Brave New World

This book is excellent, no wonder it's a classic. Huxley is so insightful not only regarding the uses and misuses of technology, but also regarding human nature. I knew this book could only have a sad ending, but I was still surprised at the end. If you are a fan of writing, you will also enjoy Huxley clever neologisms and his style. I particularly liked his going back and forth from one...more

This book is excellent, no wonder it's a classic. Huxley is so insightful not only regarding the uses and misuses of technology, but also regarding human nature. I knew this book could only have a sad ending, but I was still surprised at the end. If you are a fan of writing, you will also enjoy Huxley clever neologisms and his style. I particularly liked his going back and forth from one character's thinking to the next in the same paragraph. It really gave a sense of urgency to the writing. I read 1984 a couple of years ago and felt the same impact that I felt reading this one.   hide

Brave New World is an extreme example of a futuristic totalitarian society, where every human right is taken away, and people are conditioned to the extent they don't realize they had rights to begin with. They basically live for society, under a communist regime, where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are disregarded as things the government has a "right" to control for you. "Everyone...more

Brave New World is an extreme example of a futuristic totalitarian society, where every human right is taken away, and people are conditioned to the extent they don't realize they had rights to begin with. They basically live for society, under a communist regime, where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are disregarded as things the government has a "right" to control for you. "Everyone works for everyone else. We Can't do without anyone." Huxley does a wonderful job showing the evil that can occur when a government has far too much control. Individuality, which is the real vital tool for happiness, is extinguished (and even dealt with force) and you are left with an immoral and disgraceful government controlled "Utopia," completely void of human rights.   hide

I really was left unaffected by this book. I plowed through it, waiting for it to take off, which it never did for me. The characters hit me as flat, which I suppose is the point, but it really prevented me from caring at all about what I was reading. I was quite disappointed to be left feeling this way. And I don't recall having learned anything new either. Too bad. I completely agree with...more

I really was left unaffected by this book. I plowed through it, waiting for it to take off, which it never did for me. The characters hit me as flat, which I suppose is the point, but it really prevented me from caring at all about what I was reading. I was quite disappointed to be left feeling this way. And I don't recall having learned anything new either. Too bad. I completely agree with Jared. I was expecting something fiery and captivating...the society described and the detail and depth into which Huxley delves is magnificent and brings real life to the book, but the lack of character development really just sucked my passion for the plot away. Huxley was apparently strung out of opiates while he feverishly wrote the novel over the course of a few short nights--it really shows. It's still wicked, though.   hide

If you like strange and out of this world settings you'll like this. It's a look at our world in the future. A world where the people are programmed from conception (within a bottle)through out childhood and into adulthood to be a part of a whole not an individual. The conditioning teaches mankind to: accept themselves as a whole unit without any individual thought; sex is freely...more

If you like strange and out of this world settings you'll like this. It's a look at our world in the future. A world where the people are programmed from conception (within a bottle)through out childhood and into adulthood to be a part of a whole not an individual. The conditioning teaches mankind to: accept themselves as a whole unit without any individual thought; sex is freely shared as marriage/partnership no longer exists; human birth is replaced by test tube babies; inquisitiveness is suppressed; etc... A "savage" enters the narrative who questions the rules and ideas of this society. He can not find happiness in this world where passions have been irradiated so as to promote a happiness found in the average. Not surprisingly it ends in death. I couldn't put it down. But than I like off the wall stuff that makes me think. My only issue is that the savage was presented as a Shakespearean master though he had no training, but only access to numerous Shakespearean plays.   hide

First published in 1932, Brave New World still feels modern today. This might have less to do with the thematic structure of the book and the writing style of Aldous Huxley, and more to do with the fact that much modern day genetic science is based on latter day eugenics. The idea of controlling the human population in terms of genetic development in order to bring humanity to its maximum...more

First published in 1932, Brave New World still feels modern today. This might have less to do with the thematic structure of the book and the writing style of Aldous Huxley, and more to do with the fact that much modern day genetic science is based on latter day eugenics. The idea of controlling the human population in terms of genetic development in order to bring humanity to its maximum effiency was a popular American ideal all throughout the early to mid 1900's (indeed, eugenics was a throroughly American science before the Nazis even got started), so it comes as no surrpise that the religious iconography in Brave New World is centered on Ford's Model T, or that the setting of the book was based on Huxley's trip to California. Huxley relies on a few implicit biases that don't sit well with me. For instance, the "species" differences between the human races (look out for the Jezebel's "negro" fecundity referred to as a boon for eugenics). I also noted the conflation of deviance with moral character (too weak to fit in, too strong to be controlled) - individual relativity in desire do not exist in Brave New World. Any form of human pleasure or desire, from the physical to the emotional, are taken as absolutes that can be distilled down into formula - either easy open access physical pleasure or Christ-like matyrdom for true emotional experience. People who defy these absolutes are just to weak to appreciate them. Overall, I enjoyed the book for its moral ambiguity, and the archetypal natures of the characters. It's a lot to think about.   hide

Jung (Beginner's Guides) [Illustrated] (Paperback) by Ruth Berry (Author) Product Description Product Description This beginner's guide to Jung provides the essential facts and concepts behind the "father of analytical psychology" and his work. It examines Jung's background, the times he lived in and the development of Jungian analysis, and key concepts and ideas are highlighted and clearly...more

Jung (Beginner's Guides) [Illustrated] (Paperback) by Ruth Berry (Author) Product Description Product Description This beginner's guide to Jung provides the essential facts and concepts behind the "father of analytical psychology" and his work. It examines Jung's background, the times he lived in and the development of Jungian analysis, and key concepts and ideas are highlighted and clearly explained. Very good print, has side bars with clearly expained jargon and Jung's ideas. A visionary. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jung-Beginners-Guides-Ruth-Berry/dp/034078055X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262694227&sr=1-6   hide

"1984 on morphine". Yeah, I said it.I replaces the wanton cruelty with sickening comfort. It's like an evil Disneyland. The idea is strange. They use horrific breeding programs to condition people from birth to be happy with their life. They teach them sexual activity as children and make it completely safe. They give out happy-drugs to anyone, work is easy, no-one needs anything. Everyone is...more

"1984 on morphine". Yeah, I said it.I replaces the wanton cruelty with sickening comfort. It's like an evil Disneyland. The idea is strange. They use horrific breeding programs to condition people from birth to be happy with their life. They teach them sexual activity as children and make it completely safe. They give out happy-drugs to anyone, work is easy, no-one needs anything. Everyone is happy. But there is no art, no music, no culture. All there is is consumption, people live to buy things they don't need, because they don't need anything. In this world it is hard to pinpoint what is "wrong" with it, you just know "something" is. By objecting to the shallow way they live you have to admit that you want people to be unhappy. It plays with the readers morality to the point where you feel you want to tear the civilization down to it's roots, to make everyone miserable, just so they can wake up and understand there is more to life then being perfectly happy all the time... I know...I don't make sense. Read the before book you tell me I am wrong though....   hide

Huxley pose l'une des problèmes majeurs de notre temps. Un monde cauchemardesque à la Mcluhan est en train de s'imposer. Edgard Morin reprend ce sujet sous le terme de noosphère, une sphère d'idées qui nous entoure mais à laquelle on ne sait véritablement puiser pour vivre. C'est le contraste entre les deux civilisations du meilleur des mondes. Aujourd'hui, le savoir est...more

Huxley pose l'une des problèmes majeurs de notre temps. Un monde cauchemardesque à la Mcluhan est en train de s'imposer. Edgard Morin reprend ce sujet sous le terme de noosphère, une sphère d'idées qui nous entoure mais à laquelle on ne sait véritablement puiser pour vivre. C'est le contraste entre les deux civilisations du meilleur des mondes. Aujourd'hui, le savoir est accessible, mais relégué à la banalité, à l'indifférence, à l'instrumentalisation envers des fins plus que discutables. De plus, comment résister au conditionnement, à la banalisation de la sexualité et à la perte des traditions ? Voilà encore d'autres thèmes de ce roman de science-fiction. Ce livre a marqué l'imaginaire d'une génération de cégépiens. D'ailleurs, des scènes célèbres sont reprises dans les films The Island et The Matrix...   hide

One of my favorite books ever, especially one certain diolouge between the savage and the "world controller". It makes me laugh how quickly we do move in the direction of his "negative-utopia". Whether we ever actually reach that point or not is not for me to predict. But I believe that Huxly's revelation on our obsession with pleasure becomes more convincing (or...more

One of my favorite books ever, especially one certain diolouge between the savage and the "world controller". It makes me laugh how quickly we do move in the direction of his "negative-utopia". Whether we ever actually reach that point or not is not for me to predict. But I believe that Huxly's revelation on our obsession with pleasure becomes more convincing (or at least applicable) with every day that passes. Inevitably this book will be compared with George Orwell's "1984", and although both books hold very contrasting views as to what this future looks like (one, run by a supressive regime, the other populated by blissfully submisive people leading lives of luxary) it can still be agreed upon that both books at their very essence hold the same core truth: we better be cautious of what we are becoming. A 5 star MUST read.   hide