Animal Farm: A Fairy Story and over 360,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle – Amazon’s new wireless reading device. Learn more

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
440 used & new from $0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Animal Farm (Signet Classics)
 
 
See all product images
See all 3 customer images
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Start reading Animal Farm: A Fairy Story on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

Animal Farm (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author), Russell Baker (Preface) "MR. JONES, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes..." (more)
Key Phrases: seven commandments, farmhouse garden, George Orwell, Comrade Napoleon, Beasts of England (more...)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,208 customer reviews)
Price: $9.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Wednesday, November 25? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
97 new from $2.90 331 used from $0.01 12 collectible from $5.00

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Kindle Edition, January 1, 1996 $9.89 -- --
  Hardcover, May 24, 1993 $12.24 $7.99 $5.20
  Paperback, May 5, 2003 $9.89 $7.93 $4.83
  Mass Market Paperback, March 31, 1996 $9.99 $2.90 $0.01
  Audio, Cassette, Unabridged $23.95 $14.98 $6.99
  Unknown Binding, December 31, 1964 -- -- $5.50
  Audio, Download Offsite Link $10.48 or less with new Audible membership

Frequently Bought Together

Animal Farm (Signet Classics) + 1984 (Signet Classics) + Fahrenheit 451
Price For All Three: $26.97

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Animal Farm (Signet Classics) by George Orwell

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • 1984 (Signet Classics) by George Orwell

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Fahrenheit 451 by Kristi Hiner

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Animal Farm (Cliffs Notes)

Animal Farm (Cliffs Notes)

by David Ball
3.8 out of 5 stars (23)  $5.99
1984 (Signet Classics)

1984 (Signet Classics)

by George Orwell
4.6 out of 5 stars (1,478)  $9.99
Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451

by Kristi Hiner
4.1 out of 5 stars (1,347)  $6.99
Lord of the Flies (Perigee)

Lord of the Flies (Perigee)

by William Golding
3.9 out of 5 stars (1,287)  $9.99
Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck Centennial Edition)

Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck Centennial Edition)

by John Steinbeck
4.3 out of 5 stars (1,118)  $10.08
› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Since its publication in 1946, George Orwell's fable of a workers' revolution gone wrong has rivaled Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea as the Shortest Serious Novel It's OK to Write a Book Report About. (The latter is three pages longer and less fun to read.) Fueled by Orwell's intense disillusionment with Soviet Communism, Animal Farm is a nearly perfect piece of writing, both an engaging story and an allegory that actually works. When the downtrodden beasts of Manor Farm oust their drunken human master and take over management of the land, all are awash in collectivist zeal. Everyone willingly works overtime, productivity soars, and for one brief, glorious season, every belly is full. The animals' Seven Commandment credo is painted in big white letters on the barn. All animals are equal. No animal shall drink alcohol, wear clothes, sleep in a bed, or kill a fellow four-footed creature. Those that go upon four legs or wings are friends and the two-legged are, by definition, the enemy. Too soon, however, the pigs, who have styled themselves leaders by virtue of their intelligence, succumb to the temptations of privilege and power. "We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of the farm depend on us. Day and night, we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples." While this swinish brotherhood sells out the revolution, cynically editing the Seven Commandments to excuse their violence and greed, the common animals are once again left hungry and exhausted, no better off than in the days when humans ran the farm. Satire Animal Farm may be, but it's a stony reader who remains unmoved when the stalwart workhorse, Boxer, having given his all to his comrades, is sold to the glue factory to buy booze for the pigs. Orwell's view of Communism is bleak indeed, but given the history of the Russian people since 1917, his pessimism has an air of prophecy. --Joyce Thompson --This text refers to the Paperback edition.


From Library Journal

This 50th-anniversary commemorative edition of Orwell's masterpiece is lavishly illustrated by Ralph Steadman. In addition, it contains Orwell's proposed introduction to the English-language version as well as his preface to the Ukrainian text. Though all editions of Animal Farm are equal, this one is more equal than others.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Signet Classics; 50th Anniversary edition (January 6, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0451526341
  • ISBN-13: 978-0451526342
  • Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,208 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,964 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #11 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( O ) > Orwell, George

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

George Orwell
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's George Orwell Page
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
MR. JONES, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
seven commandments, farmhouse garden
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
George Orwell, Comrade Napoleon, Beasts of England, Battle of the Cowshed, Animal Hero, Sugarcandy Mountain, Manor Farm, First Class, One Sunday, Second Class
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 17 books:
See all 17 books this book cites
 
100 books cite this book:
See all 100 books citing this book

Books on Related Topics (learn more)
 
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Animal Farm (Signet Classics)
86% buy the item featured on this page:
Animal Farm (Signet Classics) 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,208)
$9.99
Animal Farm and 1984
5% buy
Animal Farm and 1984 4.8 out of 5 stars (32)
$15.60
1984 (Signet Classics)
5% buy
1984 (Signet Classics) 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,478)
$9.99
Animal Farm
3% buy
Animal Farm 3.7 out of 5 stars (18)
$8.49
Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(96)
(81)
(70)
(69)
(67)
(54)
(50)
(32)
(32)
(17)
Agree with these tags?
See all 102 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

1,208 Reviews
5 star:
 (774)
4 star:
 (298)
3 star:
 (83)
2 star:
 (27)
1 star:
 (26)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (1,208 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
149 of 160 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Four legs good, two legs bad!!!", August 1, 2004
By Michael Crane (Orland Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
"Animal Farm" by George Orwell was never required reading for me when I was in school, so it took me some time to finally get around to reading it. I found it to be a complete and enjoyable read that had me hooked from the very first sentence. It is an excellent exercise in symbolism and creative imagination. While the book may be a very short read, it brings a whole lot to the table by giving you an interesting take on how history can be reenacted in the most imaginative ways.

The animals on Mr. Jones' farm have had enough of what they deem to be slavery. They're tired of being ordered around by humans while they see no benefits in their daily work. This is all sparked by a dream that the boar, Major, had about a unique place where animals called the shots and never had to be ordered around by humans ever again. He tells them a revolution is very much needed. When Major dies, the animals act quickly and are able to overthrow the alcoholic farmer and his thugs from his very own farm. The pigs are in charge now, as they claim that they are much smarter than the others and know how to lead. What seems to be paradise quickly transforms into another form of slavery altogether enforced by propaganda and threats from the pigs. And yet, the animals do not know any better, as they are deceived by the new system that gives them the illusion that they are better off than they were with Mr. Jones calling the shots.

The book is greatly inspired by real events that went down during the era of communism in Russia, using animals as the actual people. While it helps to know about that time period, the book is written so well that it is easily understood even if you only know a little about what happened during that time. The use of animals was a very creative way to tell this story, as it gives you a big incentive to actually care for these characters. Had this just been about real people, then it would've just sounded like anything you could find in your history books. Orwell finds a much more interesting way of tackling the topic. He gives life to every one of his characters and they all elicit some kind of a feeling from you. There are times when the book is funny, and then there are times when it is just downright chilling (the last chapter will stay in your head for more than a few hours).

George Orwell's "Animal Farm" is a genuine masterpiece that quickly hooks the reader from the very beginning. It's an extremely easy read as well as an enjoyable one--not enjoyable in the sense that this is a "happy tale," but enjoyable in the sense that you really feel like you're reading something great. If you haven't had the chance to check it out, make sure you add this to your reading list. It is something that should be read by everyone at least once in their life, even if they don't end up enjoying it as much as others. I loved every single word that was written in the extremely creative read. This is an important classic in literature that shouldn't be missed for any reason. -Michael Crane
Comment Comments (6) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
78 of 85 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The power of words ..., September 15, 2004
"Animal farm" is to this day one of the best attempts to criticize a totalitarian regime through the means that literature provides: the power of words. George Orwell (1903- 1950) wanted to help others to realize things that for him were evident, and attempted to do so by writing a fable that can easily be read as a satire of the Russian Revolution. Orwell said in an article that "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic Socialism, as I understand it. It seems to me nonsense, in a period like our own, to think that one can avoid writing of such subjects. It is simply a question of which side one takes and what approach one follows".

Orwell also pointed out that "Animal Farm was the first book in which I tried, with full consciousness of what I was doing, to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole". He succeded beyond his wildest expectations, even though at first nobody wanted to publish this work because it was too controversial.

The plot of this book is relatively easy to grasp, and I think that is probably one of the reasons why it is so popular. Some animals decide to take over the conduction of a farm, because they believe there is too much injustice, and that they would improve the situation if they had the power to do so. They make a revolution, and end up evicting Mr. Jones, the owner of the farm. From that moment onwards, the farm is called "Animal farm"...

The animals establish seven "commandments", that they are supposed to obey at all moments in the new "Animal farm": 1- Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy, 2 - Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend, 3- No animal shall wear clothes, 4 - No animal shall sleep in a bed , 5 -No animal shall drink alcohol, 6 - No animal shall kill another animal , 7- All animals are created equal. At the same time, all commandments can be comprised in a maxim: "Four legs good, two legs bad".

Everything seems all right for sometime, and all the animals work together for the success of the revolution, obeying the commandments and striving for a new order of things. However, after a while the pigs begin to think that being part of the animal revolution is not enough: they want to dominate it. After that first realization things take a quick turn for the worse, and we cease to be in the presence of a "wannabe utopical society", having instead to be unwilling witnesses to the birth of a new totalitarian society.

At that moment, the pigs even change some of the commandments. For example, the fourth commandment turns into "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets", and the sixth commandment says "No animal shall kill another animal without cause". Now, the commandments can be reduced to "Four legs good, two legs better". Finally, all the commandments will be replaced with one: "All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others".

All in all, I consider "Animal farm" extremely interesting, even though it is somewhat sad and pessimistic. The language is clear, and you won't find yourself wondering what the author meant by a phrase, or needing to read a paragraph again. From my point of view, that makes the reading process even more enjoyable.

Despite that, I believe that this book will be considerably more appreciated by those with some basic knowledge regarding the Russian Revolution. Only then will the reader be able to take full advantage of what this short fable can offer him, due to the fact that he will realize without too much effort that some of the fictional characters in "Animal Farm" were inspired by historical characters. For example, Napoleon (one of the pigs) was quite possibly inspired by Stalin, and Snowball (another pig) by Trosky. When you read this book, try to find the characters that represent the proletariat, the Communist Party, the intellectuals, etc... :)

On the whole, I regard this book as one of those you just need to read, but that fortunately you can also enjoy. The messages implicit in "Animal farm" are many, and the questions it makes you pose yourself are even more. But then, what better than a book that makes you THINK ?.

Belen Alcat
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars So Who's Who?, December 1, 1999
By Iain McEwan (Edinburgh, Scotland) - See all my reviews
A quite excellent book and the best political satire I have ever read. Can only be fully appreciated if the reader is familliar with the history of the Russian Revolution. For those who aren't, here is a list of who, or what, I thought the various animals and events represented.

Jones:= The Aristocracy. The Old Major:= Lenin. Napoleon:= Stalin. Snowball:= Trotsky. Squealer:= Beria?. Boxer:= The male Peasants. Dolly:= The female Peasants. The Pigs:= The Communist Party. The Dogs:= The NKVD. The Sheep:= The Army. The Raven:= The Clergy. The Donkey:= The Intellectuals, maybe the Jews. The Windmill:= Stalin's 5 year plans. Frederick`s Farm:= Germany. Pilkington Farm:= The West. The Counterfeit Money:= The Molotov-Rippentrop Pact.

Hope this is useful.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Rulers and politicians
Manor Farm is taken over by the resident farm animals in a revolution. The farmer is ousted off the property. Read more
Published 1 day ago by C. J. Leach

4.0 out of 5 stars It's a good book but I'll be totally honest...
'Animal Farm'...is like a bootleg '1984'.
Seriously. (lol)
I read the book when I was 16. I liked it well enough. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Stephanie S. Perkins

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book
Entertaining and very insightful. Quick read and will keep you hooked right up till the end.
Published 1 month ago by concep110

4.0 out of 5 stars School Book Requirement
This was a school book requirement that I found cheaper on amazon than purchasing at the local book store.
Published 1 month ago by G. Lilly

5.0 out of 5 stars When animals act like humans
This book is excellent characterization of the differences of democracy and capitalism. The animals are used to help us picture humans in different types of societies. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mary L. Overby

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant ...
i read this way back in middle school ... i remembered that i liked the story although i could only remember the bare gist ... Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Blaze

5.0 out of 5 stars Animal Farm
Teenage readers will not even realize they are learning about government as they read George Orwell's classic tale of the struggle between right and wrong, citizenship and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Whatcha Reading Now?

5.0 out of 5 stars Certainly applies to the present day.
I read this book 40 years ago in high school. It certainly has application to what's happening in the world today. Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. O'Donnell

5.0 out of 5 stars animal farm
animal farm is a good source of information for where our country is headed if something (and someone) doesn't change soon.
Published 2 months ago by N. Merrill

5.0 out of 5 stars good book
it's a great read for everyone. too many parallels to what's happening in this country right now
Published 2 months ago by Ha

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Amazon, you suck. 2 April 2009
Pro Communist Preface Takes Away From This Great Classic. 1 September 2007
Welcome to the Animal Farm forum 0 November 2005
› See all 3 discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
   

So You'd Like to...

Create a guide

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Look for Similar Items by Category

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:










i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.