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Brave New World Paperback – October 18, 2006
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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 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.
"Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English." —Chicago Tribune
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Print length288 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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Publication dateOctober 18, 2006
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Dimensions0.7 x 5.2 x 7.8 inches
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ISBN-100060850523
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ISBN-13978-0060850524
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Lexile measure870L
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“[A] masterpiece. ... One of the most prophetic dystopian works of the 20th century.” — Wall Street Journal
“As sparkling, as provocative, as brilliant...as the day it was published.” — Martin Green
“One of the 20th century’s greatest writers.” — Washington Post
“Chilling. . . . That he gave us the dark side of genetic engineering in 1932 is amazing.” — Providence Journal-Bulletin
“A genius . . . a writer who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine.” — The New Yorker
“Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English.” — Chicago Tribune
“Huxley uses his erudite knowledge of human relations to compare our actual world with his prophetic fantasy of 1931. It is a frightening experience, indeed, 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 sometimes appallingly accurate view of today’s world.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“It’s time for everyone to read or reread Brave New World.” — Raleigh News & Observer
From the Back Cover
Aldous Huxley's tour de force, Brave New World is a darkly satiric vision of a "utopian" future—where humans are genetically bred and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively serve a ruling order. A powerful work of speculative fiction that has enthralled and terrified readers for generations, it remains remarkably relevant to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying entertainment.
About the Author
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.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Brave New World
By Aldous HuxleyHarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Copyright ©2006 Aldous HuxleyAll right reserved.
ISBN: 0060850523
Chapter One
A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories. Over the main entrancethe words, Central London Hatchery and ConditioningCentre, and, in a shield, the World State's motto,Community, Identity, Stability.
The enormous room on the ground floor faced towards thenorth. Cold for all the summer beyond the panes, for all the tropicalheat of the room itself, a harsh thin light glared through the windows,hungrily seeking some draped lay figure, some pallid shape ofacademic goose-flesh, but finding only the glass and nickel andbleakly shining porcelain of a laboratory. Wintriness responded towintriness. The overalls of the workers were white, their handsgloved with a pale corpse-coloured rubber. The light was frozen,dead, a ghost. Only from the yellow barrels of the microscopes did itborrow a certain rich and living substance, lying along the polishedtubes like butter, streak after luscious streak in long recession downthe work tables.
"And this," said the Director opening the door, "is the FertilizingRoom."
Bent over their instruments, three hundred Fertilizers wereplunged, as the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning enteredthe room, in the scarcely breathing silence, the absent-minded, so-liloquizing hum or whistle, of absorbed concentration. A troop ofnewly arrived students, very young, pink and callow, followed nervously,rather abjectly, at the Director's heels. Each of them carried anotebook, in which, whenever the great man spoke, he desperatelyscribbled. Straight from the horse's mouth. It was a rare privilege.The D.H.C. for Central London always made a point of personallyconducting his new students round the various departments.
"Just to give you a general idea," he would explain to them. Forof course some sort of general idea they must have, if they were todo their work intelligently&8212though as little of one, if they were tobe good and happy members of society, as possible. For particulars,as every one knows, make for virtue and happiness; generalities areintellectually necessary evils. Not philosophers but fretsawyers andstamp collectors compose the backbone of society.
"Tomorrow," he would add, smiling at them with a slightlymenacing geniality, "you'll be settling down to serious work. Youwon't have time for generalities. Meanwhile ... "
Meanwhile, it was a privilege. Straight from the horse's mouthinto the notebook. The boys scribbled like mad.
Tall and rather thin but upright, the Director advanced into theroom. He had a long chin and big rather prominent teeth, just covered,when he was not talking, by his full, floridly curved lips. Old,young? Thirty? Fifty? Fifty-five? It was hard to say. And anyhow thequestion didn't arise; in this year of stability, a.f. 632, it didn't occurto you to ask it.
"I shall begin at the beginning," said the D.H.C. and the morezealous students recorded his intention in their notebooks: Begin atthe beginning. "These," he waved his hand, "are the incubators." Andopening an insulated door he showed them racks upon racks ofnumbered test-tubes. "The week's supply of ova. Kept," he explained,"at blood heat; whereas the male gametes," and here heopened another door, "they have to be kept at thirty-five instead ofthirty-seven. Full blood heat sterilizes." Rams wrapped in theremogenebeget no lambs.
Still leaning against the incubators he gave them, while the pencilsscurried illegibly across the pages, a brief description of themodern fertilizing process; spoke first, of course, of its surgical introduction-- "the operation undergone voluntarily for the good ofSociety, not to mention the fact that it carries a bonus amounting tosix months' salary"; continued with some account of the techniquefor preserving the excised ovary alive and actively developing;passed on to a consideration of optimum temperature, salinity, viscosity;referred to the liquor in which the detached and ripened eggswere kept; and, leading his charges to the work tables, actuallyshowed them how this liquor was drawn off from the test-tubes;how it was let out drop by drop onto the specially warmed slides ofthe microscopes; how the eggs which it contained were inspectedfor abnormalities, counted and transferred to a porous receptacle;how (and he now took them to watch the operation) this receptaclewas immersed in a warm bouillon containing free-swimming spermatozoa-- at a minimum concentration of one hundred thousandper cubic centimetre, he insisted; and how, after ten minutes, thecontainer was lifted out of the liquor and its contents reexamined;how, if any of the eggs remained unfertilized, it was again immersed,and, if necessary, yet again; how the fertilized ova went back to theincubators; where the Alphas and Betas remained until definitelybottled; while the Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons were brought outagain, after only thirty-six hours, to unde rgo Bokanovsky's Process.
"Bokanovsky's Process," repeated the Director, and the studentsunderlined the words in their little notebooks.
One egg, one embryo, one adult&8212normality. But a bokanovskifiedegg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninetysixbuds, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo,and every embryo into a full-sized adult. Making ninety-six humanbeings grow where only one grew before. Progress.
"Essentially," the D.H.C. concluded, "bokanovskification consistsof a series of arrests of development. We check the normalgrowth and, paradoxically enough, the egg responds by budding."
Responds by budding. The pencils were busy.
He pointed. On a very slowly moving band a rack-full of testtubeswas entering a large metal box, another rack-full was emerging.Machinery faintly purred. It took eight minutes for the tubes togo through, he told them. Eight minutes of hard X-rays being aboutas much as an egg can stand. A few died; of the rest, the least susceptibledivided into two; most put out four buds; some eight; all werereturned to the incubators, where the buds began to develop; then,after two days, were suddenly chilled, chilled and checked ...
Continues...
Excerpted from Brave New Worldby Aldous Huxley Copyright ©2006 by Aldous Huxley. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Product details
- Publisher : Harper Perennial (October 18, 2006)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0060850523
- ISBN-13 : 978-0060850524
- Lexile measure : 870L
- Item Weight : 7.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 0.7 x 5.2 x 7.8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #42 in Classic Literature & Fiction
- #129 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the authors
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Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) is the author of the classic novels Island, Eyeless in Gaza, and The Genius and the Goddess, as well as such critically acclaimed nonfiction works as The Devils of Loudun, The Doors of Perception, and The Perennial Philosophy. Born in Surrey, England, and educated at Oxford, he died in Los Angeles.
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I've re-read this book several times and each time I'm glad I did. That is because it is an enjoyable story, first and foremost. The characters have sufficient depth, the locales are peculiar and attention-grabbing, and the underlying message is enough to make you stop and think.
Brave New World revolves around three main characters. First, there's Bernard Marx, an elite "Alpha Plus" who is uncertain about how he fits into society. Then, there is Mustapha Mond, the World Controller for Western Europe, a man who reads The Holy Bible and Shakespeare, despite his society's ban on these "pornographic books". Finally, we have John (named John Savage when he visits Bernard's world), the son of two World State citizens raised in the remote hostility of a Savage Reservation. The interactions and thoughts of these three characters forms the skeleton of the book, and it is through their eyes that we view the World State of the future. The reader learns about how babies are "decanted" in the future, how they are bred and conditioned for their role in society, how entertainment plays a role in keeping them happy, and how unhappiness can be quickly whisked away by a gramme of Soma, a powerful drug that has no debilitating side-effects. Of course, it would be easy for the author to jab his finger at you from the pages and scream "SEE?!? SEE?!?! See what a society without freedom looks like? Isn't it horrible?", but he doesn't. In fact, the world of Year of Our Ford 632 doesn't seem so bad at all when you consider disease, war, and unhappiness have all been snuffed out of existence.
But at what cost?
Midway through the book, we meet John. Biologically, a son of the World State, but philosophically a student of the old religions and old literature of the old world. But don't misunderstand. John is not necessarily the book's "everyman". Many of his emotions and actions (like self-flagellation) are still foreign to a modern reader. Bernard - who has at this point accepted that he is "different" compared to his fellow World State-ers - brings John to his home to show him off to his peers. Naturally, many aspects of the World State are appalling to John, and this conflict continues all the way to the book's conclusion.
Something I found remarkable is that the author, Huxley, gives us plenty of chances to sympathize with many of the various characters. Bernard Marx is not the "good guy" nor the "bad guy". In another story, the World Controller Mond might have been the evil villain trying to destroy any freedom, and John Savage might have been the passionate hero who wins the pretty girl and ultimately brings that freedom to society. But none of this occurs. The characters in Brave New World are just people, thrust into a world of perfect happiness and perfect harmony, and they each react in their own way. Sure, it's cute to see how the author envisioned the future, and perhaps a bit scary to see some of his "predictions" coming true, but that isn't what makes this book great. What makes it great is that it allows the reader to come to his/her own conclusions. To you, perhaps the World State seems terrifying, or maybe it seems like a nice place to live. To you, perhaps John Savage is the hero, or perhaps the logic and compassion in Mustapha Mond's final words and final actions resonate with you more. Maybe you can relate best to Bernard Marx's flawed personality. I suppose the choice is really yours, because Huxley doesn't make that choice for you.
A lot of people say that the story is about entertainment media taking over our society, or about drugs, or about a controlling government, or about morality. I don't think Huxley intended the book to be exclusively about any one of those things, although of course the book makes a statement about them all. As stated above, Brave New World lets you draw your own conclusions about the World State instead of trying to grab you by the collar while screaming "SEE?!? SEE?!? See how horrible a world full of drugs and genetic manipulation would be?"
Now, I rate this book a full 5 stars, but here is the "but..." of the review. For the majority of the book, we are treated to a fascinating romp through future science, future sociology, and future beliefs. However, toward the end of the book, John and Mustapha Mond engage in a very lengthy conversation about society and morals and God. To me, I really enjoyed this part. It was a great answer to my lingering question of "Why did society become this way?". To others, it might come off as a preachy, show-offy exposition from Huxley's own heart. Mustapha makes a point about human psychology, and John counters with Shakespeare. Mustapah points to the World State's "happiness", and John counters with God. Mustapha talks about bliss, and John talks about struggling for joy. I enjoyed it, but you might not, especially since it breaks away from the overall pace and feel of the rest of the book.
Nevertheless, this book is well worth reading. It can be finished by a diligent reader in a weekend, and it contains a lot of thought-provoking ideas that will stick with you long after the final page.
See, in this novel nobody seems to be unhappy at all. They are literally born to do the jobs they will perform for their entire adult lives, and love those jobs. Each person is born into a certain "caste" and they are happy to be in that caste, and envy no one in any other castes. The lowest of the low are referred to as epsilon - minus, semi-morons. This is interesting, as epsilon is a common mathematical number that defines how much error a function may allow. In this book, the epsilons (as a general class), represent the lowest possible mental and social state of humanity.
Of course, their are more intelligent people as well. The castes are, from highest to lowest: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon. That's quite a bit like a typical grading system of A, B, C, D, F. As you can imagine, the Alphas are the smartest, and the list goes down from there. But the thing is, each caste member is truly satisfied by their caste membership. The novel makes a pretty logical reason why the caste members are happy with their lot in life.
Sex is treated in a completely pragmatic fashion, and emotions are almost completely subdued.
With the help of a super narcotic, the populace is able to enjoy life and extravagant recreation - devoid of all sadness and driven by a natural tendency to "consume". Everything is in place to allow a person to go through life almost without any spikes in emotion. Even death is a conditioned response.
The missing element in this picture is humanity. Essentially, those in control have tried their best to keep any highs and lows within a certain amount of error (epsilon). The central question is the running of civilization vs. the individual spirit. It seems that, to keep a civilization going, we need to make certain sacrifices individually - and it's easy to make those sacrifices when we don't realize that we are making those sacrifices.
However, there are about 5 major characters, and I think each one represents a different amount of humanity - or at least different levels of humanity. In this version of the future, it's possible to step outside the bounds of what is acceptable, but you are not doomed if you do so. Instead, you are offered a quite reasonable accommodation.
Aldous Huxley offers extremely complex characters, but each is allowed to act within a certain epsilon of ranges - he wrote in very delicate shades of meaning. In fact, I'm pretty certain that I've never read an author who has presented me with more "gray areas" within the thinking of each character. Mr. Huxley is a very deep and complicated author who was ahead of his time. Those novels "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451" presented dystopias that were easily regarded as undesirable, whereas "Brave New World" presents a future that is not so obviously flawed. In fact, my wife asserts that this future was actually desirable - but she's a bleeding heart socialist, so that doesn't surprise me. "Brave New World" does, in my mind, present a more deviously dystopian future than the other two novels. I believe each of the major characters is meant to ask, in total, all of the questions we, the readers, might have.
In the end, this novel was gripping and a serious page turner. Every night, it inspired a great debate between my wife and me, and its overall game plan is one of subtlety instead of shock.
I'll bet that, after you read the novel, you will be able to spot this particular plot in many movies - particularly "The Matrix".
Top reviews from other countries
Remember the party propaganda of 1984, with sayings like, "War is peace," and take another look at Brave New World. The obvious contradictions have now been instilled in humans as infallible truths from birth through dream therapy, shock therapy, and other kinds of neo-Pavlovian experiments as well as caste-creating breeding and stress and chemical modification schemes. Corpsy women are propagated as desireable with as a hidden motto that if it's easier for men to stick it to a corpsy than to one that's fresh, then go for the corpsy delight. Everything in this world is nasty, with the meaning of nasty and clean having been reversed through some kind of cultural predestination scheme. What's nasty for "society" is clean for the savages and vice versa. Either of them function on a lower level than humanity could.
As infallible as the new truths have been instilled in humans, as contradictive they feel to those that for any reason of their own choose not to take the government drugs. Even those that take the drugs can be frank about their dislike at times, scaring others not for their own well-being but for that of their friends. As much as the caste system and the drugs and hypnopaedic therapy mean to eradicate all feeling, the foundation for all being being feeling itself means that even at the peak of self-domestication, there's a very strong urge to break free for those that have the slightest irregularity to their behaviors, stepping away from the state machine mindset that most have developed.
That little lack of indifference, the tiniest of questions that drive the bigger questions of freedom and identity, are what drive the pivotal characters in Brave New World. What will it take for the little ripples to grow into a wave without the water immediately being dammed? Once we've reached the point of complete self-domestication, is there such a thing as a point of no return? Great story that on the surface leaves no way out.
Cons: From the pictures on Amazon page you cannot clearly tell that the illustration on the hard cover is not engraved into the book itself but just a dusk jacket. I have not found anything in description on the Amazon page that specifies otherwise . For a 90th Anniversary Edition I expected a more premium care/build of the book.