As a critic, George Orwell cast a wide net. Equally at home discussing Charles Dickens and Charlie Chaplin, he moved back and forth across the porous borders between essay and journalism, high art and low. A frequent commentator on literature, language, film, and drama throughout his career, Orwell turned increasingly to the critical essay in the 1940s, when his most important experiences were behind him and some of his most incisive writing lay ahead.All Art Is Propaganda follows Orwell as he demonstrates in piece after piece how intent analysis of a work or body of work gives rise to trenchant aesthetic and philosophical commentary. With masterpieces such as "Politics and the English Language" and "Rudyard Kipling" and gems such as "Good Bad Books," here is an unrivaled education in, as George Packer puts it, "how to be interesting, line after line."
All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays (Before Orwell)
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Before he was a renowned novelist, George Orwell was a masterful essayist. Spanning the 1940s, this companion to Facing Unpleasant Facts: Narrative Essays showcases Orwell in an often unexpected cavalcade of observations on diverse subjects—in the literary field alone as varied as T. S. Eliot, Charles Dickens, Henry Miller, Graham Greene and Kipling. But since this is Orwell, the book takes on a range of subjects with gusto: power and bully worship and the deleterious influence of Catholicism on literature. Orwell's withering observations on professional academic criticism (Politics and the English Language) are tempered by his sly Confessions of a Book Reviewer (constantly inventing reactions towards books about which one has no spontaneous feelings whatever) and Good Bad Books (the supreme example being Uncle Tom's Cabin). Not to be overlooked is a freewheeling take on the naughty postcards of Donald McGill. Overall, this collection highlights the work of a writer who always put his money where his mouth was, reiterating frequently the importance of clarity of expression in enabling independent thought. (Oct. 13)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
George Orwell (1903–50) is best remembered for his dark and prophetic political novels, Animal Farm (1945) and 1984 (1949). In addition to four other novels, he also produced some of the best book-length nonfiction of the modernist era, including Down and Out in Paris and London (1933) and Homage to Catalonia (1939). Harcourt is now republishing in two volumes his collected essays, compiled by Packer (The Assassin's Gate: America in Iraq). What is most astonishing about these essays are their continuing freshness and relevancy more than half a century after Orwell's death. All are worth reading for some combination of literary, historical, or cautionary merit. His criticism of art and politics (and sometimes both) remains spot-on, and the "unpleasant facts" he considers, including war, poverty, homelessness, lack of adequate medical care, and even schoolboy bullying, are unfortunately still familiar topics. Orwell's crisp and clear journalistic writing style remains highly accessible to 21st-century readers, with the occasional, now obscure reference illuminated by Packer's notes. Essential for academic libraries; highly recommended for public libraries.—Alison M. Lewis, formerly with Drexel Univ. Lib., Philadelphia
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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More About the Author
GEORGE ORWELL (1903-1950) was born in India and served with the Imperial Police in Burma before joining the Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. Orwell was the author of six novels as well as numerous essays and nonfiction works.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By dacios
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The title of this collection of Orwell's essays is taken from the initial entry discussing Charles Dickens and it is a well chosen title. The inability of artists to be completely apolitical is the theme that holds this anthology together as Orwell examines topics ranging from the art of Salvador Dali, to Swift's Gulliver's Travels to Graham Greene. The fact that Orwell left England to risk in life in the Spanish Civil War fighting for the republican forces only to memorialize his experiences in Homage to Catalonia, puts him in a unique position to examine the intersection of art and politics.
The acerbic wit and ranging intelligence of Orwell is on full display in this pages. In addition, his rabid fear and hate of totalitarianism that has made him a touchstone for intellectuals both left and right is also apparent in his lucid analysis of Gulliver's travels and the supposed "utopia" of the Houyhnhnms. Some of these essays are familiar, such as Politics and the English Language but others are more obscure, such as Benefits of the Clergy: Some Notes on Salavdor Dali which was censored for obscenity in 1946. My particular favorite is Confessions of a Book Reviewer, which lacks the strong political overtones of his other essays but gives a vivid image into the overlooked aspect of Orwell's life as a workaday journalist and book reviewer.
Despite not living to see the Cold War or the rise of religious fanaticism his thoughts and words still matter. For those who are unfamiliar with Orwell outside 1984 or Animal Farm, All Art is Propaganda provides a great starting point into the writings of one of the great political writers of the modern era.
The acerbic wit and ranging intelligence of Orwell is on full display in this pages. In addition, his rabid fear and hate of totalitarianism that has made him a touchstone for intellectuals both left and right is also apparent in his lucid analysis of Gulliver's travels and the supposed "utopia" of the Houyhnhnms. Some of these essays are familiar, such as Politics and the English Language but others are more obscure, such as Benefits of the Clergy: Some Notes on Salavdor Dali which was censored for obscenity in 1946. My particular favorite is Confessions of a Book Reviewer, which lacks the strong political overtones of his other essays but gives a vivid image into the overlooked aspect of Orwell's life as a workaday journalist and book reviewer.
Despite not living to see the Cold War or the rise of religious fanaticism his thoughts and words still matter. For those who are unfamiliar with Orwell outside 1984 or Animal Farm, All Art is Propaganda provides a great starting point into the writings of one of the great political writers of the modern era.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Cyndi Bu-ej
Format:Paperback
This selection of essays provides excellent insight for anyone who appreciates the theories of George Orwell.
Readers will get a better understanding of class warfare, secrets of great communicators, totalitarianism, the effects of literature, and, of course, propaganda. I especially enjoyed his essay on "The Prevention of Literature", as it implies the ideas written into his masterpiece known as 1984.
I highly recommend this book to all writers and political thinkers.
Readers will get a better understanding of class warfare, secrets of great communicators, totalitarianism, the effects of literature, and, of course, propaganda. I especially enjoyed his essay on "The Prevention of Literature", as it implies the ideas written into his masterpiece known as 1984.
I highly recommend this book to all writers and political thinkers.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read only one item in this collection for the rather pompous reason that there was a sole Orwell film review that I had never read and I wanted my Orwell wanderings to be complete! The other essays I have read elsewhere.
The GREAT DICTATOR was the film that enraged Hitler. The right wing has always spewed venom on Charles Chaplin...perhaps it was because he was a leftist Hitler look alike who had a great media influence in his day. Orwell gave this film a great review mentioning only a few technical faults. Orwell wanted the English government to subsidize the film's distribution during the War which would have been cost effective and appropriate...
"The government should subsidize the Great Dictator heavily and try to get copies into Germany." Fat chance.
On Chaplin, the twentieth century everyman, Orwell wrote...
"What is Chaplin's particular gift? If it is his power to stand for a sort of concentrated essence of the common man, for the ineradicable belief in decency that exists in the hearts of ordinary people, at any rate in the West." p146.
These selections are worth the time to read, as is nearly everything Orwell wrote. The reader is warned, however,that many Orwell collections are overlapping or fragmentary. Look carefully at the table of contents of Orwell books to save money before buying and look at my numerous Orwell reviews for guidance. Regards.
The GREAT DICTATOR was the film that enraged Hitler. The right wing has always spewed venom on Charles Chaplin...perhaps it was because he was a leftist Hitler look alike who had a great media influence in his day. Orwell gave this film a great review mentioning only a few technical faults. Orwell wanted the English government to subsidize the film's distribution during the War which would have been cost effective and appropriate...
"The government should subsidize the Great Dictator heavily and try to get copies into Germany." Fat chance.
On Chaplin, the twentieth century everyman, Orwell wrote...
"What is Chaplin's particular gift? If it is his power to stand for a sort of concentrated essence of the common man, for the ineradicable belief in decency that exists in the hearts of ordinary people, at any rate in the West." p146.
These selections are worth the time to read, as is nearly everything Orwell wrote. The reader is warned, however,that many Orwell collections are overlapping or fragmentary. Look carefully at the table of contents of Orwell books to save money before buying and look at my numerous Orwell reviews for guidance. Regards.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shows why he's a master
Orwell should be required reading for anybody who wants to be in journalism or just likes reading or writing in general. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Matthew
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great collection of Essays
A great collection of essays by the always fascinating Orwell. Some great, some okay, and most are worth reading. Love.
Published 2 months ago by RBJ
5.0 out of 5 stars
Orwell as a Common Reader
Having arrived at a place in my cultural life that I had come to the conclusion on my own that "All Art Is Propaganda," I had to read this one. Read more
Published 3 months ago by roadshowrigoletto
5.0 out of 5 stars
Orwell is my best friend
So excited to get this book in the mail. I LOVE Orwell and it was the perfect source for my Senior Thesis.
Published 5 months ago by Brenna Hanley
4.0 out of 5 stars
The genius of Orwell in action.
Orwell is a strong supporter of the freedom ideas in West Europe in 1900, and he applies his intelligence in sociology, phylosophy, historism. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Edoardo Angeloni
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Collection that Falls Short
I truly enjoy reading Orwell, but his essays for the most part are so of the times that they were written that a lot of what he discusses won't be something the reader would truly... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mark McLaughlin
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fine selection of Essays
I never tire of reading George Orwell's writing. His insight and clarity stand out even more as a beacon in this world of sound bites, propaganda, and babble.
Published 9 months ago by R. Barrell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very enlightening
This was the book that first endeared me to George Orwell. His honesty and clear thinking are a joy to experience. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Brett J. Ellingson
4.0 out of 5 stars
All Art Is Propaganda
Wide-ranging; check. Interesting; check. Clearly-written--double check. One thing that made these essays so refreshing to me is their total lack of jargon. Read more
Published on March 31, 2011 by Stephen Quinn
5.0 out of 5 stars
Orwell: An eternal contemporary
This title is a companion volume to one titled Facing Unpleasant Facts. That volume dealt with many of the famous narrative essays produced in Orwell's career, whereas this one... Read more
Published on October 21, 2010 by J. Edgar Mihelic
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