The Ministry Of Truth

Rich and compelling. . .Lynskey’s account of the reach of 1984 is revelatory.” George Packer The Atlantic An authoritative wideranging and incredibly timely history of 1984its literary sources its composition by Orwell its deep and lasting effect on the Cold War and its vast influence throughout world culture at every level from high to pop. 1984 isnt just a novel its a key to understanding the modern world. George Orwells final work is a treasure chest of ideas and memesBig Brother the Thought Police Doublethink Newspeak 225that gain potency with every year. Particularly in 2016 when the election of Donald Trump made it a bestseller Ministry of Alternative Facts anyone. Its influence has morphed endlessly into novels The Handmaids Tale films Brazil television shows V for Vendetta rock albums Diamond Dogs commercials Apple even reality TV Big Brother. The Ministry of Truth is the first book that fully examines the epochal and cultural event that is 1984 in all its aspects its roots in the utopian and dystopian literature that preceded it the personal experiences in wartime Great Britain that Orwell drew on as he struggled to finish his masterpiece in his dying days and the political and cultural phenomena that the novel ignited at once upon publication and that far from subsiding have only grown over the decades. It explains how fiction history informs fiction and how fiction explains history.