Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Unavailable
Brave New World
Unavailable
Brave New World
Unavailable
Brave New World
Ebook289 pages4 hours

Brave New World

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this ebook

Now more than ever: Aldous Huxley's enduring masterwork must be read and understood by anyone concerned with preserving the human spirit

"A masterpiece. . . . One of the most prophetic dystopian works." —Wall Street Journal 

Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order—all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine” (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. 

Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as a thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New World likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites. 


Editor's Note

Sharp satire…

People often say it can be hard to see what’s so dystopian about “Brave New World,” and that’s probably because it’s such a sharp, cutting satire of utopian literature of yore.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateJul 1, 2014
ISBN9780062368232
Author

Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) is the author of the classic novels Brave New World, Island, Eyeless in Gaza, and The Genius and the Goddess, as well as such critically acclaimed nonfiction works as The Perennial Philosophy and The Doors of Perception. Born in Surrey, England, and educated at Oxford, he died in Los Angeles, California.

Read more from Aldous Huxley

Related to Brave New World

Related ebooks

Science Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Brave New World

Rating: 3.9508440845860564 out of 5 stars
4/5

14,688 ratings292 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The fourth and last book in my list of dystopias (1984, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, Brave New World), I found it to also be the weakest.

    That is not to say that it was a bad book. I have read many books that were worse than this one. But, compared to the other books, it just does not hold up. Maybe it is because only one character really struggles with what is happening. Maybe it is because of the sometimes weird and confusing style in which the book is written, with multiple scenes happening simultanously, one paragraph at a time. Maybe it's because the setting just isn't all too dystopian (and yes, I realize that that was the point).

    Yes, the general idea of the book, of a society completely complacent, conditioned, unquestioning, is scary. But for me, it cannot really transport its scariness like 1984 or Fahrenheit did. Which is sad.

    I like the final ~20% of the book a lot more than the previous 80%, just because there is actually some reflection on the setting, comparable with the dialogue between Guy Montag and his Chief in Fahrenheit 451, or The Book in 1984. Those are the parts of the respective books I liked most. But I found it hard to really identify with "the savage" in Brave New World, because he was just so different from me. That is probably by design, but that does not make me like the character more.

    It's still a decent book, but I would recommend the other three books from the list over this one, in the order in which they are given in the list.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.


    As I noted before, it is odd to finally read this famed novel and find oneself bombarded by quotes from (Walter) Benjamin on barbarism. As BNW unfolded I was trying to find the fault lines, guessing that the solitary minded character (Benjamin Marx or maybe the other bloke?) would be eventually given access to behind the curtain. Alas, it is fitting that agent be someone outside the pale, a stranger in a, well, you know.

    Was any reader ever actually surprised that John had access to the Bard's Complete Works? My wife turned on the Golden Globes as I made my way to bed to finish this. That ballroom of Alphas was a shining reminder of our own iceberg social model.

    I finished this last night and then swiftly tumbled into a well of slumber. By the grey beard of Ford (I know, I know) I was not greeted by Minerva's Owl. There was no prophecy on that charred road to Damascus and I didn't discover what Goldstein's designs for reverse engineering. Stumbling awake and staring at my first four shots of espresso, I have considered whether matters are sufficiently stable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    "O brave new world, that hath such people in it!"Brave New World is a classic dystopian novel set in a futuristic world where science and pleasure has replaced individualism and feudalism. It portrays a totalitarianism society achieved through test tube babies, and state ordered hypnotism, a caste system where a person's position in life has been pre-ordained even before they were even 'born'. In this world it's inhabitants are controlled not by military force but by drug-induced happiness, using a substance known as soma.At the core of this book is an horrific use of eugenics and explores the negatives of a society which on the face of it is successful but where freedom and personal responsibility has been sacrificed for peace and stability.In this novel I believe that Huxley wants the reader to look as the dangers of using technology to control society and to convey the idea that it cannot solve all the problems of the world alone. First published in 1932 this book seems even more relevant today where computers and gadgets are ever more prevalent in our lives, a society based around consumerism, where it is easier and often cheaper to buy new rather than to make and mend. When this novel was first published it was a against a backdrop of a growth in fascism, in particular in Germany, where minorities were gradually being persecuted and the state was promoting its own form of eugenics. Thus Huxley asks us to consider the dangers of an all-powerful state. Despite everyone appearing to being equal, there is deep inequality and unfairness bubbling away under the surface? As a society we must not allow the state to take more and more of our civil liberties by stealth but instead we as individuals must therefore also take some personal responsibility for our own actions and reactions. However, I have to say that it also lacked a little something; a nasty side. Unlike in Orwell's '1984' or even in a later novel like Attwood's 'A Handmaid's Tale' the state appears rather benign. When Bernard and his friend Helmholtz seems to challenge the state the police arrest them using soma vapour rather than batons, then their punishment is banishment to a distant island with other like minded individuals rather than anything more sinister. This lack of an undercurrent of malice somehow seemed a little detrimental to the whole. Overall, Brave New World is a pretty scary depiction of what could be humanity's future. It is at times a rather complex read but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it as I found it thought provoking.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Uses false dichotomy and outsider perspectives to challenge notions of what makes a good society and where balance ought to lie between social and individual rights
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Eerie. Fun to teach.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Story of a future dystopian world where all people are genetically engineered.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ultimate form of gentic engineering. Everyone is happy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I think for my tastes Huxley was perhaps a bit too entranced with showcasing his own vision of the future to properly craft the story set in it, which I personally found a bit uneven and not serving much function other than to underline to various points he was trying to make about his setting. It never really carried me away the way I'd like to be by a narrative (though in fairness, a few individual sections or chapters did, for shorter bursts of time). But that said, there's no denying the author paints a very intriguing result of taking a rather benevolently intended focus on consumerism, mass-production and physical well-being to an absolute extreme (and all the more impressive for having been done as early as the beginning of the 1930s). I also think it a great take on a dystopia in that it is by design populated almost entirely by people tailor made to be happy in it -- unlike most fictional dystopias, where the average person showcased is, at least on some deeper, secret level, rather miserable. But even so, in the end, I unfortunately found it to be a novel more worth reading for its cultural significance than for the actual reading experience.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'm enough of a cynic to believe that if our leaders had access to the kind of technology that would make Huxley's Brave New World a reality that they would use it in the case of the characters in the book I just didn't care enough about them to hope that they would be able to break free from this brave new world and experience sadness, pain, illness etc or as we call it life and not just the mindless simplistic happiness that is on offer.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked hearing about the way the world worked. I have noticed I like the actual utopian society best in most dis-topia books. I got a little bored when they went to the reservation. But it was a relatively OK book and I enjoyed it enough to remember most of it years later.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    There’s little I can add at this point, so I’ll keep my review very brief. This was an easy read. I can see why it is a classic, and I was not bored while reading it, despite the influence it’s had on the dystopian subgenre. I really liked the prevalence of images drawn from music theory (I’m eyeing his Point counter point as my next read by Huxley).
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Interesting novel. It has a very strong start - perfectly painting a world so different from our own. As the beginning chapters went on, however, the book began to drag for me. It seemed void of purpose, to some extent. But by the half way mark that started to change around, at least for me. The story at this point began to turn into a "fish out of water" story. Except, unlike so many other stories of similar structure, you - the reader - are the fish out of water. For me, this was the most intriguing aspect of the novel and what brought me to continue reading it. Well worth the read, though Huxley's writing style may be tedious at times.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This time consumed as an audiobook. Audiobook is a little hard to digest as it doesn't lend itself well to the work, or I guess the work is not good as an audiobook. Also, you can hear the narrator (Michael York) swallowing at and stopping the recording in several spots. Listened to this immediately after Orwell's 1984--great for comparison. Lots of connections can be made to our present society in both.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    "Brave New World" is a chilly dystopian story that is a bit similar to "1984". I guess the future is going into one direction: no more freedom, individuality, culture and ideas. Our future will be mundane, boring and repetitive basing on the 2 books. This story is an eye-opener indeed.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I want to give this 4 stars, because the concepts were great, and I'm impressed by many of the inventions/world views compared with life at the time of writing, and I thought the last half of the book came together very well. *However* the first half of the book was kind of convoluted, and slow, I kept putting this down to read other things, but I was determined to finish it. For such a large portion of the book to give me that slogging feeling, it loses a star, but it's still impressive, and I understand why it's a classic, especially since I see such parallels with life today.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    "Brave New World" is, of course, a brilliant book. Written so many years ago and foreshadowing many issues to come. It is, more than anyone realizes, a tribute to the values of individuality, of freedom, of selfhood, and of monogamy. It is a voice in the wilderness crying out against conformity, consumerism, marching in lockstep, promiscuity, and drug-influenced bewilderment.
    Huxley created a world of genetic design, a world where the only goal is happiness, where there are no families, no marriage, no creativity, and no individuality. It's a world where everyone belongs to everyone else and the common good is all that matters. Mass production is important. Romance, literature, religion have all been abolished. Drown yourself in the drug soma, disposable clothes, free love, and sex hormone chewing gum.

    Yes, everyone is happy, but nothing matters anymore. No one needs to have ideas. No one needs to stand out. If you don't fit in, you are exiled to some far off island.

    This book expressed concerns about how the world was changing, but it's not our world today. Individuality, freedom, family still matter. But the warning are there about even the most benevolent dictatorship.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Most excellent, indeed.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Uitgekiende toekomstvisie, knap bedacht. Het verhaal zelf heeft een eerder flauw verloop, met vooral vanaf hoofdstuk 9 minder spankracht en een onbegrijpelijke ommekeer bij de hoofdfiguur Bernard. Ook de pointe niet helemaal geslaagd
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wonderful,interestingly far fetched.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    BELIEVABLE SCIENCE FICTION
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    good but for all the sexism
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Well, I gave this one a go. I enjoyed the concept but the way the author treated the overarching theme ended up drowning in dialog.
    I don't fault the author for this. It was pretty common to the time it was written to use didactic dialog to convey big chunks of information. So he was right in line with his times. I just wasn't into reading this kind of book at this time.
    I might return to it later and read the entire thing because I found the way he handled the narrative quite compelling. He was a brilliant writer, and is worth the effort. Just not this month!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Set in a future world where people no longer have babies the traditional way but via 'bottles' in huge factories. Each baby is designed by a caste system to perform specific types of job. Brainwashed as they grow up, everyone is content with their lives. If they find themselves for any reason unhappy they simply take a drug called soma. Outside 'civilisation' there are reservations for savages, one such savage is brought in and a kind of king kong scenario plays out.

    I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. A number of issues are explored e.g. motherhood, sex, civilisation, promiscuity, happiness etc.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Huxley's Brave New World is a thought-provoking novel about a society steeped in the values of sensualism happiness = peace. But at what cost? Huxley suggests that we will have to be cloned and conditioned from birth to accept these changes, but even with the conditioning our humanism will throw off the bonds of a uniformity and break free of an elitist, conscripted society.



    I think by introducing the Savage and the islands Huxley suggests that it will be possible, although probably not welcome.



    This is not one of my favorite books. I felt Huxley could have developed the characters more and concentrated less on the sensualism. I am glad I read it and agree that this is a must for any required reading list. It has great possibilities for discussions.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The more I read these classics, the more I get the image of someone taking and stitching the various concepts together to form today's society."More Stitches means less Riches" -- I swear the modern disposable society is based on this phrase alone. But the need for consumption also reminds me a lot of the consumerist/capitalist view of must spend, Spend, SPEND that goes on as well.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a very thought provoking book, especially right now with the political upheaval in the U.S.! The test tube babies and their predestination and predetermination of their caste order is super creepy, though not entirely implausible! And the sterilization of society, the sameness of it all, seems a little too realistic to be comfortable for me! No art, no science, no individualization - just take a drug and be happy! I know of one political party right now that would love this type of society! But I'm with the Savage - I like reality! Like I said, lots to think about in here, but it's not the best story ever. Too much philosophy and Shakespeare for me! But I'd say it's a must read, and a must think, if you are inclined to do so!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I read this back in high school but it turns out that I had forgotten almost everything about the plot so I am so glad that I revisited it with this audiobook edition.Michael York was wonderful as the narrator (though I now have the urge to watch Logan's Run!)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Unlike Orwell, Huxley paints somewhat more pacifistic portrait of future human society. Everybody is made from the template. That template determines their purpose in the world and ensures that nobody ever questions his/hers place in the society.

    In case there is somebody questioning the world as it is there is no torture and re-education [like in 1984] - these people are sent to isolated islands to live with other ... individuals would be the right term I guess. And this may be the only ... humane aspect of Huxley's future society.

    This is a horror story of where individual is left no room to develop and grow - (s)he is defined by his/hers genes and very brutal molding process. Most terrifying is the approval of and indifference to this procedure by the rest of the populace.

    Unlike 1984 where science is almost expelled from every pore of the life Huxley shows a world where science is dominant - another extreme that leads to the same result - society where people are treated as herd animals [except, of course, the precious few].

    Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was one of the books I read when I was in high school. I really did not care for it. But as I recall it was not the writing. It was just the story. I was not into that sort of thing at the time. So I will give it 3 stars since I was able to finish it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Brave New World describes a world which consists of basically two societies. The first one, 'civilization', is a society with a caste system ranging from the upper class (or "Alpha plus" humans as they are called in the book) to what Huxley calls "Epsilon-Minus Semi-Morons". Via conditioning and genetic engineering all people are happy (or at least seem to be) in their caste. Human reproduction is fully controlled by government and individualism simply does not exist anymore. The other society described in the book is an 'uncivilized' group of 'savages' living in a reservation. When one day, protagonist Bernard Marx, a not so well conditioned Alpha plus with own thoughts and a resulting unhappiness, visits the reservation and takes two savages back to 'civilization' with him (for the sake of science, of course), there is a short flicker of individualism leading to the beginning of a revolution against the prevailing system in 'civilization'. This, however, is put down by the government with the help of soma, a drug that makes one feel ultimate happiness for a couple of hours. In the end, the revolutionaries, among them a savage (Marx is only a passive bystander), are sent off to islands where free-thinkers are kept.Reading Brave New World made me think about our society, systems of government, and culture. Where does science lead us? The "Brave New World" described in the novel does not seem too distant. However, as the novel was published in 1932, we can already see that mankind has taken a somewhat different path, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. The contrast of the 'civilized' and the 'uncivilized' in the novel shows, to my mind, first, that both of the depicted systems are even alike to a certain extent (in both there are upper class people who control and govern, in both there is punishment, in both you can be an outsider) and, second, that neither of them is completely desirable. At this point I would go with Churchill: "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."Brave New World is a thought-provoking novel and a good read. Although I did not like Huxley's style of writing at times, I would definitely recommend this novel. To whom? Anyone. 4 stars.