · 1996 · 159 pages
George Orwell's classic satire of the Russian Revolution has become an intimate part of our contemporary culture, with its treatment of democratic, fascist, and socialist ideals through an animal fable. The animals of Mr. Jones' Manor Farm are overworked, mistreated, and desperately seeking a reprieve. In their quest to create an idyllic society where justice and equality reign, the animals of Manor Farm revolt against their human rulers, establishing the democratic Animal Farm under the credo, "All Animals Are Created Equal." Out of their cleverness, the pigs--Napoleon, Squealer, and Snowball--emerge as leaders of the new community. In a development of insidious familiarity, the pigs begin to assume ever greater amounts of power, while other animals, especially the faithful horse Boxer, assume more of the work. The climax of the story is the brutal betrayal of Boxer, when totalitarian rule is reestablished with the bloodstained postscript to the founding slogan: "But Some Animals Are More Equal than Others." This astonishing allegory, one of the most scathing satires in literary history, remains as fresh and relevant as the day it was published.
recommended by 45 people
sourced from public statements
Richard Branson
“One of 70 must-read books.”↗
David Heinemeier Hansson
“Five novels I think about all the time - 1984: States crave control - The Trial: Bureaucracies eats people - The Stranger: Alienation is a vantage point - Animal Farm: Revolutions usually corrupt - Brave New World: Caste systems fence morality”↗
Steve Jobs
“The book that inspired one of the greatest TV ads, 1984 was among Jobs’ favorites and he regularly recommended it to new hires.”↗
Jocko Willink
“There is a book called Animal Farm. You should check it out.”↗
David Rothschild
“And, 1984 now the #1 Best Seller @Amazon. I hope people are not just buying, but reading it. Link if you do not own”↗
Anna Akana
“@shanehoughton omg shane. 1984, 1Q84, an absolutely remarkable thing, the name of the wind (esp if you like GOT), margaret atwood's madaddam series, anything brian k vaughan (saga for sure), everything joe hill, less by andrew greer”↗
Michael Moore
“The thing about the book that everyone knows—even if they haven’t read it—is the reference to Big Brother. It just became part of the lexicon. But the part that isn’t discussed much is about the leader who convinced the people that they were in dire threat of being killed by an enemy who was essentially invisible. The leader made a pact with his people that if they gave up freedom and civil liberties, he would protect them. To see Americans so willing to give up their rights to privacy and freedom of expression because of a terrorist threat is a crazy thing to me. I feel that the way to fight back against those who want to deny you your freedom is not to reduce it, but to show the world that no matter how many attacks, we are not going to sacrifice our basic principles.”↗
Sahil Bloom
“@lexfridman I just finished re-reading 1984 after seeing it on your reading list to start the year. This book hits different every single time I read it.”↗
David Bowie
“A political thesis and an impression of the way in another country.”↗
RuPaul
““I read it early on and I got it early on. It’s…. still one of my favorite books. It shows how humans tend to forget the reason they wanted to do this life in the first place or why they had a revolution in the first place. [It’s] just as relevant today as it was when I read it as a 12-year-old. I never drank the Kool-Aid. I always looked for answers below the surface or hidden answers to life’s questions, so that book resonated, especially because it was a parable.” -R”↗
Thomas Keller
“Takes me back to my high school years when I was becoming more aware of group dynamics and trying to figure out where I belong. Its commentary on society at large is relevant today.”↗
Bassem Youssef
“This is the ‘duh’ choice. It’s everyone’s favorite book. But for me it is even more special. What I have seen in Egypt and how the media manipulated people on a daily basis might be a chapter out of Orwell’s book — a chapter that is not even well written.”↗
Anne-Laure Le Cunff
“What are some books that truly changed the way you perceive the world? Here are some of mine.”↗
Mike Denison
“@DonaldJTrumpJr Love that book! What do you think Billy Pilgrim’s best line was?”↗
Harry Khachatrian
“I’ve read all of these, they’re all great books”↗
Peter Suderman
“been reading ANIMAL FARM. it's a truly chilling political vision, practically Orwellian”↗
books like Animal Farm: George Orwell (Macmillan Collector's Library)
other books recommended by the same people who recommend this one
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl
6 shared recommenders
East of Eden
John Steinbeck
4 shared recommenders
The Road to Wigan Pier
George Orwell
3 shared recommenders
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
3 shared recommenders
Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
3 shared recommenders
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
3 shared recommenders
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood
3 shared recommenders
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
3 shared recommenders
The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss
2 shared recommenders
His Dark Materials
Philip Pullman
2 shared recommenders
How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
Michael Pollan
2 shared recommenders
Pachinko
Min Jin Lee
2 shared recommenders