Brave New World Revisited
by Aldous Huxley

List Price: $10.00
Pages: 144
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0060955511
Publisher: HarperCollins

When the novel Brave New World first appeared in 1932, its shocking analysis of a scientific dictatorship seemed a projection into the remote future.

Here, in one of the most important and fascinating books of his career, Aldous Huxley uses his tremendous knowledge of human relations to compare the modern-day world with his prophetic fantasy. He scrutinizes threats to humanity, such as overpopulation, propaganda, and chemical persuasion, and explains why we have found it virtually impossible to avoid them. Brave New World Revisited is a trenchant plea that humankind should educate itself for freedom before it is too late.

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1. Huxley wrote Brave New World Revisited at the height of the Cold War. Can any of his predictions now be dismissed in light of the fall of the Soviet Union?

2. Do you think that Huxley's concerns about dictatorship by drugs has become even more possible in the age of Prozac and other psychological medications?

3. When Huxley wrote these articles, DDT still was considered a scientific advance. What other aspects of Huxley's articles now, seem dated? Which of his predictions have become even more timely?

4. Huxley writes of economic censorship, with the press controlled by the Big Business/Big Government elite. Has this censorship been diluted by the rise of the Internet? Alternatively, in what ways could the Internet pose new threats to our freedoms?

5. The birth control pill was not available when Huxley wrote Brave New World Revisited. Has its dissemination helped solve any of the problems that he predicted?

6. Should legislation be enacted that curtails the rights of government, advertisers, or religious organizations to manipulate the mind of individuals?

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"It is a frightening experience.... to discover how much of his satirical prediction of a distant future became reality in so short a time. "

—New York Times Book Review

"A message which, enforced by Mr. Huxley's seriousness and clear dialectic on dealing with social problems, we cannot ignore.... The last pages carry a somewhat tragic node about his misgivings whether man himself wishes ot be saved. "

—Tide and Time (London)

"Brilliantly written.... Should appeal to readers of all breeds. "

—Kirkus Review