a book
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley · 1998 · 288 pages
"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
recommended by 23 people
sourced from public statements
Natalie Wynn (Contrapoints)
“For conspiracists, the persona of investigator gives them a noble purpose. It makes them important. But instead of giants, they think windmills are directed energy weapons. And instead of chivalric fantasy, their literary model is like, the dystopian fiction we had to read in high school: 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, you are here.”
PewDiePie
“One of the earliest books I read this year was the 'Brave New World' written by Aldous Huxley. I loved this one especially because it is a good mix of comedy and ,intentional or not I don't know, and how grim it gets, how dark it is which really delivers this impactful meaning behind it.”
Tristan Harris
“Slightly older and less well known than 1984 but equally chilling vision.”↗
Yuval Noah Harari
“The most prophetic book of the 20th century. Written in the days of Hitler and Stalin, it envisages a future dystopian world ruled by consumerism and biotechnology, in which happiness is the supreme value. Today many people would easily mistake it for a utopia. If you have time for just one book, this would be my top choice.”↗
Yara Shahidi
“Infamous for the predictions made about the modern world, Huxely’s Brave New World gives chilling commentary on the flaws of both the present and future societies that we are and will be living in. At the epicenter, it is an age-old debate about the dichotomy of freedom and happiness.”↗
Josh Felser
“@RyanCTJ @aexm Loved that book”↗
Janelle Monáe
“I love him. That was a huge inspiration to me and my writing process.”↗
books like Brave New World
other books recommended by the same people who recommend this one
Animal Farm: George Orwell (Macmillan Collector's Library)
George Orwell
6 shared recommenders
Dune
Frank Herbert
3 shared recommenders
Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
3 shared recommenders
12 Rules for Life
Jordan B. Peterson
3 shared recommenders
Beyond Good And Evil
Friedrich Nietzsche
3 shared recommenders
Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell
3 shared recommenders
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl
3 shared recommenders
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (Incerto)
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
2 shared recommenders
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
John Carreyrou
2 shared recommenders
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
Ben Horowitz
2 shared recommenders
The Three-Body Problem
Cixin Liu
2 shared recommenders
A Treatise of Human Nature
David Hume
2 shared recommenders