Nineteen Eighty-Four is a rare work that grows more haunting as its
futuristic purgatory becomes more real. Published in 1949, the book
offers political satirist George Orwell's nightmarish vision of a
totalitarian, bureaucratic world and one poor stiff's attempt to find
individuality. The brilliance of the novel is Orwell's prescience of
modern life—the ubiquity of television, the distortion of the language—
and his ability to construct such a thorough version of hell. Required
reading for students since it was published, it ranks among the most
terrifying novels ever written.