"In this trenchant critical essay, Christopher Hitchens assesses the life, the achievements, and the myth of the great political writer and participant George Orwell. In his emulative and contrarian style, Hitchens is both admiring and aggressive, sympathetic yet critical, taking true measure of his subject as hero and problem. Answering both the detractors and the false claimants, Hitchens tears down the facade of sainthood erected by the hagiographers...

"Since its publication in 1949, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four has been regarded as one of the most influential novels of the modern age. It has shaped the worldview of everyone from politicians and journalists to musicians and TV viewers, and in our era of inescapable surveillance, invasions of privacy, and rampant dishonesty, it is as timely as ever. On Nineteen Eighty-Four, from acclaimed biographer and critic D.J. Taylor, is a deep dive...

Down and Out in Paris and London follows the journey of a writer among the down-and-out in two great cities. Without self-pity and often with humor, this novel is Orwell at his finest—a sobering, truthful protrayal of poverty and society.

"1984 isn't just a novel; it's a key to understanding the modern world. George Orwell's final work is a treasure chest of ideas and memes--Big Brother, the Thought Police, Doublethink, Newspeak, 2+2=5--that 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 Handmaid's Tale), films (Brazil), television...