Orwell: The Road to Airstrip One [Hardcover]

Ian Slater (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1985

"In Moulmein, in Lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people ..." So begins one of Orwell's most famous essays. In "Orwell: The Road to Airstrip One", Ian Slater explains why Orwell was hated in Moulmein and takes us on a fascinating intellectual journey that traces the development of Orwell's political and social criticism. Using a uniquely thematic approach, Slater also examines Orwell's self-criticism and, finally, the hidden and corrosive dangers of state and self-imposed censorship in a security-obsessed world. Slater's tour de force, critically acclaimed by those on both the left and the right, moves from Orwell's schooldays in England and his time as a policeman in Burma, through his years as a struggling poet, dishwasher, tramp in Paris, and tutor, schoolmaster, and bookshop assistant in London, to his critical experiences during the Spanish Civil War.Slater takes us beyond the events of Orwell's life to the bitter satire of the Russian Revolution in Animal Farm and the horrifying terror of Room 101 in 1984, Orwell's final novel, and shows that 1984 is as much a warning about the state of mind we call totalitarianism as it is a prophecy of an actual political state. As the war on terrorism continues and governments demand ever-increasing power over the individual in order to combat terrorism, "Orwell: The Road to Airstrip One", reissued during Orwell's centenary, warns us that "he who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster."

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Perhaps it is because Ian Slater is a Canadian, removed from what he is writing about by a continent ... that he looks at familiar material so freshly ... Slater treads the well-worn road with such zestful springiness that he often sees things newly...[A] very intelligent book." Times Literary Supplement "Ian Slater is very fair and discriminating in his judgment of Orwell's work and his book should add something valuable to the reader's understanding." Maurice Cranston, The London School of Economics and Political Science "[In] Ian Slater's fine study...[the] tight sense of development is the strength of Slater's book...a fluid pleasure to read. In his disdain for convoluted academic writing, Slater has written a book that is accessible and will have broad appeal." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution "The best introduction I know of to the life and ideas of George Orwell. Ian Slater writes with insight, intelligence, and imagination about the man who was important not only for what he has to say about political and personal dangers of one year, 1984, but whose writings in their depth and perceptions continue to inform us about our world, its perils and rewards." Peter Stansky, Stanford University "Penetrating and illuminating - one of the few treatments of Orwell which is at once completely informed and freshly intelligent." Robert Conquest "[Slater's] book is both a useful introduction and a subtle discussion of the more problematic aspects of Orwell as a thinker ... his study serves well to show why Orwell's work remains indispensable." American Library Booklist "Slater has provided a succinct yet thorough guide to the work of this dour and incorruptible man. He has done his homework; he knows the canon and the secondary material about Orwell inside out." Toronto Globe and Mail "The study is valuable for its clear exposition of the paradoxes inherent in Orwell's work." Publishers Weekly "It is doubtful that any book provides a better foundation for a full understanding of Orwell's unique and troubling vision." Washington Post --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 302 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1 edition (January 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039301908X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393019087
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,220,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An okay book, April 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Orwell: The Road to Airstrip One (Hardcover)

You can't compare Ian Slater to Orwell, but in this case, Mr. Slater does a fair job at writing and gives credit to Mr. Orwell. Better than his other books.